Erementar Gerad

Elemental Gelade, is a shounen anime that despite not seeming very unique, very much is in it's own way. Calling this an underratted or hidden gem Shounen wouldn't be a lie in the least. It's rather short compared to more popular Shounen like Nartuo, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen but it's story can hold it's own against them. I'm gonna get long and detailed with this review so the short reccomendation is, if you like battle shounen type anime e,g Naruto, AOT, Demon Slater etc, and enjoy them for their mix of silly quirky comedy and fights this is for you. OR if you enjoy ... heartfelt and somewhat emotional stories with a bit of romance and don't dislike silly comedy or shounen fights this is also for you.


Let's start things with the story and plot, this is arguably one of the most important parts of Elemental Gelade that sets it apart from many other anime in it's genre alongside it's characters. Although I am handicapped a little by a spoiler free review I'm going to go into detail as much as possible without spoiling more than the synopsis does. The story isn't especially unique, it's premise is even rather simple, but that's not a problem in the least. As Elemental Gelade doesn't require new or unique ideas to make a good story, as it's strength lies in it's execution, and it's quite good overall. The main premise centers around Coud, who is a rookie in a group of sky pirates, wants to grow out of his stupid rookie role and become the leader or "boss" of the sky pirates. If that gives Naruto wanting to become hokage vibes, you already have a decent idea of this guys background. After the air raid Coud finds an Edel Raid named Ren sealed away in a box and "accidentally" frees her. It seems a pretty stereo typical Shounen start with some definite Naruto vibes showing up here and there. But through a seemingly stereo typical "Shounen" anime start, Elemental Gelade ends up doing things a bit different. The story has a somewhat unique gradual pace and build up. Edel Raids, which ren is one of, are unique compared to regular people as they're able to "merge" with people in a sense and turn into weapons and also use abilities and powers of their own that normal people can't. The show doesn't just use this as a plot device for Shounen fights. It goes into pretty good detail about many other matters such as, people treating Edel Raids as weapons or tools and using them for their own gain, instead of treating them like people, and not just whether they should or shouldn't treat them like people instead of weapons, but also HOW to treat them like people instead of weapons. Should treating an Edel Raid as a person mean you can't merge with an Edel Raid to fight? The story has a large focus on this fact, and naturally Coud himself encounters this. This Shounen show has a romance genre, anyone's dog could probably guess what that means. So yes, the story also takes relationships between Edel Raids and Humans into account and not just the relationship between Coud and Ren, and although it's execution isn't perfect by any means it's overall very good. So while it's premise is rather simple the execution of the story is very good, and while it goes a decent amount in depth, it doesn't go too far or get too complex either, and by doing so it's a much more focused story that's able to do what it set out to do very well.


Let's go with the characters next, on the whole they seem your average Shounen characters on the surface, but don't let that fool you. The characters have a surprising amount of depth and often times development also setting it apart from other Shounen. Coud Van Giruet, has a Naurto type loser start, and he grows and develops as a character over time. And by grow and develop I don't mean in the same sense as Naurto. Yes, he does grow skill and strength wise, but the focus is more so on how he grows as a character, as a person. He doesn't simply want to get stronger so to achieve his goal, rather he wants to get stronger to help him understand what he truly wants, what his goal should really be. Coud Van Giruet isn't the only character with a lot of depth and character development, but he was the best example case to use as the main character. On the whole the characters all have their quirks and silly Shounen comedy moments. But they also have so much depth and development that also make them feel so real and more like people at the same time. Oh and did I mention side characters also get pretty good character development? On the whole the characters have their quirks and you may or may not like them because of that. But there's no denying that they are good, well designed characters that have many qualities outside the surface level parts that make them that way.


Lastly here is the production, now this anime is from the year 2005, standards were a bit different back then so I am judging some aspects of it accordingly. The Voice acting is up to the standard you'd expect from Japan's anime industry. Openings and endings are quite good, The OST used in this show is really nothing special but it gets the job done quite well. The Animation production is quite good. The art is pretty consistent, there are quite a few still frames in this show, however they're used in a very intelligent way so that they don't affect the watching experience that much. Due to that, action scenes and important scenes that require more motion are of good enough quality to provide a good watching experience. It's not gonna hold up to many newer anime releases however it's very intelligently animated and given it's year of release, the animation is quite good.


So on the whole Elemental Gelade is a decently underrated Shounen that's also somewhat of a hidden gem. And although it's far shorter, it can certainly hold a candle to popular Shounen from the same era like Naruto. Elemental Gelade is a show that doesn't set it's sights too high but it executed very well and provide a great watch due to that. 8/10

Elemental Gelade was a fun journey to watch, this show has many unique concepts and story elements which will keep you engaged for most of the show.

Elemental Gelade is about a guy named Coud, a pirate of the sky in a world called Guardia who discovers a mysterious girl within a compartment of his ship. This isn't just a normal girl as she is what is called an "Edel Raid." These Edel Raids possess a jewel and the ability to allow the user a unique power that is mainly used to aid in battle and combat. The show really takes you on a journey throughout ... the mysterious world of Guardia and is a fun show to watch and unfold.


Story - 7

This story follows the journey of a sky pirate named Coud and his adventure with his newly found Edel Raid that goes by the name of "Reverie, Metherlence" more commonly referred to as "Ren." Their adventure is about going to the land of gold called the Edel Garden within the far, far reaches of the sky, all the way, far up in the clouds where Ren desires to go.
As they pursue this journey they meet up with many people, many people, including people from the Edel Raid Protection Agency who attempt to purchase this newly discovered Edel Raid for a great sum of money, though Coud refuses, these people join his journey and fight alongside him to reach the special land they had been searching for.

There are many people who want to gain these mysterious Edel Raid powers that Reverie possesses, solely for themselves, as she is a way rarer type of Edel Raid, rarer than most of the other ones. And some of these people are willing to fight battles to gain these special powers and do anything it takes to get a hold of Ren. The story is a good overall adventure story which is great for anybody who wants to experience a nice journey of action and romance.


Art - 6

The art and animation featured in this show were alright for 2005 standards. The art looked decently clean for the time this show was released. The animation was also alright and didn't look too bad (most of the time.) The scenery had a decent amount of detail, displaying what they were supposed to with fair amounts of detail here and there.

The character designs were pretty original and decent looking, though there definitely could've been a little more detail added to some of the characters in this show. Otherwise the show had decent looking art for 2005 and so was the animation which could look a bit odd at times but was still pretty decent.


Sound - 6

The sound in this show was decent although basic. The opening and ending songs were generally good songs but not very memorable and rather forgettable after I had finished this show. The background music was honestly just a little basic, with nothing in the background music I would personally re-listen to.

The voice acting was also decent and it seemed like they did a good job for voice acting these characters, as it seemed like they chose voice actors that really suited the personalities of the characters in this show. The music and voice acting featured in this show seemed to be alright and slightly above average.


Character - 7

Characters in this show were mostly well written. The main character, Coud, was a cool character who had genuine feelings for Ren and wanted to defend her. Ren herself was a rather calm character who always stood with Coud and aided Coud in countless battles which took place over their journey. The three other characters in their team were also helpful at fighting and attacking any enemies that came their way, and they were also funny sometimes.


Enjoyment - 7

This show was pretty enjoyable and a fun watch. While there may have been things the show could have improved on, the show managed to display a fun little adventure that is great for fans of action and romance genres of anime. The concept of Edel Raids among other things in this show were pretty interesting and are worth watching the show for.


Overall - 7

Overall I liked the story. The show had a good concept and storyline with a likeable cast of characters. This was a good watch and experience and I feel like it was really worth the watch.

#Characters / Development [Might contain little Spoiler, but required to properly review]
Vote: 4

I was personally fought for what regard what vote, or simply on how to consider, the character development of Erementar Gerad, this because there were many parts that literally created hate/rage, a thing that happened like once or twice for what regard anime in 10+ years, into me meanwhile another part was making me say "that's fine, i like it".

What made me give a 4 to the Character development is Cisqua, the character that created me that uncomfortable feeling of range(being angry)while reading the manga/watching the anime.
Not only she's loyal to a ... faction who permanently damage the humans and the edel raids under the light of the sun where everyone can notice, despite they claim to be the protectors/guardian, but they finish to seriously damage, and lead to almost death, and cause sufferance to the main characters which are supposed to be her friends; and in all of that what she does is keeping supporting this faction as a loyal puppet, by ignoring all the sufferance it is causing to the entire world (it is shown through the series).
In short, the more the world, humans and edel raids, and her own friends, get damaged and finish to suffer and almost die under the hands of that faction, and the more she will support that faction leading to further sufferance and damage.
It's like an immature character who can't accept the truth of the facts, and in this way lead to damage everyone around her and the entire world. Normally it could be fine to insert such a character in an anime/manga like this; however, the way it was done here is simply horrible as you expect a character to be developed to learn from their mistake and not to repeat the same mistake in 90% of the anime/manga and to never learn but instead to keep causing further damage.
We could indeed say that the character development of Cisqua could be probably rated 1/10, one of the worst I have ever seen in an anime/manga, this because the character is born like that in the first episodes and literally finish in the same exact way.
Might sound harsh to judge everything from a single character, but you have to be objective and consider that if a character is shown in every single episode and has a really high presence, it is normal that it will have an high impact on the entire serie.

For what regard the other characters, I liked the development of Cou and Ren, not individually but when together since they helped each other to find their own errors and to understand each other and each other "races" (ren understanding humans, cou understanding edel raids)

Kuea and Rowen are really funny and enjoyable character, which develop their thoughts to the point to not being anymore loyal puppet of a faction who's causing damage, in difference of Cisqua, but to understand that what was going on was wrong and their had to fix that and chase their own happiness and the one of their friends rather than causing them damage every single time.
Beside of that development of thought, there was no other development but is not strange consider the year where it was created, so that's fine.



# Story - 6
Story, for an early 2000 anime/manga, is pretty classic/standard (at that time there were many that were developed with the same logic/style) but is anyway enjoyable to a certain point, which is fine.

#Art / Sound - 7
Like for the story, giving the year it was created, both art and story are pretty much nice and enjoyable.