Gasaraki
February 15th 2008 22:11
Category: Videos, Television
Original story by: Hajime Yatate & Ryosuke Takahashi.
Chief Director: Ryosuke Takahashi.
Screenplay by: Toru Nozaki.
Producers: Eiji Kanaoka (TV Osaka), Kazunori Takagi (Yomiko), Fumikuni Furusawa (Sunrise) & Tsunetoshi Koike (Bandai Visual).
Starring: Chris Patton (Yushiro Gowa), Monica Rial (Miharu), Andy McAvin (Kazukiyo Gowa), Hilary Haag (Misuzu Gowa), Mike Kleinhenz (Councillor Meth), Illich Guardiola (Phantom), Kelly Manison (Rin Ataka), Heather Bryson (Kahoru Kaburagi), John Gremillion (Lt Col Hayakawa), Jay Hickman (Akihiro Hirokawa), John Swasey (Mr Nishida) and Jennifer Earhart (Sunao Murai).
Produced by: 1998 TV Osaka, Yomiko & Sunrise in association with Bandai Visual.
English Adaptation by: 2000/2001 ADV Films.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 625 minutes. Rating: M.
What do you get when you take Noh drama, Middle Eastern dictators, the testing of weapons of mass destruction in remote locations, secretive multinational conglomerates, an ancient Japanese noble family, elements of Japanese history and mythology along with a love that spans a thousand years, a power hunger that spans a similar length of time and giant robots? The answer to this question is Gasaraki, an anime series of twenty five episodes on eight DVDs all in a single box set. And the various elements that were previously mentioned are only some of the facets of the drama that is encapsulated within Gasaraki, this is a story that is as convoluted as any Shakespearean drama and filled with action and carnage that is often the norm of mecha anime.
The Gowa family are a Japanese lineage of distinction and a long history that apparently dates back to the distant Heian period of Japan’s history. Major manufacturers of cutting edge technology and weapons systems the Gowa family and their various corporations controlled by them are a major influence within the political landscape of their homeland and society. There is even a Gowa City which is the heartland of the various corporate entities controlled by the family as well as serving as their research nerve centre, however this was not always the home of the family nor was it the heart of their domains. Hidden from their history is a dark and mysterious secret that only the immediate members of the family are aware of, few outside of their bloodline know of its existence. In the distant past the Gowa, known by another name, were adherents of the Gasaraki who were the deities of the family’s ancestors. For over a thousand years it seems that the Gowa have lost contact with their ancestral deities though not for lack of trying. Eight years ago an attempt was made to resume contact with the Gasaraki but if failed with terrible consequences, yet in spite of this the family makes attempts to resume the attempt.
Meanwhile in another different part of the world, the Republic of Belgistan to be precise, a shadowy and enigmatic conglomerate known only as Symbol is embarking on an experiment using a teenage girl as the catalyst through which quantifiable results can be achieved. Precisely what the Symbol team are seeking to achieve is unknown, yet at the point in time that they initiate their experiment is precisely the same moment that the Gowa family are conducting their efforts to contact the Gasaraki. Somehow the efforts of both Symbol and the Gowa’s overlap and at the climax of the twin experiments the two catalysts, the teenage girl Miharu and Yushiro Gowa make a rudimentary contact. Miharu warns Yushiro not to bring back the terror, not to let it return. Perplexed by this sudden event he breaks off the experiment and it seems as if once again all the efforts of the Gowa family are literally flushed down the proverbial toilet.
Cue devastating and unusual explosion out in a remote region of the Republic of Belgistan. It seems that the two separate experiments develop precisely the same effects including a singularity, gravity waves, formation of large concentric circular patterns in the nearby area as well as a spectacular light show. It is this latter facet that someone captures on a camera and proclaims that a Middle Eastern nation is developing some kind of fairly serious weaponry out in the remote reaches of its territory. Sound familiar? It’s kind of frightening how like real life the fictional geopolitical situation in Gasaraki is, especially when you consider that it was made some two years before the US lead coalition intervened into Iraq looking for weapons of mass destruction. Naturally with this sudden development in Belgistan the US is keen to do something about it, sending its Rapid Deployment Force under UN jurisdiction to take charge of affairs. Making significant gains in the initial phases of its campaign the US led multi-national force (MNF) looks set to march on Belgistan’s capital Kaha and sweep aside its recalcitrant leader Colonel Stilbanov. If only it was that easy, the MNF attack is devastated by Belgistan and affairs bog down to an extent that the US and its allies look like their going to be stuck in an ongoing long term Middle East war.
Enter the Japanese Self Defence Force and their experimental Tactical Armour unit, the TA is one of two mecha types employed in the drama of Gasaraki and though they are the latest in cutting edge weapons systems they are also something much more. Various elements in the JSDF are only too keen to deploy the unit into the quagmire of Belgistan when its becomes known that the makers of the TAs, the Gowa family, suspect that the other side also have their own version of Tactical Armour and it was these that bogged down the US led advance on the Belgistan capital; Kaha. What they are unaware of is that the other side’s tactical armour units have been supplied by Symbol; the multinational conglomerate whose power and influence is significant within the international political and economical landscape. It seems that conflict between the two groups of mecha is bound to occur no matter what, and sure enough out in the remote desert wilderness of Belgistan TA clashes against Fake in a conflict of monumental proportions, all broadcast live on international TV via a live feed supplied by a multi national force (MNF) bomber squadron.
In the end what all this conflict serves is a beginning for the personal journey of Yushiro and Miharu, the two test subjects of their respective factions, which will lead them from the drama of the ancient past of Japan into the hidden realm of the ancient deities of the Gowa family, the Gasaraki. There is a deep and abiding bond that exists between the two armour pilots that has much to do with their own respective abilities as with their shared history that stretches back at least a thousand years to a time when the Gowa family, or Watanabe as they were then called, sought to defy the Imperial court in its capital of Kyoto. This episode in which the forces of the Watanabe and their legendary kugai, the vessels of their clan deities, attacked Kyoto not only meant destruction and devastation inflicted on a grand scale within the Imperial city but scarred its participants and became something that was doomed to be repeated down through the ages into the present day.
This is the interesting element behind Gasaraki’s story, the concept of the great wheel of time and karma what has happened before will happen again. Thus the events that take place in the contemporary era of the series are just a reflection of what has occurred in the past, the cycle of carnage and despair continues to spin on with seemingly little or no chance of it ever being broken. Yet it is precisely because this that is the driving force behind the actions of its two primary protagonists, the breaking of this cycle and the forging of something better. They have seen the cost that this cycle brings to its participants and its victims and down through the ages, yet still certain forces and elements seek to continue the cycle as they are bent on the pursuit of power, ultimate power and thus the continue to force the wheel to spin, misery to be inflicted, deaths ranging in phenomenal numbers to be dealt out. It is ironic that when they are finally confronted the Gasaraki appear as inimical to humans as humans are to their own fellow man, to them the vast bulk of the human race are nothing more than test subjects in a grand experiment that they have been conducting for an aeon.
Another unusual facet for a mecha style anime are the actual mecha themselves, certainly they do the usual mecha things such as shoot and chew up the landscape as any good mecha does but their actual origins and purpose seem to be more than just machinery crafted in a factory owned by the Gowa family. In the distant past when the Gowa were the Watanabe clan and they revered their deities the Gasaraki they were granted by their gods vessels, kugai, which were in effect giant warriors into which a special individual known as a kai, could insert themselves and become the controlling intelligence of the kugai giving it locomotion etc. Various rituals had to be performed for a kai to be accepted into a kugai, without these the kugai would not accept the kai and thus be available to the clan to use in battle or ritual duels. The other aspect of the kugai was that they were made from biological material; they were in effect flesh and blood not metal and stone. By the time of the twenty first century the Gowa family had analysed the one kugai still left to their bloodline and utilised some of the data they discovered in their research to provide the basis for the tactical armours (TA) that they develop for the Japanese SDF. Kugai as well as serving as weapons also were vessels for the energy and focus of their kai, apparently by being linked together kugai and kai could achieve the means by which to contact the Gasaraki, though by the time of the Heian period and later the specifics behind how this could be achieved were lost. By the modern era the Fakes and TAs served a similar purpose when linked with a kai, though only certain individuals were aware of this fact. After all no one is going to get into something that is a vessel designed to channel the energies of ancient clan deities, but a cool you beaut mecha now that’s an entirely different thing altogether.
For its comparatively short length, in comparison to series like Naruto or Bleach which run for hundreds of episodes Gasaraki is one of the most compelling and complex anime shows I’ve seen in some time. Watching it I could see some parallels with Macross Plus and there certainly seemed to be some similarity in the animation style used in the two shows. What did puzzle me was the fact that the main character; Yushiro actual origins are never satisfactorily explained, some details are explained yet they jar with other facts of the story almost as if there was a continuity glitch in the drama. Still despite this flaw Gasaraki is an anime drama series well worth watching; it’s an interesting fusion of various elements into a cohesive whole that provides a very satisfying viewing experience.
Chief Director: Ryosuke Takahashi.
Screenplay by: Toru Nozaki.
Producers: Eiji Kanaoka (TV Osaka), Kazunori Takagi (Yomiko), Fumikuni Furusawa (Sunrise) & Tsunetoshi Koike (Bandai Visual).
Starring: Chris Patton (Yushiro Gowa), Monica Rial (Miharu), Andy McAvin (Kazukiyo Gowa), Hilary Haag (Misuzu Gowa), Mike Kleinhenz (Councillor Meth), Illich Guardiola (Phantom), Kelly Manison (Rin Ataka), Heather Bryson (Kahoru Kaburagi), John Gremillion (Lt Col Hayakawa), Jay Hickman (Akihiro Hirokawa), John Swasey (Mr Nishida) and Jennifer Earhart (Sunao Murai).
English Adaptation by: 2000/2001 ADV Films.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 625 minutes. Rating: M.
What do you get when you take Noh drama, Middle Eastern dictators, the testing of weapons of mass destruction in remote locations, secretive multinational conglomerates, an ancient Japanese noble family, elements of Japanese history and mythology along with a love that spans a thousand years, a power hunger that spans a similar length of time and giant robots? The answer to this question is Gasaraki, an anime series of twenty five episodes on eight DVDs all in a single box set. And the various elements that were previously mentioned are only some of the facets of the drama that is encapsulated within Gasaraki, this is a story that is as convoluted as any Shakespearean drama and filled with action and carnage that is often the norm of mecha anime.
The Gowa family are a Japanese lineage of distinction and a long history that apparently dates back to the distant Heian period of Japan’s history. Major manufacturers of cutting edge technology and weapons systems the Gowa family and their various corporations controlled by them are a major influence within the political landscape of their homeland and society. There is even a Gowa City which is the heartland of the various corporate entities controlled by the family as well as serving as their research nerve centre, however this was not always the home of the family nor was it the heart of their domains. Hidden from their history is a dark and mysterious secret that only the immediate members of the family are aware of, few outside of their bloodline know of its existence. In the distant past the Gowa, known by another name, were adherents of the Gasaraki who were the deities of the family’s ancestors. For over a thousand years it seems that the Gowa have lost contact with their ancestral deities though not for lack of trying. Eight years ago an attempt was made to resume contact with the Gasaraki but if failed with terrible consequences, yet in spite of this the family makes attempts to resume the attempt.
Cue devastating and unusual explosion out in a remote region of the Republic of Belgistan. It seems that the two separate experiments develop precisely the same effects including a singularity, gravity waves, formation of large concentric circular patterns in the nearby area as well as a spectacular light show. It is this latter facet that someone captures on a camera and proclaims that a Middle Eastern nation is developing some kind of fairly serious weaponry out in the remote reaches of its territory. Sound familiar? It’s kind of frightening how like real life the fictional geopolitical situation in Gasaraki is, especially when you consider that it was made some two years before the US lead coalition intervened into Iraq looking for weapons of mass destruction. Naturally with this sudden development in Belgistan the US is keen to do something about it, sending its Rapid Deployment Force under UN jurisdiction to take charge of affairs. Making significant gains in the initial phases of its campaign the US led multi-national force (MNF) looks set to march on Belgistan’s capital Kaha and sweep aside its recalcitrant leader Colonel Stilbanov. If only it was that easy, the MNF attack is devastated by Belgistan and affairs bog down to an extent that the US and its allies look like their going to be stuck in an ongoing long term Middle East war.
Enter the Japanese Self Defence Force and their experimental Tactical Armour unit, the TA is one of two mecha types employed in the drama of Gasaraki and though they are the latest in cutting edge weapons systems they are also something much more. Various elements in the JSDF are only too keen to deploy the unit into the quagmire of Belgistan when its becomes known that the makers of the TAs, the Gowa family, suspect that the other side also have their own version of Tactical Armour and it was these that bogged down the US led advance on the Belgistan capital; Kaha. What they are unaware of is that the other side’s tactical armour units have been supplied by Symbol; the multinational conglomerate whose power and influence is significant within the international political and economical landscape. It seems that conflict between the two groups of mecha is bound to occur no matter what, and sure enough out in the remote desert wilderness of Belgistan TA clashes against Fake in a conflict of monumental proportions, all broadcast live on international TV via a live feed supplied by a multi national force (MNF) bomber squadron.
In the end what all this conflict serves is a beginning for the personal journey of Yushiro and Miharu, the two test subjects of their respective factions, which will lead them from the drama of the ancient past of Japan into the hidden realm of the ancient deities of the Gowa family, the Gasaraki. There is a deep and abiding bond that exists between the two armour pilots that has much to do with their own respective abilities as with their shared history that stretches back at least a thousand years to a time when the Gowa family, or Watanabe as they were then called, sought to defy the Imperial court in its capital of Kyoto. This episode in which the forces of the Watanabe and their legendary kugai, the vessels of their clan deities, attacked Kyoto not only meant destruction and devastation inflicted on a grand scale within the Imperial city but scarred its participants and became something that was doomed to be repeated down through the ages into the present day.
This is the interesting element behind Gasaraki’s story, the concept of the great wheel of time and karma what has happened before will happen again. Thus the events that take place in the contemporary era of the series are just a reflection of what has occurred in the past, the cycle of carnage and despair continues to spin on with seemingly little or no chance of it ever being broken. Yet it is precisely because this that is the driving force behind the actions of its two primary protagonists, the breaking of this cycle and the forging of something better. They have seen the cost that this cycle brings to its participants and its victims and down through the ages, yet still certain forces and elements seek to continue the cycle as they are bent on the pursuit of power, ultimate power and thus the continue to force the wheel to spin, misery to be inflicted, deaths ranging in phenomenal numbers to be dealt out. It is ironic that when they are finally confronted the Gasaraki appear as inimical to humans as humans are to their own fellow man, to them the vast bulk of the human race are nothing more than test subjects in a grand experiment that they have been conducting for an aeon.
Another unusual facet for a mecha style anime are the actual mecha themselves, certainly they do the usual mecha things such as shoot and chew up the landscape as any good mecha does but their actual origins and purpose seem to be more than just machinery crafted in a factory owned by the Gowa family. In the distant past when the Gowa were the Watanabe clan and they revered their deities the Gasaraki they were granted by their gods vessels, kugai, which were in effect giant warriors into which a special individual known as a kai, could insert themselves and become the controlling intelligence of the kugai giving it locomotion etc. Various rituals had to be performed for a kai to be accepted into a kugai, without these the kugai would not accept the kai and thus be available to the clan to use in battle or ritual duels. The other aspect of the kugai was that they were made from biological material; they were in effect flesh and blood not metal and stone. By the time of the twenty first century the Gowa family had analysed the one kugai still left to their bloodline and utilised some of the data they discovered in their research to provide the basis for the tactical armours (TA) that they develop for the Japanese SDF. Kugai as well as serving as weapons also were vessels for the energy and focus of their kai, apparently by being linked together kugai and kai could achieve the means by which to contact the Gasaraki, though by the time of the Heian period and later the specifics behind how this could be achieved were lost. By the modern era the Fakes and TAs served a similar purpose when linked with a kai, though only certain individuals were aware of this fact. After all no one is going to get into something that is a vessel designed to channel the energies of ancient clan deities, but a cool you beaut mecha now that’s an entirely different thing altogether.
For its comparatively short length, in comparison to series like Naruto or Bleach which run for hundreds of episodes Gasaraki is one of the most compelling and complex anime shows I’ve seen in some time. Watching it I could see some parallels with Macross Plus and there certainly seemed to be some similarity in the animation style used in the two shows. What did puzzle me was the fact that the main character; Yushiro actual origins are never satisfactorily explained, some details are explained yet they jar with other facts of the story almost as if there was a continuity glitch in the drama. Still despite this flaw Gasaraki is an anime drama series well worth watching; it’s an interesting fusion of various elements into a cohesive whole that provides a very satisfying viewing experience.
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