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In the early stages of the series, it is extremely easy to dismiss it as not only derivative with how the main character is dumped in the pilot seat of a mecha without any preparation or warning, but also grotty with the off-coloured, sparsely detailed visuals. However, deception is a major theme in the story and as the plot unfolds at a confidently steady pace, it truly becomes a staggering quest for survival for a human race that was at a crossroads with their evolution. (And the artwork is arguably justified. I’m sure from watching the series it’ll eventually make sense that it could be ... down to ‘system limitations’.)

The series is actually rather elegant in its delivery: The focus is kept firmly on the protagonists’ earnest defiance for free will. This is signified by the notably small amount of IDENTIFABLE enemies. In addition, the action, psychology and philosophy are reasonably present so that they don’t lumber the story. This makes for a tender piece which at the end—in the post-credits scene of the final episode—is very touching.

In comparison to its prequel, which I gave a score of 5, this series is stale and basically inferior in all aspects.

Another two love stories featuring characters struggling with undeserved burdens are presented in parallel in the same minimalistic surrealism-tending way, but keeping to the format is forced and botched: it appears disjointed and will bewilder some people given how loosely connected the stories are and that one of them largely occurs chronologically earlier. The themes of the stories are heavier—both deal with mortality with one extending to spirituality—but because the standard of writing is still slackly simplistic their deliveries are farcical: one quickly becomes ... grossly predictable and concludes preposterously with what the male protagonist achieves while the other abruptly backs down from its tension building when the main character for that makes a belated reveal. It’s all elementary and the frequent internal conflicts and monologuing in the plot becomes pretentious and tiresome; this show actually has little entertainment or practical value.

Disappointingly, the sophisticated synopsis and brooding promotional artwork attributed to this series are ultimately acute exaggerations for something that inadvertently repeatedly undermines its already labouring self.

The scenario— where an unprecedented phenomenon proclaimed to be caused by an act of terrorism has befallen the earth leaving its inhabitants vulnerable—naturally has a large amount of scope but its execution has been highly constrained to the point that Gilgamesh is actually simple compared to the average anime series. It almost exclusively focuses on a small group of adolescents with identical sets of basic superpowers (them being nondescript is actually a positive feature of the series in adding ... a level of realism to the story), who are taken in by an enigmatic wealthy women in order to defeat a band of people possessing demonic abilities who are intent on carrying out the terrorist’s still-destructive will. Obviously given the magnitude of the initial incident—which was in fact caused by the leader alone— the enemy pose the biggest threat the world has seen. Seemingly however there are only two other groups seeking to oppose them: a scientific institution hoping to rectify the existing ailments, and a special forces unit working in parallel to the adolescents. Furthermore in the simplification of the plot and the dilution of the intended tone, the adolescents only sporadically engage with the enemy who appear very indecisive in large parts of the show. Consequently this means that the main characters spend a lot of the time idling—mostly in one place as well through being somewhat detached from the outside world—where in these periods awkward sexual relationships are usually established.

With having not just the exceptionally stretched plot, but also visuals that beyond the character designs are crude— even when taking into account its age— and an irksome soundtrack, this is a shabby production. Conclusively, from the combination of those shortcomings and the downbeat themes that still managed to be conveyed, Gilgamesh is a dismal viewing experience.

My appraisal:

From also taking into account the two films (they are not proper entities through directly following on from the last episode and hence shouldn’t be treated as such) it can conclusively be said that the crew have proved themselves as highly proficient in making an otherwise well-rounded piece but that such an ambitiously grand-scale concept was still beyond their full grasp.

The premise had the possibility to become an engagingly hypothetical- and profoundly relevant during its initial airing- look at how the infrastructure of society can be subtly manipulated and improved upon but it is largely squandered in the fleshing out of the story that ... is too insistent on bringing in action sequences. With being nonsensically forced into a life-or-death game (it does appear logical but is actually rather ill-conceived and counterproductive) the characters who are given a reasonable opportunity to put their ideas to fruition often don’t take it to heart through instead resorting to extremism (in the loosest sense) and spitefully playing cat-and-mouse. There are glimpses of innovative ideologies with far-reaching consequences but ultimately this production is content in remaining as an effective outlet for the grievances of those feeling suppressed in a saturated society and the committee would be wise to reboot this and realize its true potential.

My appraisal:

This is a maturely self-assured series that- at the expense of its commercial marketability- transcends genres in order to successfully establish itself as an expressionistic, philosophical piece on how we should treat life.

The production committee have taken the overused, protestive scenario of the human race’s ever-increasingly rapid developments leading to their own downfall and used it as the mere foundations on which to build a world they can freely manipulate. Through subsequently deciding to not dwell on logistical issues while altering the landscape (and to a lesser extent the art style) to convey the current emotive themes, a guided journey of spiritual discovery is ... then formed. As it is very abstract in its approach though the series neglects to fully expand on the sparse premise and instead overstates its most immediate aspects. However enough defining shots and scenes are shown as a wide variety of characters struggle for their beliefs in a highly strained setting for this to still easily linger in your mind long after its completion and quite possibly even change your outlook on life for the better.