Kiddy Grade

slpless★ 6

Kiddy Grade is an action/ fanservice laden anime that I thought would be good if I wanted to turn off my brain and marathon something. However, even with this low standard I set, it still didn’t fare as well as I hoped. This is primarily due to the first third and the last third of the series. To avoid any spoilers I’ll split Kiddy Grade in 3 parts, first third, middle, and last third. The first third consisted of standalone episodes that were designed to let the viewer get familiar/learn about the characters. This is a pretty standard format that many 2kour series follow. First, have an episodic beginning to get to know the characters while giving clues to the bigger story that would start later. Many times series wait too long to get on with the story. In this case, I though that the first third was simply mediocre and it really didn’t get me interested in the characters. Also, there was way too much fanservice… Ok, let me rephrase that, too much loli fanservice. Even the action scenes were kind of boring to me. In fact, right now I have trouble remembering anything during the first third of Kiddy Grade. Much to my surprise during the middle it actually got good. The main story starts to move and the action scenes were quite exciting/good. Let me just say, here is where we find about the past of our two heroines. Éclair especially, has become more interesting. However, I wouldn’t say there was character development, rather they showed us what was already there. Sadly the third arc simply isn’t as good as the middle. While there was lots of intense action, much of which is very well animated, there were way too many dues ex machina and poor writing in general. The writers seemed to want to put in as many twists as humanly possible. Many times I said to myself “you can’t expect us to believe that!” In short, the last third was a complete mess (hmm Gonzo messing up the end of a series, surprise surprise). As I said before the animation is quite good. As it should as the 2 main draws of Kiddy Grade are the action scenes and fanservice. Not much to say about the action scenes as this seems to be one of Gonzo’s big budget titles. Expect lots of well choreographed fight scenes with plenty of flash. Character designs are quite nice however, I’m not too fond of Éclair and Lumiere “current” look… Oh, as for the characters, there isn’t much in terms of character development. Instead we learn what was already there via flashbacks. The most interesting character is Éclair and since it featured such a huge cast we don’t really get to know the other characters very well. Anyway, was Kiddy Grade the action packed, fanservicey anime I expected? Yes, there was plenty of action and fanservice and it is especially suited for mindless watching. However, at the same time it had a poor beginning that makes it hard to start. Furthermore, the last third was completely garbled and even with my brain turned off I had a hard to accepting many of the events. There was quite a bit of potential shown in the middle, sadly it was never realized. Who knows maybe Kiddy Grade 2 will actually utilize this potential.

Neferius★ 9

A Space-Opera in 3 acts, "Kiddy Grade" in my (humble) oppinion should rightfully be regarded as a Classic of the Genre. Although, as many are quick to point-out, the show is off to a "Slow Start" [spoiler]Which apparently involves fighting five armed Cyborgs bare-handed and foregoing an inter-Planetary War[/spoiler], somehow it manages to never seem boring, if maybe a bit easy-going at times. To that i have to attribute the copious doses of fanservice, splendid mecha graphics, and to a lesser extent the Classical Victorian style implemented in the artwork, from balroom-dances to Lumiére's schoolgirl *ahem* I mean work-uniform, which help to give the Seriesa distinguished look and feel. In the Second Chapter of the Series however, the atmosphere shifts radically as things take a turn for the worst, and thus the actual Plotline is Born. From then-on things seem increasingly bleak, as you watch what you once regarded a light-hearted-comedy unfold into Drama , also there is less Fanservice :( The culminal point of the series leaves much to be desired, with the writhers probably exhausted form all the plot-twists in the previous chapter, they resolve to use an unprecedented number of deus-ex-machina plotpoints [spoiler]The Show itself kinda' ends with one[/spoiler], but at least they didn't forget the Fanservice this time :D All-in all Kiddy-Grade is definetly worth watching, and not just for the Eye-Candy, but also for the morally-enriching, if poorly-presented Story, and a Universe so vast and exotic, it would make many an RPG's pale in Comparison. ...If only they hadn't gone with Gonzo :(