Copyright © GONZO * Kadokawa Shoten * GK Project

GONZO made waves in the industry with the release of AO NO ROKUGO (BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6), a four-part OVA series in "full digital animation." Audiences marveled at this new look, and although not everyone enjoyed the mix of 3D CG with 2D cel animated characters, most would agree that it was a unique and innovative work.
Not content to rest on their laurels, the folks at GONZO were hard at work on a new series when I visited them this last spring. The name of the series was GATE KEEPERS, and it was loosely based on a video game that they had done a couple of years before.
GATE KEEPERS is set in Japan in the late 1960s. And in the beginning, the show seems to be about Ukiya Shun, an average school boy who has that Tenakawa Akito quality (e.g., "cute and clueless") to him. GONZO describes it as a "boy meets girl" story, but the circumstances are a little bit more complicated than that.
There is a group of aliens trying to take over the Earth, and soon Shun finds himself right in the middle of the battle. Earth's defense lies in a secret government agency called A.E.G.I.S. who recruits children with unique abilities to combat this extraterrestrial threat. And during one of these battles, Shun happens to see a young girl named Ruriko display some very unusual power. She has the ability to channel a "gate," a specific type of energy, and use it against her attackers. Of course, Shun doesn't really care about that—he just thinks that she's really cute. But it turns out that Shun has powers of his own.
The bad guys are mysterious and hard to characterize. They appear as robots dressed in matching western outfits. They kind of reminded me of Yul Brenner's character in Westworld. But even though they have a slightly comic element to them, they're still imposing. And in early episodes, we are kept guessing as to what their true intent is.
If you think there are a lot of similarities to other shows, you're right. And in some ways, they seem to be intentional. But, like any successful show, what GATE KEEPERS does is take a well-established formula and find a way to put their own unique twist on it. And how GONZO does that is by using some really top-notch animation, good computer graphics, appealing characters and an engaging storyline.
Character designs are done by the now-legendary Gotoh Keiji. In fact, when I interviewed him, I asked him if he thought it was a little odd that NADESICO had Ruri and GATE KEEPERS had Ruriko. He replied, "I never thought about it before, but now that you mention it, hmm." However, Ruriko looks more like a young Yurika than Ruri. And, of course, there are a lot of cute super-powered girls in this show. And they all have that now-familiar Gotoh look to them, which provides a lot of fans with instant appeal.
And of course, with GONZO being so dedicated to digital and computer animation, GATE KEEPERS is loaded with plenty of innovative effects work. Many of the special effects are done with CG, and like earlier attempts in other shows such as ESCAFLOWNE, the results vary. Overall, however, the effects are great. Displays of the children's power are beautiful—sometimes stunning—and really give a sense of wonder to the whole thing. In addition, the special effects for the bad guys and their equipment really adds a unique touch to the show.
At a time when anime seems to be more about quantity than quality, GATE KEEPERS is a refreshing spark of life. The characters are fun, the story is entertaining and the effects are great. I wouldn't be surprised if this title was picked up for a U.S. release in the near future.

Released by Bandai Visual
DVD, approx. 77 minutes each
Volume 1: BCBA-0593
Volume 2: BCBA-0594
Volume 3: BCBA-0595
Volume 4: BCBA-0596
¥6000 each
Available now in Japan
Where to buy