Anime Gilgamesh

[pbfrontmanvdp]

New anime that came out on June 21st. Its a mixture of Texhnolyze (with the animation styles on both character design and the sceneries) and X the TV series (the powers the both sides have). The storyline is about two sides (one led by a scientist and the other led by a countress) who are after 2 children. The 2 children are special since they are both offspring of the terrorist who corupted the world and bring the human race to a standstill and eventually its downfall. I dont want to give that much away so heres my short summary of it.

The first DVD I will say starts out slow like Noir and Gunslinger Girl and other types of animes that people find to start out at this pace, but I enjoy these types of animes and I know others on this board feel the same way. So now I want to know if others have heard of this anime and if so what there interpretations are.

[Dagger]

I have the first disc on order, but I won't be able to see it until I get home (toward the end of July). :animecry:

The early trailers had me hooked, with the unusual character designs and the great classical music. I actually watched the first episode a long time ago, before the series was licensed, but it didn't make a huge impression on me one way or the other--which is perfectly alright, since everyone seems to say that Gilgamesh develops slowly.

Since Texhnolyze wrapped up, I've been looking for a similarly dark and dreary series to take its place, and it appears that Gilgamesh will fit the bill nicely. Thanks for posting about it.

~Dagger~

[pbfrontmanvdp]

[quote name='Dagger'] I actually watched the first episode a long time ago, before the series was licensed, but it didn't make a huge impression on me one way or the other--which is perfectly alright, since everyone seems to say that Gilgamesh develops slowly. [/quote]
Thats how I felt when I watched the first episode. I was really confused with who was on whos side and who the leaders were on both sides. It took me to about the third episode to finally get that answer solved...but after I rewatched the first DVD I was happy with the outcome of the first 5 episodes. However, the dub in this anime seems to be extremely good from just watching the first DVD only. I can't wait for the new one to come out next week so I can put more input about the storyline and imagery of this new anime.

[Dagger]

It took me forever to get past the first two episodes, but once I finished the disc, I was hooked. I started off watching it in English. While the dub is excellent and I would love to hear more of it eventually, I ended up switching to Japanese halfway through because the thought of not hearing Mitsuki Saiga as the Countess (I originally wasn't sure if she was going to be a major character, just from looking at cast lists, but she's had a lot of lines so far) was killing me.

I'm also enjoying Kouki Miyata as Toru. For the most part the dub seems to be quite well cast, but I thought the dub director really erred in choosing a lower-voiced, much more masculine voice actor to play him in English.

Some speculation based on the first five episodes (who knows, I'm probably completely off): [spoiler]Although I'm not sure if everything corresponds perfectly to the legend--it surprised me that Tatsuya and Kiyoko's father is identified with Enkidu rather than Gilgamesh--I'm almost positive that the Countess is supposed to be the Ishtar figure. Theoretically, that would make her the main antagonist. But I have no idea whether or not they're going to twist things around or if they plan on following the mythological story closely. I guess one other thing to keep in mind is that if they do follow it, the professor (Enkidu) will eventually die.[/spoiler]

I have to admit that I'm sort of hoping the twins will end up on Gilgamesh's side... in part because it would be nice to see the main characters side with the [spoiler]freaky monsters[/spoiler] for once, and in part because that blond guy is really cool. :animeswea

~Dagger~

[Guest laurel28]

I love this Anime, is anyone here still watching it? I love the art style and the subtlety of the storyline. I haven't seen very much response to it though and I'm curious as to why it doesn't seem to be as popular? People seem to love it or hate it. I love the atmosphere of the series and the character designs, especially of the Gilgamesh. I was thrown off a litlle at first because it wasn't what I was used to (those lips) but now I find myself really prefering it. I have a hard time getting people to watch it though, those first few episodes put them off. But in my opinion (uneducated though it may be) this is a great show, with a neat dark storyline, intriguing characters and a subtle beauty all its own. I wish more people would check it out.
Hope this isn't considered spam, it is my first post and I don't know how to use spoiler tags yet (I will find out) so I didn't want to put anything too detailed in.
Edit-read about spoiler tags so I'll add this [spoiler] Thinking back on what someone wrote about the countess being likened to Ishtar, I was thinking of Kiyoka as Shamut (sp?) the prostitute in the legend and that if so the roles were reversed. That is the prostitute with the Gilgamesh and Ishtar with Enkidu? In the legend Ishtar wanted Gilgamesh and the prostitute was used to tame Enkidu. I think that is how it went anyway. Interesting thought, well interesting to me anyway. [/spoiler]
Novem is very cool indeed but my favorite was probably Octo. [spoiler] I think the scene where he was feeding the gulls made me care for him beyond the others. I guess that was what it was meant to do, I was upset when he died. :animecry: [/spoiler]

[Dagger]

I just got volume 5, actually, so that means I'm up to episode 20 or so.

Disc by disc, I've become increasingly impressed with Gilgamesh. It's one of the shows that I pop into the DVD player as soon as each new volume arrives, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I wish there had been more time spent on [spoiler]Kiyoko and Novem's relationship,[/spoiler] but there are six episodes left, so it's not as if I've lost hope yet. I really liked the subtlety with which their interactions were portrayed. Not many anime can convey so much without putting any of it into words. Speaking of which, I was surprised to learn that [spoiler]Kiyoko was pregnant,[/spoiler] even though it made sense in retrospect.

I really can't wait to watch more (and it's always nice to see more Gilgamesh fans here, too!).

~Dagger~

[Guest laurel28]

I was watching the fifth dvd again this morning myself :animesmil . I agree that I was a bit surprised [spoiler] about Kiyoko's pregnancy though honestly afterwards I was like man how did I not expect that? They did enough foreshadowing I think but I guess I was just not paying enough attention, I like how their relationship was set up though from the beginning, you knew it had to happen, but they really didn't show much of it except the expressions in their eyes, well that and the kiss of course.[/spoiler] I watch it as soon as I get it too! The subtlety of the series is one of my favorite parts, I don't need to get hit over the head with things all the time and this also lets me watch it again and see something I may have missed the first time. I'm really glad that I stuck with this series because so far I like it more everytime I watch it. I'm glad I'm not the only fan around, this show really deserves more.

[Dagger]

Volume 6 was excellent! And disturbing and tragic, and all those other lovely things I've come to associate with Gilgamesh.

I really enjoyed the episodes about what happened before XX. I was impressed by how the writers managed to work that information in; it was genuinely interesting, even though I was basically already familiar with the outcome. I'm just sad that there's only disc left. The show has maintained an impressive pace throughout, and even with the revelations coming quickly, it doesn't feel too rushed.

The story about how [spoiler]Reiko gave her eyes to her grandfather[/spoiler] was supremely eerie. One thing I'm not sure I quite understand is how Kazamatsuri's warriors [spoiler]were made from sheep,[/spoiler] but the way in which the director linked them visually was certainly creepy...

ADV's DVD inserts are turning out to be quite informative. I think I'll read them all carefully once I finish the series.

~Dagger~

[Guest Uthred]

I was wondering could anyone tell me the name of the classical piece which Makota was listening to in the first episdoe and which re-surfaces throught the series?