Reviewed by: dj_xero

GateKeepers

Directed by: Koichi Chigira

Released by: Pioneer

Genre: Action Adventure

Extras: Credit-less opening/ending, tv commercials, special prologue/ending.

Spiffy: Your very own Aegis Agent ID card!

Episodes: 3

"GATE-OO OOOOOPEN!!!" Is the cry heard from the members of the super secret anti-"invaders organization: AEGIS.(convinently located EVERYWHERE in 1969 Japan) Of course this super secret organization has to have a kick-ass salute, the 2 fingered salute to be exact.(no, i'm not kidding) Strangely enough, as if this is a new concept in anime, the only people who have the power to fight off these strange alien invaders are school kids who show remarkable power! WOW! Each one of these reluctant heros were once normal shcool kids who displayed remarkable powers. These powers are, of course(AS IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW) are derived from "the gates". And yes, these gates are the key to destroying the alien invaders.

Alright, cheesey anime-cliches aside, this is wonderfully animated, sweet and funny series. I just couldn't help but love these characters and cheer for the good guys.(growin up watchin voltron and such helped a little too) Yeah, the music is just yer run-of-the-mill j-pop super happy kick ass fighting force I'm gonna do something cute and kick your ass soundtrack. The somewhat cheesey plot and predictable devices (guess what, the kendo kid's Gate weapon, is get this, A WOODEN SWORD!), put together with the cheesey music, kind of level off with the quality of animation, and bright smooth colors and textures. This is a pretty dvd. Oh, did i mention they also drive a kick ass car that's powered by the gate??? But wait, the characters are only school kids, how could they drive, who cares!! They have their Aegis membership cards that can get them out of all kinds of trouble!! SCREW YOU POLICE!!

The story opens with my man Shun Ukiya, this kid is a great. His younger sister is bossing him around trying to take care of him, his single mother has to listen to them bicker and she just can't take it anymore. Yeah yeah that's great, Shun and his sister aint got no time for that, Shun is too busy with school work and kendo practice.(Shun OWNS kendo by the way, could it be... the GATE???) Sooooo, one thing leads to another and on the way home Shun runs into the nasty invaders wreaking havoc in his city. This is where he sees Aegis member Ruriko Ikusawa doin her thang and usin her Gate powers to stop them. She uses the powers of the gate in her bow and arrows... the arrows are of course strapped to her upper thigh, and her school outfit just doesn't seem to fit correctly.... I believe this is one of the most important points that "GateKeepers" tries to make: If yer gonna save the world, at least look sexy so people don't get bored with you and let them selves be killed. Well Shun sees Ruriko fighting the invaders and losing badly, and is not happy with the aliens destroying the city.... soooo, remembering characters from sports manga and how they perservere trhrough tough times like this, he's fights back, displaying the powers of the Gate. Shun whoops that ass and Ruriko gets all doey eyed and shit. Shun then joins the Aegis team to fight the forces of evil and keep Japan safe for his family and friends. GO SHUN!!!

The following episodes explain how Shun and Ruriko were friends as kids, and Ruriko was a big lamer but had the hots for Shun. (cuz Shun is da man!) We get an overview of what Aegis actually is, see Shun fight the invaders once again, saving his family, join Aegis, join a new school, make fun of Ruriko for having a runny nose, see the super secret underground military base of Aegis, and find a new member for Aegis, a really ditsy pianist. (and guess what her weapon is... A VIOLIN!!! oh wait, no, it's a piano) Ok ok ok, so I really don't feel like giving a synopsis for each of these episodes, they each move very fast and explains each plot detail very quickly, I can't give it all away.(yeah, that's a good excuse.

So check out this series, it's lots of fun, very funny, and, and, and.... you get this really cool Aegis Agent Earth Defense License. Show it off to your friends and get beat for being different from them. Go on, I'm waiting.

Rating: 7/10