Anime: Kiddy Grade 4515y

Kiddy Grade is a hard show to review. It's a remnant of the shows that tries to mix lots of genres, and while it's not as good as those, it's a very charismatic and strong experience for those who can understand what this is about. Kiddy Grade is in fact one of the shows I've watched multiple times, first because it was one of the few animes I had saved in my HD back in the years, and second because it's simply good to its age.

The title is a stupid, certainly, but the contents are only childish at the beginning, as it gets better and better and ultimately leads to a great experience in a scy-fy setting.

Art & Animation
Kiddy Grade had some pretty good animation for its age. The art style is also fine, with sharp drawings that make up for the somehow typical big-eyed bishoujo style. The fights are nicely done, serving as a good luring point of the show together with the bits of fan service. The fan service starts strong, you'll see pants and sexy poses a lot in the first episodes, but it slowly diminishes and end up in a more balanced presentation. It's not an ecchi show, so it can please those who dislike this stuff, at the same time that it can add something for those who enjoy this kind of stuff.

Sound
Sound-wise Kiddy Grade is also top notch. It features some great opening and ending and a solid background collection. The sound direction is definitely great here, knowing how to use the scores to enhance the dramatic fights sequence, allow for a more light atmosphere or even the fanservice parts. The solid background could be better, but it's not harmful to the overall. Voice-acting borders the limit of quality and annoying. The work itself is well done, but the amount of girly voices that can annoy you are plenty and certainly one or two of them are bound to be tough to endure.

Story
The show tells about GOTT, an intergalatic organization with agents of the most varied kind, most of them with some sort of special enhancements and responsible for solving major problems like terrorism, political issues, etc. Eclair and Lumiere are the protagonists and of this organization, and their missions eventually lead to some major galaxy-level threat.

1. Old formula
   Kiddy Grade follows up the model of late 90's shows like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, etc. It has the western approach of delivering an episodic experience for the first half and only in the second the plot starts and things get a lot better. It's nothing new and extraordinary and the initial pace can be a pain, but hey, Cowboy Bebop had the same initial pace and people barely complained. I see this approach simply as a trend of some ages, and Kiddy Grade uses it the best it can (even if that's still not good enough).
   
   Nice plot twist and better second half
   The second half delivers a great plot twist and makes things a lot better, with a better dose of great fights, some small surprises and a somehow average ending that is enough to finish the average plot with some quality. Kiddy Grade mixes many elements in its story, from bits of ecchiness, comedy, yuri-like moments, shounen action, super-powers, etc. It's not as good as shows that did the same like Fullmetal Panic! and Full Metal Alchemist, but it's fun anyway.
   

Character
Eclair and Lumiere are good protagonists if you watch the show whole. They start as only piles of flesh to fill the beautiful girl and loli girl stereotypes, but they get very charismatic as the first episodes es. The second half shows more about their pasts and help to create some mystery and problems to evolve their personalities little by little. The rest of the cast, however, is more like a true secondary stuff. The first half rarely shows important characters besides Eclair and Lumiere, and when some important guys appear in the second half they are given only a small time in the spotlight to evolve and ultimately end only as superficial bishounens and bishoujos. While the two protagonists gets good, they're not good enough to truly compensate for the rest, so the show can look very bland when they're not in scene or when more emphasis is given to things/persons other than them.

Value
As a remnant of a mixed genre, Kiddy Grade certainly has a big power. It's perhaps one of the last shows that delivered a good mixed experience. It can look childish at first and with its title, but those who watch it further and can understand the episodic format it follows may be gifted with a great show in the end. The experience is mostly based on flashy events, great fights and a fair amount of fanservice at the start, but never gets boring or excessive, something lacking these days.

Enjoyment
Kiddy Grade can both please or annoy its audience depending on what people are looking for. If you're up to a plot show from the start or for a more mature scy-fy fiction, then move away because you'll hardly enjoy Kiddy Grade qualities. If you're to a more light experience, with some good fights, an episodic intro with more mindless stuff to build up to a better later experience, and can be please with small doses of fanservice, than Kiddy Grade can get you. The production value alone is enough to please many people, but its other areas also have positives that can grab a good audience.

Comments
As I've said, I've watched Kiddy Grade dozens of times back in 2004~2006. I tried watching the newest season and couldn't endure the annoying girls so I've rewatched Kiddy Grade again to see if that was the same thing. Well, that's certainly not. While Kiddy Grade is fairly childish in the earlier episodes and the plot only kicks in mid-way, even these fillers episodes have more charisma and are less about kiddy stuff than the newest one.

The second half of the show is something completely different though. Seriousness become more frequent, the weight of the burden the protagonists carries gets more important and the revelations that follow are fun and addicting. It's a shame half the series is wasted in random missions, and that's the reason I'm usually unable to rewatch some late 90's shows even when I know they are dreadly awesome.

Back in 2004 I would recommend Kiddy Grade to anyone, but today I'm unable to do that. The show is slow to take and the great qualities of it only shows too late for those who are looking for more immediate resolutions or a more mature experience from the start. Those who like this kind of episodic formula that follows most US-series can find enjoyment earlier on. Those who can endure the first half are also bound to see a very good show.

The title of this anime is a weird thing. In-story it has absolutely nothing to do with kids or grades. Yet aesthetically, it couldn’t be more spot-on because the plot is indeed kiddy grade level. Wonder why? Well what did you expect from something GONZO made? Oh, and I see Kyoto Animation gave a hand too. Combine these two and you get the only possible outcome: Shallow fan service crap. Even if you manage to switch off your critical thought while watching it, it is still bad because it ain’t even bold at what it’s going for. Thus it is bad no matter how you try to view it.

The first part of the show is episodic, meant to be used as an introduction to the various superhuman investigators and agents of the organization the protagonists work for. Which means it is a complete waste of time since there is no story, the villains are weak and are defeated in the same episode they appear in, and the introduced secondary characters are just defined by superficial personality quirks (like drinking grapefruit and only whispering instead of talking) and their superpower. There is also fan service but unless you are still 10 years old without access to the internet, it will feel like nothing other than zooming in to boobs and legs for lulz.

The second part is actually trying to flesh out the basic story by now showing the backdrops of most agents, as well as the history of the galaxy the series takes place in. It definitely improved in of action and character interaction and even tried to delve with heavy subjects like immortality and the gap of social classes, totalitarianism, terrorism, exploit of ideals, and some more. It also finds the main heroines becoming fugitives and hunted by their own colleagues, a thing which leads to even more character interactions. There are a lot of openings for something good to be made from all this.

But this is GONZO we are talking about here and they have taken an oath of screwing up all their good ideas. It again feels very basic and immature since it is just scratching the surface of all these issues before it returns in the third arc to more fan service and kiddy grade level of storytelling. Nothing makes sense and all resolutions are simply ass-pulling stuff in a most far-fetched way possible. The finale is disappointing in the least since it is a cop-out that leaves you apathetic towards all that preceded it. The good guys are ridiculously overpowered. Nothing in the galaxy has the means to stomp them and thus no threat feels deadly enough to make you question if they find a way to win. So in effect a black hole can threaten to swallow the universe and you will not really feel any tension from it, since the story is a joke and the characters take their powers from Chuck Norris.

Two things that were done rather right were the production values and the battle funkiness. They poured a lot of money into making the planets and the spaceships to look gorgeous. As well as all the characters as charismatic or sexy or cute as possible, and equipped them with some of the weirdest superpowers that turn all battles to brain dead enjoyment. The lipstick whip is one of my favourites. The soundtrack is also not bad if you like mainstream jpop nonsense.

What makes Kiddy Grade even worse than it already is, is how it keeps pretending to be a mature show with substance.
- All the names of the characters and their ships for example have a secret meaning behind them, and you are made to thing there is this hidden depth behind the shallow exterior. In reality there is none; they are at best just a tribute to some other work of fiction.
- They also use a lot of foreign languages (other than Japanese that is) like English and French in an attempt to make the setting a lot more mature and intelligent. And again they fail since most of these languages are misspelled and mispronounced to the point of Europeans facepalming at the sight of them.
- They also shoehorned a lot of hard science fiction elements, such as nanobots and cloning in order to fool you they really did their homework and have lots of serious stuff in store for later. Too bad, because the way they handled them was like watching a 5 year old describing nuclear physics.

In all, this anime is a joke. A bad one too. The story never makes use of its potential, the characters are shallow, the convenient plot devices are flying all over the place, and the fan service ain’t that great either. There are several sequels and prequels to the core series and even those are equally bad, with even less context and even more fan service. That clearly shows how the whole franchise is treating its viewers as nothing but easily pleased idiots and I happen to dislike that. Not recommended.

You want something similar with chicks and action and fan service but faaaar better? Try Panty & Stocking. It is equally brainless but at least goes full throttle into its premise, offers a lot of tributes and symbolisms, it is bold, artistic, unorthodox, and generally something GONZO couldn’t even comprehend even you were giving it a 100 page explanation. Because they would be too stupid to get what true talent is all about.

You want something with science fiction and space and action but faaaar better? Try Terra E. Now this is how you make use of the potential your setting offers.

And now for some excused scorings.

This was a series I've watched when I could watch literally anything anime and everything that went down my alley of preference was automatically the cream of the crop. This was the case for Kiddy Grade but experience kicks in so a review rewrite would be in order.

Although I still enjoy this show with its lighthearted feel, fan service and random plot, I must it to its many faults.
Starting off is the flashy animation that's typical of a Gonzo production but here it seems somehow beneath other post-2000 anime productions. Character designs and ship designs have been done nicely (let's just skip the costumes shall we...no need to comment on them) and so have most of the backgrounds and even the effects look fairly nice, the implementation of CGI managing to be kept within a reasonable limit. But unfortunately when it comes to movement...it's fluid at times, dead awful at others, the bodies seem to start and stop at random times, almost like a lack of decision between weightlessness and weight. I can't say that the animation is top notch because it isn't...it's even sub-average for a post-2000 anime.
The sound sector, apart from the opening, ending and voices...apart from these, everything else is not worthy of mentioning. The battle music tends to repeat itself at an insane rate until it gets to be flat-out boring. A pity...

This is one of the anime that start off by introducing characters by self-sufficient stories. Now, this is not particularly bad but it tends to get boring because the feel that there is no story, starts to appear. If you have a little bit of patience you would discover a story-line under that fan-service and filler shell. The story comes up straight when the fillers just become annoying and, although it's decent in concept, the plot is anything you would want it but a masterpiece it is not. It goes fairly well for a while until stupid plot twists come into action and the ending that, to put it bluntly, sucks! There are some moments that are interesting in the whole story-line but sadly, not enough to redeem the whole series. Added the first 10 episodes and I cannot rate it any higher, although, for me, it was enjoyable.

I've previously said that the characters weren't used enough. I stand by that and I add that their development is terribly shallow, a curse that seems to plague all anime that have a larger cast. The two main heroines are interesting at first sight but it's no mystery that they only begin to show signs of development very far into the whole thing and it's a shame. Sad pasts are revealed, friends become enemies...not original elements and not quite interesting if you think about them in the long run. Just enough for the show to have its own drive and seem a bit deeper than it really is unfortunately.

What Kiddy Grade could've been was an excellent cyber-punk flick. It had the idea behind it but sadly, that kind of approach was thrown aside for a more care-free feel to it and the technical part was completely forgotten, or chosen not to be used.
I, for one, have enjoyed this anime although I it to its many flaws. It just is that kind of show that you like just for seeing into action...I've rewatched it almost 3 times because I liked it...I must like flash action and panty shots....NOT!

I can't believe this has an average of 8.4 in the reviews section. I'm gonna copy and paste my review from animenfo.com here and bring down the score, not caring what this review will be rated

=======================================

Kiddy Grade - an anime with such a kiddy and repulsive name that I had a hard time taking it seriously. Seriously. And don't take it seriously, because the plot flies all over the place, it's choke full of fanservice, and the ending episode really forces you to rethink what the hell just happened.

CODE GEASS =! Kiddy Grade! I haven't seen a lot of "social class versus" type anime, but this one's focus wasn't on it in particular. Actually, this anime can't really focus on anything.

I had a fun time watching it. And waiting for it to end. And then deleting it. I don't recommend this to anyone as it is a waste of time.

Actually, the only reason you'd want to watch this is if you want to watch the Kiddy Grade 2 (Aya Hirano (Suzumiya Haruhi) let that slip somewhere...) and you haven't watched this yet.


Animation

All around very good. Nice fight scenes, fluidity, good background designs, and good futuristic settings with all the buildings and highways and stuff.

Too many character designs, though, and they aren't appealing when put into fanservice work either. Several half-time pictures are grotesque, but most of the time they are okay.


Sound

Nothing special about the OP and ED, though I sat through all of them because I liked them. Nothing special about background music either.

Most of the ES had tolerable voices, but the "cute" ones don't work. Neither does the gawd-forbid Engrish names. Eclair had that one catchphrase which makes me want to choke her everytime she says it because it's fucking annoying.

The only one that shined for me was Lumiere because of Aya Hirano. Girls should be more elegant like her!


Story
Basically, the plot is haywire. The first six episodes are FILLER MISSIONS. By the time you get into the main plot, you'll forget the background it was setting up because of that.

Actually, I don't know what the main plot is. First, we have Eclair's inner struggle with very abstract flashback scenes and an abstract demon who's not very demon-like in the end. Second, we have the "class vs class" thing going on, which always pulls emotional tugs but came out flat later on. Third is the aftermath of the "revenge" incident, in which character motives are still unexplained to the end and they just let the Deucalion do it's thing. Nice idea, not very coherent, and probably used for the fanservice.


Characters

Terrible, terrible character motives and cast. The ing ES are fanservice only - they have absurd names like Tweedledum and Eclipse, and they are there only to save the day. They also serve as both enemies and allies for giddy battles and fights. The two that betray the organization had pretty unclear motives; I do not feel their emo even after the final episode because ALL flashbacks are abstract and undecipherable. The auditor had good reasons, but he felt like part of the backdrop. Eclair is an okay lead, though after the "revenge" incident, she seemed like a throwaway. Lumiere is the only character I like because she's got that cool hax0rs skillz and "girls should be more elegant!" (Thus the +2 to make it a 4.)

How many facelifts must the leads take? It totally destroys the purpose of having lead characters with developments going on, and confusion arises during their "new" introductions. Even three facelifts is too much! I heard how GSD switched from Shinn to Kira. Same thing here - they revealed that the "new" leads are completely different characters and thus destroys the process of their roles.


Value
KG2? I have no choice.

Also, I caution you as this anime kills brain cells.

(Writers note: If you read this review, RATE this review. Authors thrive on , whether it be a simple happy face, or an in-depth critique.)

First off, THIS IS NOT A COMEDY. There is no chibbing, no super-deformed, and no scenes played merely for humor. There are laughs and smiles, but only in the context of a good drama. It is not Noir, where happiness and smiles are forbidden, but it isn’t Azumanga Daioh either.

Two young girls, Éclair and Lumiere, work for GoTT (Galactic Organization of Trades And Tarrifs), an organization that helps keep peace and order in the galaxy. Éclair and Lumiere are ordered by the director of GoTT, a woman by the name of Eclipse, to stop wars, help negotiate treaties, and perform other darker, Black Ops type operations. Both Éclair and Lumiere are armed with special abilities. Éclair is extremely strong, able to lift many times her own weight She is also able to employ lipstick as a whip or an explosive. Lumiere has the ability to hack and control computers with a touch of her hand. They are not the only ES (Encounter of Shadow-work) in GoTT, however. There are nearly a dozen other young pairs of children and adolescents, all with unique and devastating abilities. When Éclair refuses to follow an order by the Director, both she and Lumiere are “purged” from GoTT and hunted by the remaining . What are the Director’s real motives? Can they survive on their own with the brunt of GoTT bearing down on them?

Kiddy Grade can be separated into three sections. The first 11 episodes are episodic, with Éclair and Lumiere adventuring to a different planet each week to solve a dispute, apprehend a criminal, etc. Along the way, we are introduced to a vast cast of characters. Episodes 12 through 19 are a continuing storyline dealing with Éclair’s and Lumiere’s expulsion from GoTT. After 11 episodes of stand-alone action/drama and character introduction, Kiddy Grade’s veritable army of ing characters are brought back into the plot and allowed to show off their abilities. This brings us to episodes 20 through 24. To put it bluntly, the final act of Kiddy Grade is a train wreck mishmash of poorly realized ideas that could have sunk the series, if all of the revelations hadn’t already been revealed by episode 19. Though Kiddy Grade’s third act is awful, with all of the important questions answered, it can also be seen as 5 episodes of padding; far less harmful to the enjoyment factor than if the story had not been wrapped up already.

For those of you who know Gonzo, and know their work, feel free to skip the next two paragraphs. Kiddy Grade is exactly the quality we’ve all come to expect from Gonzo.

The animation in Kiddy Grade is wonderful. Like Gonzo’s previous work with Last Exile, hand drawn and computer generated images are blended together seamlessly. So well, in fact, that I could not tell the difference between the two. Characters are frequently engaged in other actions during conversation, such as walking or flying an aircraft. Instead of using slowly panning shots of still frames of the character’s faces, the camera, as well as the character animation, is always busy, giving Kiddy Grade a lively feel. Even though there are many space battles, I did not spot a single repeated scene or frame. Those of you who grew up on Macross, Robotech, and Gundam will realize what a great achievement this is, especially for a TV series.

The opening music to Kiddy Grade is a fast paced, female J-Pop song. It is somewhat catchy, but easily skippable. The ending song falls into basically the same category. Music and Sound effects during the series are flawlessly executed, amplifying the emotion behind every scene. Some of the more cliché space battles were exciting nonetheless, because of the near-perfect sound effects. From ships exploding, to lasers firing, to turrets maneuvering; nothing rang false.

Kiddy Grade has as many, if not more characters than Mai-HiME, but with less development of those character. This is fine, since the payoff is different than in Mai-HiME, requiring less of an emotional attachment for it to work. We’re given over a dozen ing characters, with a healthy mix of unique and cliché personality types. We have such clichés as the whiney brat and the sullen and speechless hulk, as well as more original types such as Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum, a brother/sister pair who deal with the events in Kiddy Grade in a more realistic and thoughtful fashion than the rest of the ing cast are allowed. Taking into the “big twist”, I felt that both Éclair and Lumiere were underdeveloped. Much could have been made of their history, and what got them to where they are now. Lost opportunities aside, Lumiere’s fascination with being elegant, Éclair’s stringent ideas of right and wrong, and how they constantly get her and her partner into trouble, as well as their more plot related quirks, make Éclair and Lumiere interesting and fun to watch.

Disregarding the third act, Kiddy Grade has a fairly interesting storyline. The first 11 episodes are episodic character development, with Éclair and Lumiere meeting a different pair of GoTT ES while trying to accomplish their mission. Each new pair is armed with a different magical power, such as the ability to dissolve molecules, or the ability to absorb energy and redirect it. The pacing of these early episodes reminded me quite a bit of Cowboy Bebop, and how each little scene developed Spike and friends just a little bit more, setting the stage for a big emotional payoff when the finale rolls around.

Like in Mai-HiME (and to a lesser extent, Cowboy Bebop), this early character development pays off when Kiddy Grade’s episodic nature is discarded in favor of a continuous storyline, where things start to go terribly wrong. I cannot divulge much else for fear of spoiling the surprise. Suffice to say, Kiddy Grade pulls off this change in direction skillfully, maintaining the same quick pace of the earlier episodes, while utilizing the early character development to keep us emotionally involved.

Unfortunately, the final act of Kiddy Grade is an absolute mess. The series ends with a completely arbitrary big battle scene between Éclair and Lumiere, and what could only be referred to as a giant Transformer (yeah, the kind from the TV series). The scene where it first transforms is eerily reminiscent of the scene in Spaceballs, where the giant Star Destroyer transforms into a Maid. Imagine trying to take that scene from SpaceBalls seriously, and you’ll have some idea of how badly this plays out. Without giving anything away, the final episodes devolve into an arbitrary display of new powers. It reminded me of some of the games I played when I was a child:

“I shoot you with my laser!”

“You missed!”

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes you did, I have a shield!”

“Oh yeah? Well, I have a super shield breaker. I just broke your shield.”

“Nuh-uh! I have a special shield breaker absorber. I just stole your shield breaker ability. I now shoot you with my machine gun. Ra-ta-ta-ta-tat! You’re dead!”

“Oh no I’m not! I had armor on!”

“Too bad, cause I’m using armor piercing bullets!”

“Guess again, cause I got a magic energy shield that blocks armor piercing bullets and reflects them back at the shooter. You’re dead!”

“No way! Cause I have…”

Continue this charade in your head ad nausium, and you’ll have an idea of just how much the finale of Kiddy Grade doesn’t work. On top of all that, The Curse of the Talking Killer, non-existent in the early episodes, is used relentlessly in the finale. Both Éclair and Lumiere would have died a thousand times over if only the villains would learn to shut their mouths and shoot when the critical moment arrives. Add in a plethora of plot-related foibles, and you’ve got one of the worst closing acts of any series, anime or otherwise, I have ever come across.

As much as I loved the first 19 episodes, I cannot ignore the black hole of suck that came after. Kiddy Grade combines flawless animation and sound effects with an engrossing storyline and a large, interesting, though slightly cliché, cast of characters, resulting in exciting action sequences and hair raising, emotional drama. If only the creators had found a way to end the series at 19, which they could have, since the continuous storyline is wrapped up nicely in episode 19. Instead, we are given a preposterous conclusion filled with equally preposterous plot contrivances, with character interaction that is emotionally empty because of it.

I am still recommending Kiddy Grade. The first 2 arcs are done with precision and grace; well worth the price of ission. I would also urge anyone who watches it to fight the temptation to watch past episode 19. Nothing good will come of it. Believe me.

Ok, let me just start off by saying this is not the type of animal I usually watch or even like. I'm more into ninjas/samurai action packed or whatever. However, this anime was reccomended to me by a trusted friend who hasn't failed me in the past.

This is my first Sci-Fi anime since I am usually tedious about mecha and all that. The thing I liked most about this anime was the character development. It's by far one of the best layed out anime's in of characters and is definetly only second to maybe one piece I'd say.

The sound in this anime is great, normally I dont approve of anime music but the theme and especially the music throughout the series is great.

The animation by Funimation is great and is definetly top notch for the year this anime was released, perfect 10.

Well to end it off I'd have to say that I enjoyed this anime so much that I actually took the time to review it, and I haven't done that with anything else but I thought that I should since this isin't as mainstream as other great anime's such as FMA, naruto, etc.