Suisei no Gargantia

Gargantia’s opening fight sequence in space is dazzling - despite lack of investment, as we have only just met our archetypical characters – unfortunately the animation goes downhill from there and our investment grows only slightly. Once we reach Earth a majority of the action is in the water and Gargantia suffers in comparison to the similarly water-based anime, Free!, released in the same year, who’s animation of the water is beautifully realised. The sense of scale is also absent, its bizarre because I’m not quite sure what’s wrong with it, but the depth of the Earth now covered in water, or the magnitude of battles between fleets is not felt. In terms of artwork, there are nice touches in the character details, one example being the tanned and slightly sunburned shoulders and cheeks of Amy. Gargantia’s strength is in its concept, but is poorly explored after it is introduced in the first few episodes. In the spirit of great sci-fi, the anime speculates on interesting themes. But the questions raised are immediately answered by an A.I logic-based mecha, Chamber. Our fish out of water, Ledo, doesn’t learn anything, he accepts Chamber’s dictations and deductions. With themes undebated and efficiently dealt with, Gargantia sustains itself on periodically delivered twists, which make for a watchable but ultimately unsatisfying experience. The variety in the ensemble cast makes up for the bland-by-design lead and supports the theme of team-work. The community is celebrated and frequently threatened but presented as a sort of charming, idealistic, ‘everyone does their bit!’ utopia. Gargantia has a lot to offer in its concept, variety of themes and a genre-combo. Yet these things are only introduced and poorly executed with the show surviving on twists, an ensemble cast and attempts at speculative sci-fi.

*This is a review of just the first season of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet (Suisei no Gargantia). Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet (Suisei no Gargantia) was another show that I found while digging around through different genres of anime late last year. When I found this series, I hadn’t heard anything especially good about it so I wasn’t in any rush to watch it. But this summer I found out that it had been dubbed, and, since I didn’t have any particular anime that I was interested watching at the time, I decided to give it a chance. Unfortunately, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Story: The story takes place in the far off future when humans have already left Earth. These people joined together to form the Galactic Alliance in order to combat a race known as the Hideauz. During one of their many battles, Ledo, one of the main characters, is sucked into a black hole along with his machine caliber (mecha) Chamber and lands on ship called long abandoned planet of Earth. While still unconscious he is picked up by the salvagers from the Gargantia Fleet. Shortly after he awakes, he meets the other main character, Amy, and their story begins. The main issue with the story is that suffers from a sort of identity crisis. The series can never really decide whether it wants to be an action, sci-fi series, or a romantic, slice of life series. In the beginning the action was only contributing to the story, but by the end it was guiding it. The series doesn’t do a great job of mixing the genres, and it makes the series feel a little off. For example, at the very beginning of the series you are thrown straight into a massive action sequence, followed by a smaller but still fast paced action sequence, and lots of character interaction. The first few episodes work in a similar way. They give some information about the characters, and life on Earth then mix in some short action scenes. There are also a few episodes in the middle where there is little to no action, and a lot of character interaction. And there are also some episodes, near the end that are very action driven. This not only causes the tone of the show to change, it also shifts the tone of the individual episodes, and it just doesn’t feel right. The problem isn’t the action or slice of life elements themselves, because individually they are both well done. It’s the weird mixture of the two that doesn’t work. I really wish that the action took a back seat to slice of life elements because that was when the show was the most interesting. The main characters have literally grown up worlds apart, and they are both slowly learning the way each other’s society’s work. Through character interactions Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet compares and contrasts different philosophies and worldviews, from having to adapt to other societies needs and ideologies, to the value of human life. That was the most unique and interesting thing that happened in the entire story. The story does throw in a major plot twist in the second half that actually surprised me, but it was ruined by one of the most predictable and cliché endings I’ve seen in a while. The series would’ve been a lot better if it had focused more on one specific genre. I personally think this would’ve a really good slice of life anime, and it also would’ve been better off, and felt much more consistent, if it was more action focused. Animation: The animation in this series is really well done. The characters are well defined and the backgrounds are also well done. The series uses a lot of bright and vibrant colors that help it to feel inviting and warm. The actions scenes are also well animated, and entertaining to watch. Sound: The sound in Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is very well done. The music fits the atmosphere and tone of the scenes that they are used in really well. A lot of the songs that are used feel epic and grand, and would be entertaining to listen to all by themselves. The soundtrack is complimented by a solid opening and ending, that while not amazing, are still both really good. Characters: The characters in this series are likeable, but nothing special. The only character that gets a good amount of background information and development is Ledo. We get to see how this stoic child soldier adapts from a life run by his commanding officer, to life on Earth. He, as a main character, is given a lot of time on screen to establish his motivations and give his character development. Amy, the other main character in this series, is the only character that is given anywhere near as much time on screen as Ledo. And unfortunately we aren’t given much information about her, and she doesn’t get much development. We do get her opinions on the issues that are discussed in the series, but they are pretty the same opinions that most people on the Gargantia would have. We also don’t get much information or development from the wide cast of side characters. Enjoyment: When I was watching this series there were times where I couldn’t wait to get to the next episode, and other times where I wished that the episode would just hurry up and end. The inconsistent tone of this series really effected how much I enjoyed the series. Verdict & Breakdown: Story: 3.1/5 Animation: 4.2/5 Sound: 4/5 Characters: 3/5 Enjoyment: 3.2/5 Verdict: 3.5/5 Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is not a bad anime. Overall it’s actually pretty good, it just could’ve been so much better.

"One who abandons thought and decision making deviates from the core definition of being human." - Chamber Existentialism is a common topic in media. It's explored to great extent in some deeply philosophical shows, and more shallowly in others. Seldomly, however, does a show experience a massive paradigm shift in tone and with such a revelatory moment as in Gargantia, and make it flow almost effortlessly into the narrative. While that makes Gargantia sound really heavy- it does double duty as a nice little Slice of Life and a twisting drama in terms of narrative. Artwork and Animation: 8 Production IG delivers a great looking product in Gargantia. Very vibrantly colored with lots of blues (since it's set on the endless oceans) contrasting well with the rusty reds of the ships, and interesting character designs, with their choice of dress. A lot of the Gargantian dress is very American Indian inspired, while the Galactic Alliance draws influence from sci-fi military wear. I enjoyed the vibrant setting of Gargantia: as stated above, Gargantia sports a lot of great coloration and some unique setpieces, given that it's set entirely on the ocean. Sea creatures, lighting effects, and the overall post-apocalyptic feel with the rusty, aged looking cobbled together fleet- their technology, with the general look of retro futurism, is also rather cool to see. As with anything Production IG does nowadays, there's the inclusion of 3D CGI, and in Gargantia it does look good. They have improved on their mecha work from Guilty Crown, and I have to say, their movements never drew my ire as most 3D does. Realistic detail touches like the sky being dense with stars at night are cool to see in use here, since the Earth has no lights on it to pollute the atmosphere. The character movements are fluid as ever- IG does excel in making their characters move like real people. Story, Characters: 8, 7 I don't want to say too much, since the late season twist is what solidified this show as a good watch for me, but, I do want to talk about the aforementioned existentialist conflict that's set up in the show. Ledo is but a single worker ant in the spacefaring, far future colony of humanity. Due to reasons that would be spoilertastic to explain, humanity had long before abandoned the Earth to make their way in space, and were eventually able to thrive, but only through an intensely regimented life devoid of any concept we recognize of living. The humans are pressed into military service from a young age, and like lab rats, any with genetic disabilities or illnesses are culled. There is no concept of family or friends, there is no currency system- everyone is rationed their minimum allotted amount of clothing, food, and shelter, and nothing more. The only escape from this laborious existence is after X years of military service, they're allowed to vacation for a month on Avalon: a manmade planet-sized space station that travels through space. The Galactic Alliance of humans, far removed from any internal squabbles they may once have had, is run like a fascist/authoritarian dictatorship. Orders are handed down from above and are to be carried out immediately, without question, or the offending soldier would be immediately removed from service, if not killed on the spot. People are merely cogs in a machine, easily interchangeable with another if they fail to perform their duties to the utmost degree. Ledo, who, during a battle with humanity's spacefaring enemy, the Hideauze (pr. He-day-owz) gets separated from his fleet during a strategic withdrawal through a wormhole creator (not unlike the Mass Relays from the Mass Effect series) is launched through time and space, and ends up on a foreign planet, of which there is no record in his Machine Caliber (a humanoid shaped robot with an advanced AI technology known as Chamber inside). This planet is known as Earth. Earth is now completely covered in water for reasons I cannot disclose here, and humanity survives on enormous city-sized fleets of cobbled together ships resurrected from the ocean floor- the largest of these known as Gargantia. The humans aboard this ragtag group of ships live a very communal, easygoing life, starkly juxtaposed to the rigid order and structure of the GA military. On Earth, Ledo is met with a mix of awe and suspicion from the denizens of Gargantia, who are loath to allow him into their society, but begrudgingly accept him for the usefulness of his animated mechanized machine. Ledo meets a young girl named Amy, who takes an interest in him, and serves as his guide in this alien environment, and go between for him and the commanders of Gargantia. This sets up the discovery, mutual learning and slice of life moments between Ledo, Amy, and the crew of Gargantia. It's done so that the audience, through the eyes of Ledo, learns much about the history of the Earth, and its now-inhabitants, and at the same time revealing through Ledo what it really means to live a life. Enjoyment: 8 The foreshadowed moment late in the season totally changes the dynamic of the show, from what was a very cute and easygoing Slice of Life to a darkly consequential drama, like an astonishing kick to the head wake up call. I would put this moment in the neighborhood of the twist of Fight Club or The Sixth Sense- a slow buildup to an unsuspecting mindblowing moment. Another interesting philosophical point brought up is the dogma of the Alliance, vs the mentality of the Gargantians. Per the Alliance, the weak in society exist solely to support and provide for the strong, who in turn protect the weak in a sort of twisted symbiosis- this is countered in the Gargantian view of a supportive familial type structure, where everyone has something to offer that's not a binary "weak/strong" dynamic. One could call this the idea of socialism or even communistic, but those aren't really the purpose behind it. The disparity between the societies presented in the show creates an interesting dynamic that's explored through the conflict- and one that was a lot of fun to watch unfold and unravel. As a product of Gen Urobuchi, one would expect twists and turns, but this was definitely one I enjoyed a lot. Overall: 8 Gargantia was a big surprise for me. It started slowly, and it was an interesting concept- the "alien meets earth", but with a twist. A nice commentary on the human condition, as well- with the inversely analogous perspectives on the purpose of life from the Gargantians and the Galactic Alliance. "According to the GA philosophy, happiness is the realization of circumstance in which the individual's service unto the entire group makes the cost benefit ratio most efficient. Therefore, happiness is commensurate with a degree of command stability" -Striker

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is a bittersweet show. The world it sets up and the different ideas thrown in are fantastic, but the characters and plot are pretty uninteresting and the anime takes a while before it finally gets to a place where you actually care to watch the story progress. Gargantia is not a bad anime though, just very shallow in depth and lackluster in execution. Ledo is the pilot of a giant robot. He comes from a utopian world in space where he was conscripted to fight against the Hideauze, giant squid creatures that fly around wreaking havoc. During a battle he gets sucked into a black hole and taken to what had once been Earth, a planet now completely covered in water that is home to floating cities built on fleets of battleships linked together. The one he ends up on is called Gargantia. He finds himself learning a new language, meeting new people, enjoying new customs, and eventually learning a devastating secret about the Hideauze. The first half of the series is slow, plodding, uninteresting, and just plain boring. It’s pretty enough and I love the idea of the giant fleets of ships being like a floating continent, but its otherwise nothing special. The characters are all boring, even Ledo. There’s a focus on a female protagonist, Amy, who is just…annoying. Her character is nonexistent and all she seems to be good for is wearing very little clothes. In fact, most of the women in this show wear very little clothes. I can understand that it’s hot but the fan service is too bountiful with this harvest. Especially on the festival episode which forces us to watch Amy and her friends dance like gypsies. And this festival comes right after another festival. And then there’s an episode where everyone sits around eating barbecue and gives the female characters an excuse to wear skimpy bikinis. And that’s the biggest problem with the show is this middle slump of uninspired fan service, boring dialogue, very little character development, and no plot development. A show like this with the very serious tone of the ending could maintain that seriousness throughout and be an especially good anime with an emphasis on perhaps the politics of maintaining the fleet or dealing with more pirates or other fleets of humans. Instead it’s exactly what you’d expect from a lazy show; failed attempts at humor, unneeded and out of place fan service, and nary a reason to exist to be found. And you can argue that these episodes develop the “romance” between Ledo and Amy. But it’s all thinly veiled, generically played out, and uninteresting. As you can probably tell by a lot of my reviews, I want the romance to happen. I love romance in anything because that’s just how I am. It develops characters, it makes the story more relatable, and it leaves you with a good feeling in the end when everything comes out right. But Gargantia’s “romance” is as thin as they come and inconsequential either way. The end plays up Ledo’s devotion to Amy, but it just as well could be the fact he likes Gargantia and the people there just as much as Amy. Even if the ending does show them walking together it really doesn’t establish anything, and even if they kissed it wouldn’t exactly be heartwarming because their characters were never developed enough nor given enough time to gel for it to really work. It’s all forced. Gen the Butcher wrote this so you’d expect a lot more depressing and unhappy philosophy, and you get that toward the end. It does take a mild turn for the worse and a few strange things happen but overall, it’s fairly tame. As I said, toward the end the story picks up and gets good but not because of the characters. It’s all because of the world that is created. Revealing the truth behind the Hideauze, the fact that the people living on the fleets are scavenging stuff from the sea floor to learn more about old humanity, a fleet of people revering a robot as a god. It’s all really compelling ideas that are there but everything else happening plot-wise isn’t exciting. There was never one suspenseful moment in the show because I just didn’t care. Maybe with a longer series I would have grown to love this show a lot more than I do. With better character development and better plots that gave me a reason to relate to Ledo, a reason to care for the romance with Amy, a reason to want to see Gargantia win its battles, I might have cared more for the series. But as it stands, it’s super shallow with very little in regards to characters, development, or plot. The end has its moments but it ultimately is nothing memorable And I hate to say that because I love the ideas behind the series so much! But in the end, it’s just a slightly above average adventure that may not even be worth taking.

Nothing's better than a series you start watching without any particular expectations that turn out to be an outstanding piece of art, pulling your heartstrings with wonderful artistry, music and captivating story. The series' relatively low rating surprised me at first but I may know what's the reason behind it. Suisei no Gargantia is more eclectic genre and theme-wise than most mecha anime, adding social and ethnological layers to the setting and interspersing the story with hard sf elements (especially the intellectual evolution of Chamber AI comes to mind as an example). The key features of the series are the "stranger in a strange land" element of cultural adaptation, the main character's inner evolution and the theme of utilitarian utopia represented by Gargantia. Therefore, SnG demands some flexibility from the audience it is addressed to. Wonderful music, great pacing and coherent story is what makes this series extraordinary. Some may criticize those few mild fan-service moments in this - rather serious - sf tale, but it just made it more varied and enjoyable in my book.

This is my first review ever, but I loved this title very much so I think it‘s worth it. I really, really liked Suisei no Gargantia, everything about it. Loved the story, the art, sound and even the characters. I think SnG (for short) has everything, I mean, I‘m a hard person but I felt very happy with the ending, it had moments where it made me laughed a lot and got angry (lol) and even wanted to cry. The only thing I was kinda upset was the few episodes it had, I think the story was worth more episodes, and the ending (I repeat, I liked it) was sort of under pressure, it was hasty, but either way, I did enjoy it. It‘s a shame this was aired with SnK, I don‘t hear about Gargantia but about SnK... a lot; it‘s like in its shadow. SnG is undervalued.

In my short time watching anime, I've found but one anime with a mech component that amazed me, while keeping all other components in check. The reason being they've never fulfilled my expectations. The stories have been simple and only vaguely interesting. The characters never really had great character development. And the action that every mech is bound to come with never reaches expectations. Now what does Suisei no Gargantia bring to the table other mechs don't? Well allow me to give my opinions on this subject. Let's start with the story, the basis of any anime. Ledo is a young man who finds himself in a ship fleet, called Gargantia, after falling into a black hole of some sort during a battle against space-squids called the Hideaazu. (And no, this is not a hentai, don't let the artist fool you) After a chain of events triggered by his awakening, Ledo begins to try and understand the societal structure of Gargantia. In this process, the author ignored nothing in detailing how Ledo goes about this. From learning the native language, to getting used to local cuisine, and even to how the inhabitants obtain fresh water, no rock was left unturned. Now, before you go thinking I'm saying the story is perfect, it's not. Allow me to work backwards first, as that's where a the biggest flaw in the story actually lies. I found that the story lacked in its explaining how people survived on Earth for so long. In the end, it was said one faction of mankind abandoned the Earth because the sun was about to give out. That said, A) How did people who stayed on Earth survive the sun's destruction, and B) Why is there a sun now? On this one point, they neglect to explain it very well and leave it open to interpretation. Now, back to the beginning of the story. After the first few episodes, the story progresses very slowly in the beginning and makes you wait. A lot. This got on my nerves quite a bit, especially since I know the author's better works and I grew very anxious waiting for the story to actually kick in. Which brings me to the late-story. As I said, I know the author, so I often tried to make predictions of what to expect from the story with friends. However, neither I nor my friends could predict the turn the story took in the latter half of the show. From there, I didn't really know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised and for the first time in a while, I didn't even try to predict what was going to happen in the next episodes. Needless to say, I enjoyed what came next, but it didn't quite cover up that the earlier episodes were more or less unneeded. Now onto character development. In the beginning, Ledo is a emotionless, unwavering soldier with a giant, futuristic robot that can talk. Yep, this is a mech anime. Ledo usually relies on Amy, a resident of Gargantia who serves as somewhat of a delivery girl, to teach him the ways of the fleet which are almost polar opposites compared to where he lived. Ledo's assimilation is slow and not without blunders, both comical and serious. However, he changes quite considerably from Alliance soldier to Gargantian resident. His mech, Chamber, however, isn't so quick to change. In fact, up until the end of the series, he remains a static character and even hinders Ledo in his assimilation. Notice, I said, "Up until the end". The fact that an AI in a show changes at all is interesting, but this was a complete 180 in terms of personality. As for other characters... Meh, not a whole lot to say. For a twelve episode series, the other characters received about as much development as possible. And finally the action component. What so great, you may ask. Here's my response. In every other mech anime, aside from a select few, the battles have never met my expectations. It just like watching people fight, except they occasionally have rockets and 12 different machine guns. So what? There isn't really a lot there that humans couldn't do. We can run, we can shoot guns, we can kick, etc. After that, what is there really, in most mech anime, that robots have. Here, in later Suisei, we have flying fighting robots. Okay? So? They have lasers. *Yawn* Alright, here, watch this. The futuristic mechs in Suisei fights are created in ways that I've witnessed in only a few other anime. The art, sound, and animation all flow in perfect harmony to make the battle scenes absolutely amazing. That's something I feel I've seen very few times in mech anime and something that should be a standard for the genre. I'm going to touch on art and sound only briefly because I feel I've addressed them pretty well in just the last paragraph. The art is easily the best aspect of the show and probably the biggest contributor to the amazing battle scenes. Battle scenes aside, character art and scenery a detailed down to the last spec of light reflected off the ocean's surface. Sound, however, would be the least impressive aspect of the show. Don't get me wrong, it's still good. The soundtrack compliments situations nicely, special effects are well done, but there are many other shows that do it a lot better. Overall, Suisei no Gargantia is a very good take on a futuristic genre and it's easy to see why it's spoken of highly. I would certainly encourage anyone to watch it, and I myself would watch it again.

Suisei no Gargantia... I came into this anime with one red flag waving, Gen Urobuchi. (or Gen Urobuch-er as my friends tend to call him) Honest to god I came in thinking, "yup hes gonna die, and him, oh and that one too." That's just what we tend to see from him. And its fine, I have no problem with it, that's his style and he writes masterpieces, like Fate/ Zero, with it. Its just, every-single time I saw something potentially powerful, I thought to myself "thats the murder weapon." And in a way that style is still present, but I am shocked to say that it was in a much more subtle way. Without getting into too many spoilers I will say this is the lighter side of Uro. The story is a pretty basic "outsider adapting to society" plot, with a bit of a mech and pirate twist. It did seem at times the author bit off more than he could chew and that everything wouldnt be solved or that so many questions would have been left up in the air my brain would start nagging me while I try to sleep. I dont like that. Thankfully, there was a pretty dam good wrap-up of what needed to be answer with the right amount of space for a sequel if necessary, though I think its fine the way it ended. There really isnt much to say about the animation, it was just beautiful, with emphasis on how fluid the battle scenes were. I was constantly left with chills after every explosion and even though I did say it was the "lighter side of Uro," thats like saying the lightest whale or the least rabid mongoose, there was plenty of action to get the blood boiling. The character development was nice too. You got to see how "space boy", as they called him, began adapting to life and how he came to realize the faults of his methodologies. The sound was top notch, bar none. I thought the sound track fit the scenarios very well. In terms of enjoyment, it is something to be enjoyed. The story was unexpectedly light hearted, yet at the same time captivating. The fight scenes from the beginning phrase that started the conflict to end "farewell" statement (those who've seen it know what I mean) are the literal meaning of the word epic. Some people may not necessarily agree with me at all, but when I talked to other people they said that they would have enjoyed it tons more if they just wouldn't have had that, "this is written Gen Urobuchi" mindset. I recommend it

I saw this on Netflix, being one of the few anime series on Netflix and decided to watch it. My first impression was that the deep space animation of the battles with the mechas was inferior to that of Knights Of Sidonia which was quite similar but also superior to this anime. After seeing the opening scenes I felt that I would give up after 1 maybe 2 episodes but after Ledo finds himself on earth the show picks up! I was quite a fan of the animation and liked the designs of the character and Chamber who I thought looked very cool. The story develops as it goes along giving the reasons for the existence of the hidiaazu's which leads to Ledo questioning his reasons for being a soldier. I do admit there were some parts where the story was infact quite weak such as how Ledo does nothing for half the show but sit there and sulk about having nothing to do (also how Striker acts on its own to fight Ledo and Chamber? I wasn't a fan of that) Also I wanted Ledo and Amy to kiss! To my dismay they did not. Overall a good anime to enjoy when you have nothing else to do during the holidays. (Ledo is also a cutie)

I once saw an edited comic picture of Gen Urobochi holding Mami Tomoe's head with a line "It's time for me to recognize as a healing-type writer!" and there's a kid on the floor shouting “No, Gen No!”... Well, considering the works Gen has written before, Saya no Uta, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate Zero and Psycho-pass. I guess you can't really blame them if that's their reaction Now if you are wondering if Gen Urobochi can really write a story like this. Suisei no Gargantia is the answer to it. There's a reason why Gen Urobochi is one the most popular writers right now. It’s because he knows all of negative things in this world (well if not, almost all) and that's the very reason why he can write great stories. Now what's the connection of this to healing-type stories? It’s because he knows how to correct all of these negative things. I'm writing this review to make Suisei no Gargantia receive the credits that it should deserved. It got a lot of messages, it got a lot of lessons and I think it’s time for Gen Urobochi to be known as one of the best story writers, not just because of his dark twisted plots but simply because he's great in telling a story. This is my first review and I'll try what I can so I won’t spoil the story as much as possible. Suisei no Gargantia starts off with space battle between Mechas and space living creatures they called Hideauze. So you'll get this feeling "What the hell is happening in here?” There's no background what is this war about. You got flying mechas with a lot of lasers, thousands of enemies that look like snails and octopus. Both sides are killing each other with all they have. The script even feels forced just to make the battle make sense. But all of these are part of the grand plot of this anime. You've got Silver Link, Xebec, JC Staff, Studio DEEN, Gainax, and Production I.G. With the biggest companies in anime collaborating in this series, you know what to expect. They'll give you the details of what is happening to the last drop. Vivid colours, detailed information + smooth animation. You can't ask for more. Had you ever seen how marvelous nature is? Burning sunset dyed with many shades of red, crystal ocean that clearly reflects the surface above it, Auroras dancing in the skies with its brilliants colours. Suisei no Gargantia represented all of it, right in front of your eyes. Add the ambiance of water then put a background music on it, when the story flows you'll find yourself inside the setting itself to the point you can feel the waves of the ocean as if you're in a ship. Ships? Oceans? Why are those things in here? After that what-the-hell-is-that-war-for, Ledo the male main character our story encountered a problem in entering the portal while they are trying to retreat and because of that he was warped in a completely different place with his Mecha, Machine Caliber K6821, Chamber (remember his name well). And their destination would be, Earth To those who we're able to watched Water World, a film from 1995, you'll see many similar things in here. The Earth had become a planet completely submerge in water. The people who remained in this planet now live in ships. Since resources are very limited, they help and support each other. With the biggest one at the center, ships are linked to each other forming a fleet, this is the Gargantia. Ledo and Chamber were saved by the people of this fleet. So we got a space kid who knows nothing except war, in a big ship where everyone treats each other as a family. This is where the story starts and it will begin from scratch. The language space people are using is entirely different from the language of the residents of Gargantia. And since they can't understand each other, hostility was the first answer that Ledo found so he can ensure his safety. In front of other people you know nothing of, who is showing resistance as well as you do. What is the right thing to do? If you have something to protect, and if you want to draw the line so others would respect what is important to you, what are the things that you can do and the things that you can't? Ledo only knows how to follow orders and execute them, at first he can't fit at all with all these new rules. And as he slowly learns their language and adjusts to this new environment, he questions the system of Gargantia because the only conclusion he can draw on how the people lives in this fleet is inefficient. This is one of the best parts of the series as Ledo experiences the things that he wasn't able to when he was in space. And by doing so he discovered something so important within himself that he had lost a long time ago. What it means to be a leader, governing all the people who appointed you in that position. How will you lead them so they can feel safe and keep the group going? There’s a limit to what a single person can do. As the story unfolds it will boil down to where it all began. Ledo discovers the very origin of their enemies, the Hideauze. And it’s is far way off to what he thought. The things that he has been doing in space, the reason why he is fighting, the things that he thought are right. Everything came crumbling. Now that everything has gone wrong, what is he going to do next? Can he still correct the things that he had done? And what will be the price of it if he wants to? The answer to all of these. Is in this series. A grand 10 out of 10 for story no question about it. A lot of things in here can be connected to our society. Music, I'll use comparative rating in here by basing the perfect score to the best I know (Kajiura Yuki, and Jun Maeda composed) and I'll give Gargantia 9 for their music. Animation, Chamber himself is drawn to the finest detail and the gigantic fleet of Gargantia has a very complex design. Just imagine a birds-eye-view overlooking a town while everything is moving. Suisei no Gargantia offers the best view points as you explore each section of the fleet with all the details on it. What more could you ask for if there’s a battle scene, a perfect 10 for the animation. Characters, once again I'll use comparative rating, it’s true that Suisei no Gargantia only has 13 episodes and compared to other anime exceeding hundreds of episodes it got very limited time for character developments but hey don't forget that Gen Urobochi is here. The characters struggles in finding the answer was so much, it’s enough to make their beliefs turn upside down when they found the truth. And once they have this new found answer, they’ll push through and pick a decision, and that decision is the right decision. For the characters of Suisei no Gargantia, 9 out of 10. Enjoyment, from Ledo's broken Nihongo, Chamber's all reasonable insulting comebacks, the peaceful days they spent in Gargantia, to the point that they might lose everything they have. Suisei no Gargantia will make you fully appreciate how great things would be if we are all just working together because it will show you how bad it could get if we are not. I'll rate it 10. Overall, I'll give 10 for Suisei no Gargantia. My first impression about the 1st half of episode 1 completely changes when I repeated it. I was trembling and nearly cried because now I know the reason why they are fighting. From creating something you knew nothing of, support that you receive while you are trying to build it and when you finally find something precious that you can protect, someone will trample it and this someone is a person similar who you used to be. The Legend of this Verdurous Planet is one of the best stories that I know. The series was aired in Japan from April 17 to June 30, 2013. For those who wasn't able to watch it yet. You don’t want to miss this series. I'm suggesting you follow the 3 episodes rule for the first three episodes, after that you can stop at any episode but once you got to episode 9, finish watching it up to the end. I'm highly recommending the translation works of UTW-Vivid. Thank you for readi…

Urobuchi Gen is without doubt an author that is known. That of course isn't for no reason. His preference to kill characters you like and let everyone go through incredible pain is spread quite wide by now. With Madoka Magika and Fate/Zero being his two best known works, that sure doesn't help him to get rid of this reputation. And along comes Suisei no Gargantia. A Mecha Anime written by the Urobucher himself. Story: The story is set in the far future, when mankind left earth due to climatic circumstances, that lead to the earth being completely covered with ice. Now humankind is battling flowerlike creatures called Hideauze in space, using mechas to extinct them. In one battle the young soldier Ledo gets sucked into a wormhole and gets to a planet completely covered with water, where people live on huge fleets, not knowing of others living in space and seeming to be pretty much left behind in techonology. The story itself is mostly about Ledo adapting to the way people live on the world that he now is in. This certainly is not a Urobuchi like show. While I did enjoy the story of it, it was not what I expected and it felt like everyone was just waiting for the dark plot twist to happen. The twist came and he was as good as expected but it didn't go into the dark direction after that either. This being said, it still is not a bad story, just surprising. In total the story stayed pretty long at the basic concept of adapting to a new life style, but when the pacing got faster, it got pretty good, but nothing mind blowing! The ending also wasn't quite satisfying as it was and it could've been executed better! 8/10 Characters: The chararcters are the things the show is mostly based on. With the plot moving forward really slow in the beginning, the characters are what carries the show on and that's what they do pretty good. Even later on when the show decides to speed up a lot, the characters still have a major role in bringing the plot forward. The characters are all rather lieable and almost none of the important onesd remain without depht. The only problem I have with this is that the love story we have in here feels a bit rushed. While I do like both characeters involved, it did feel kind of rushed. 9/10 Art: Production I.G. didn't leave us unsatisfied again! The animation of Gargantia was incredible! Everything was fluent (my favourite scene animationwise was the dancing scene :3) and the colors were pretty. The characters being designed by a hentai artist looked gorgeous! 10/10 Sound: The Soundtrack of Gargantia was pretty much decent. It mostly fit the scenes quite well and I don't have anything to complain, but it wasn't anything superb. The voice acting was ok as well, but still nothing too special. 7/10 Enjoyment: Even though most parts of this show were only Ledo adapting to a new lifestyle, the characters were what made it interesting. I found myself really enjoying this even though I was surpriserd to see this kind of story being handled by Urobuchi Gen. 8/10 All in all I think Gargantia is a show that can be liked by many, since it is something that has a lot of parts in it, ranging from Slice of Life on the fleet, to action filled battle scenes to some dramatic and darker moments. I like this but it isn't anything outstanding and while being handled quite well, it still has flaws! All in all a 8/10

It is very easy for young people, teenagers and young adults, to fall into despair. Treading the line between adulthood and childhood can lead to feelings of uselessness, a lack of motivation, insignificance, and an overall questioning of the role one plays in a suddenly larger, colder world. The warm safety of childhood is necessarily left behind, and the comforts of not making important choices fades away to reveal a somewhat terrifying truth: we are all responsible for our own destiny. Suisei no Gargantia seeks to address some of these problems, and to offer a vision of hope to young people who might feel that despair of growing older. And in this, I believe, lies it's greatest strength. It does not protect us from the realities of life: that people die, that sometimes we make the wrong choice, that perhaps our foundations are not correct or are not applicable to our current situation; but at the same time, it does not ask us, the audience, to wallow in a sea of loss. At the heart of the show is the main character. Ledo is a child soldier raised in a society that is involved in a war for survival. Some of Ledo's first words are explaining that he has no fear of death, and further that he has no desire for procreation or freedom. His entire existence is defined by his occupation, and his purpose in life is simply to advance the goals of his society. In a great many respects, Ledo represents both the machine and the child. He is a child in that he does not make his own choices, and does not question the authority and rightness of his "parents". He is a machine in that his every action and thought is defined by how it is useful to his people. As much as the mech he pilots, he is just another tool; himself being piloted by the doctrines of his upbringing and the orders of his superiors. As Ledo learns to make his own choices and begins defining himself outside of his occupation, we are presented with new themes. And it is in this that we run into what is, in my opinion, Gargantia's greatest flaw. It is not a terrible flaw, but the show suffers slightly from not fully exploring many of the themes that it brings up. It is understandable due to both it's length and it's target audience, but I still believe that there was some room for more involved exploration. However, as I said before, the flaw is minor and does not detract from the show in any meaningful way. Story: 9/10 The story is basic, but stellar. The characters are interesting, the overall plot intriguing, and the themes and symbolism are mature and well thought out. The pacing and dialogue were both excellent, both used to great effect. And more than anything, the payoffs were there. From the fast-paced beginning to the final scene, the story grabs you and doesn't let go. Some might see the middle of the show as dragging, but when taken as a whole, I believe those more character focused episodes were necessary to develop the relationships of our protagonist and also to give weight to later scenes where the story takes a darker, more brooding tone. Art: 10/10 This is where this anime really shines. I don't know if I can remember seeing such a bright, colorful anime. More than anything, the world looks "lived in". Too many science fiction stories have settings that are entirely sterile, where everything is too new, too shiny, too clean. Gargantia is rusty, with heaps of corrugated metal and twisting, winding avenues that run throughout it's length. It would be hard not to say that this show has some of the best artwork I've seen in a long time. Sound: 9/10 Nothing out of place. The VA's all did a very good job, and the music was fitting. Sound is easy to get right, but when it's wrong, it can ruin everything. Gargantia did it right. Character: 9/10 The character development was strong, but not perfect. Some of the side characters were slightly unexplored, but overall this was understandable, and no one really comes off as one-dimensional. Ledo and Chamber are both very interesting, very realistic characters; both of them get the 10/10. We feel for them, and most importantly, we can put ourselves in their shoes. I hesitate giving this a 9/10 instead of a perfect score, but feel that though the target audience was younger, there was still some room for more concise, and deeper characterization. Enjoyment: 10/10 Simply put: the show achieves it's purpose. It is supposed to be a coming-of-age story with an overall sense of healing, and is supposed to evoke a sense of fascination and wonder at the wide world a teenager or young adult will find themselves in. To this, it succeeds wonderfully. Enjoyment is a very personal factor, with no specific metric that can be appealed to, but I feel comfortable in saying that this show will be enjoyed by most who watch it. As long as you keep your expectations where they belong and your mind open, there is nothing that should drive anyone but the most cynical away. Overall: 9/10 I really want to give this the 10/10, and perhaps upon a second viewing I will change my score. As of now, I feel that calling it a masterpiece would be too much though. The show is amazing in so many ways, and definitely has moments where it shines brighter than a lot of more popular, more highly rated shows; but at the end of the day, it has it's flaws. They are minor, and do not necessarily detract anything from the show, and every one of them has justification; but still they exist. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. Watch it. Even if you don't enjoy it as much as I did, you will almost certainly not regret giving it a shot.

If it were possible to watch episodes 1-3ish, then episodes 9-finale, it would be a 7 or an 8. Some of Urobuchi's best work thematically. The problem is that he bailed out of the middle portions of the series, making it a real uneven mess that takes a turn away from the actual interesting part of the story to do some kinda vapid fanservicey stuff. Unfortunately you can't really skip over it because there needs to be character development to move the hero from the great opening to the great ending. Still worth a watch, just barrel through the middle.

First off, I really love the soundtrack. It’s just beautiful. There’s also two lines in the last episode that are really hilarious and honestly, this should get a point for each of those lines making it into a show. The art on this looks very polished in a kind of typical modern anime way. That being said, the art style itself is kind of bad. Faces look overly cartoony in a way that’s cringey to watch, the women’s clothing is frequently stupid (I guess all the guys can wear normal clothes, but the women all elect to wear ever more ridiculous versions of “bikini” and short shorts combinations by and large). And the mechs are just ugly. Because of how the mechs are designed, they’re rather static, so most of the time when you look at them, you’re staring at what’s clearly a 3D model on a 2D show that just doesn’t move beyond maybe the eyes flashing or when the mech kneels, and a battle during the climax. The big head (cockpit) combined with the floating gravity orb(?) thing is also just… strange-looking. The story itself is a bit of a mess, and about 2/3rds of the way through the series, everyone starts taking their stupid pills in large quantities. Pinion takes the spotlight and does some nonsensical stuff that’s just dumber than everything else he’s done, somehow. Other characters - basically anyone who isn’t Amy or Ledo - are static, and largely uninteresting. Ridget’s character arc seems to be… “Responsibility is hard, but oh yeah, I was trained for this. But it’s HARD, though! Mostly because I’m the one woman in charge in a fleet apparently chock full of entirely male commanders.” Which is just as gripping as you can imagine. Sure is fascinating that the series basically only uses women as eye candy, and the women in charge are so objectified it’s ridiculous. I took a break on this one and when I came back, the second shot was Ridget in her frilly lingerie, with her boobs taking up most of the foreground. Bellows wanders around in a tube top and short shorts, like Amy and her friends, and Lukkage and her girlfriends are wearing… whatever the heck it is they’re wearing. There is one female character who comes in during the climax who’s wearing a normal shirt, but she’s still almost comically running around in short shorts while working on an otherwise all-male crew of guys just wearing normal clothes. But, well, I didn’t have too high hopes for a series that practically starts with Ledo patting Amy’s ass in slow-mo after kidnapping her. Which is shortly followed by pirates attempting to sexually assault three of the other female cast members. And I almost forgot about where it’s revealed there’s a section of Gargantia which appears to be where the LGBTQAI+ folks live, and it’s “dangerous”, and it’s implied that Ledo gets sexually assaulted multiple times while passing through it, because I guess what this show really needed was a message about how terrible gay people are and how sexual assault of male characters is a “great” joke. It would be easier to ignore how objectified the women are if there were like… more of them. Crowd shots of crew are frequently all guys. During a funeral, when Ridget speaks to the crowd, Bellows is not only the only other named female cast member in the crowd shot, but she also appears to be the only female character in the shot, and all the people who speak up in support of Ridget are guys. Maybe this got explained and I just forgot, but what happens when they run out of like… metal to work with? You can’t just keep re-purposing stuff. It weakens. The ocean’s gonna run out of things to salvage, too. I’m guessing the hope is their greenhouses and gardens don’t ever die because their medicine stocks will be screwed, otherwise. And what do they make clothes out of? Is there some giant greenhouse somewhere providing enough product for food AND clothing AND paper? Do they have silkworms for Ridget’s lacy bra? Honestly I was just bored with this series after a while. I stopped caring about any of the characters pretty early on. The story itself was silly, but not enjoyably so. The art is functional but stylistically ugly and rather sexist. Part of the problem might be that I don’t tend to like post-apocalyptic narratives, but I was drawn to the at-a-glance-pretty art and nice music and sometimes decent Ledo angst. It’s not the worst mecha series I’ve watched (hello, “08th MS Team”), but it’s definitely not one I’d recommend, either. At least “Macross Frontier” had a decent story and characters and art amidst the boobs (and music too, but that’s beside the point). If you want a good mecha story… I mean “Macross Frontier” has a load of issues, but the series and the second film are pretty good, and they’ve got even better music than this. “Gankutsuou” actually has a mecha subplot that’s… well it’s not better than this, but that anime’s story is better so if you want a story with mechas and idiots and good art, pick that one. “Promare” is also stupid as all get out, but it’s way more enjoyable than this, and the art is way better.

While the term "more is better" is usually true, the statement is subjective at best. I never like an ending and all too often I want more of something I enjoy and I also want a perfect happy ending. That being said, I'm also an adult who understands that this does not always equal to good story telling. Suisei no Gargantia is a story that tries to juggle many things in a very short episode span. I find far too often that people judge anime that is shorter than 24 episodes far too harsh. I would have loved to see this anime last longer to hash out the characters more and enjoy more time with them, but I accept what I'm given and try my best to judge it accordingly. All of that being said, on to the review. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is like the game series Star Ocean decided to have a baby with the 1995 Kevin Costner film Waterworld and have it babysat by Gurren Lagann. The main character is from a star faring super advanced society currently in a war against an "alien" race. He finds himself stranded on a post ice-age water covered Earth that has a technology primitive to his own standards. What follows for the first half of the series is a slice of life tale of learning to adapt to the world he is now apart of. The second half is a lot more thought provoking and true to form has conflict that spurs a great deal of action and self evaluation. Many say that this anime does not identify itself well while others say it tries at too many things. I beg to differ because, guess what, life is complex. This story does a wonderful job at hitting on so many points that people need to pay attention to. - The main character hits home on the struggles of how a soldier tries to adjust to civilian life and how to overcome what it means to have purpose in a world where their skill set is not needed. - Bevel's character reminds us that everyone has purpose and value and that their role in society is no less important than anyone else. -Pinion shows us how futile the need for revenge is. As a total sum of its parts, the main story pushes topics like codependency, prejudice, self-betterment, and overall love for fellow man. This last topic in particular is mentioned several times over the course of the series and is something we all should strive to achieve. Our lives are made better by the pursuit of helping our fellow human beings. Overall, go in with an open mind and you will find yourself wondering why this anime is in the 1k list of anime. Enjoy!

Okay, this is my first review so please bear with me... So Suisei no Gargantia (SnG) was an interesting find. I found it while randomly surfing google for a mecha anime to watch because I was in the mood for giant robots. I found SnG and decided it might be interesting to watch. At 2am I started it, and I was up till 5 watching this show. The beginning of the show hooked me instantly because I have a thing for shows where the main character is thrown into an unfamiliar setting. I will say that the first three to four episodes were good. They showed promise for a great show, however the thrill of the beginning felt as though it died off as the show progressed. Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed the show as it went along, but the original wow factor it gave me sort of waned off. The ending could have been a little different, but I still enjoyed it regardless. Technically wise, things could have been done better. I felt the art work could have been cleaner. There were times I looked in the background and I was asking myself why that characters had a weird face. Character wise, I felt they were underdeveloped. I mean the OVA and Specials gave a little more depth, but considering it was only a 13 episode show, I guess character depth was not a major concern. Don't get me wrong, I felt Ledo was a decently developed dude, but people like Amy fell flat for me. I thought Pinion had more depth than she did. Sound was decent, I honestly didn't notice an amazing soundtrack or special sounds. Overall though, I did enjoy the show. I like stories like this where the main character is thrown into unfamiliar territory. My favorite part of the story was the fact they sort of show Ledo's progression into acclimating with society. He starts off knowing none of the language, but as the show progresses he moves onto broken sentences, and then ends on full conversations. All in all, I think it's an enjoyable show that you would probably like.

Gargantia is a sort of social sci-fi/ action series focusing on our male lead Ledo trying to integrate himself with the Earth fleet of Gargantia in a post-apocalyptic future after Ledo finds himself isolated from the militaristic space fleet he had been raised with to battle a seemingly alien threat. A good chunk of the series is focused around Ledo slowly mellowing out of the militaristic mentality he had been brought up on with the Galactic Empire as he comes to understand social concepts such as individual worth, understanding of others and moral ramifications in terms of how the instilled mentality he was brought up on would affect others. He does slowly change throughout the course of the series as he understands more of the language on Earth and begins understanding proper social interaction beyond the militarized mentality he had been brought up on, especially as these changes become tested in later episodes when confronted with some shocking realities over the supposed war he was fighting with the aliens. Beyond Ledo's character development, Gargantia also offers a surprising amount of world building and character exploration for a 13-episode series. The series explores the differing factions and governing structures existing within the world of its series that explore positive and negative social structures that exist among the factions and established governments seen throughout the series. In addition, a number of other side characters have their fleshing out and roles to fulfill as some have their own issues they are trying to overcome or serve to aid Ledo in dealing with integrating with the Gargantia fleet. The OVA bonus episodes released after the TV anime's run add some expansion on aspects to plot and characters within the series such as some back story on Ridget and how Ledo's commanding officer established the cult-like society seen in the second half of Gargantia. The only issues I have with the series as a whole are some subpar attempts at comedy during the anime's first half. Visually, Gargantia was easily one of 2013's better animated titles with large amounts of visual detail put into the designs of characters, scenery and mecha designs. CG animation is used rather frequently throughout the series in the rendering of mecha, the ships and the endless waters traveled by the crew of the Gargantia. The CG animation used for these is nicely rendered, but does stick out like a sore thumb compared to the regular animation. The series is nicely animated with fluid movement throughout its run with a variety of movement conveyed such as flying via gliders, swimming and aerial fighting as seen during the final battle in the series. Overall, Gargantia was a solid sci-fi/ action title that delved into Ledo's social integration with the Gargantia fleet and a surprising amount of focus on world building and side characters within its fairly short run time. This is a title definitely worth a look if you are looking for a sci-fi title that is a bit out of the ordinary with what it has to offer up.

Alright let's get to it. Gargantia as I called it, is far from the best series this season or this year and the only real reason anyone says it's such is mainly because of the ending. Give a series a great ending and all of a sudden that makes up for the rest. It's impossible for me to think that way. Gargantia certainly had a great beginning and a great ending but the bridge in between the two cliffs was pretty damn shaky. If anything the series was only good during it's first two episodes and it's last three episodes, everything in between those episodes can be summed up as "meh." The story of a soldier stuck on a foreign planet, attempting to coexist with the natives makes for an interesting premise. No doubt, this series had a lot of potential but it went downhill after the beginning but managed to make its way back up near the end. Suisei no Gargantia focuses on two major pieces, Ledo attempting to integrate into Gargantia society and the raging war between the Hideauze and the Galactic Alliance, whose battle originated on Earth. At first one would think we would actually see a lot going on between the Avalon (Galactic Alliance HQ) and the Hideauze but actually, they seem to be nothing more than set up or backdrop in how Ledo was shaped as a character and how he will integrate into the Gargantian lifestyle. So we can say that the Hideauze add to story but are not the most important piece to this series, what's important is how everyone will come together in a hippy-dippy friendship at the end. That's pretty much what this show is all about, getting involved with new people and forming friendships even with your former enemies. This show doesn't really deliver on character development and most of them make a lot of stupid decisions that just doesn't make sense and sometimes seem counter productive. Besides the first two episodes and the last three, Gargantia is pretty much filled with half naked, belly dancing girls in which one of them, the female lead Amy is infatuated with the main character Ledo. The series isn't short on fan service but it doesn't really throw it in your face (well except for the belly dancing and beach party episodes). Worst of all, Amy isn't really of much importance despite being the female lead and she could easily be forgotten but every episode, we're given a small reminder that she exist. The characters are incredible hypocrites for no apparent reason what so ever. In the beginning, they're worried about killing other people even if those people were attempting to kill them but in the last episode, the Gargantia is seen killing hundreds of people like it was an extermination. Ledo kills the Hideauze without a second thought but when he learns the truth, he all of sudden is shocked about what he has done but when you think about it, you wonder why does it even matter what the Hideauze truly are? All in all, this show isn't completely dead, the action is worth watching and Ledo's moments of inner conflict are interesting to see but the overall story seems to have taken an arrow to the knee. I recommend watching it as it seems a lot of people have taken great joy in watching this series but I am left unsatisfied with how things played out. I like the beginning and the ending but not much of what was in between. Most of the time, the shear shock value is what kept me watching which isn't a good thing btw.

Suisei no Gargantia, at first I assumed that this was going to be another common, standard anime that focuses on just nonstop battle of giant robots and snail aliens in space. To my surprise this proved to be the opposite. Story:6 Art:10 Sound:10 Character:7 Enjoyment:7 Overall:7 Story: The story of Suisei no Gargantia, even though it wasn't what I initially expected of a space giant robot themed anime, the story was still "Fair" at best due to it's lack of originality. The story lacked this because of how easy it was to predict the events that would occur based on the common plot line it follows. The beginning has its own arc and then the story progresses into a more slice of life, romance, themed anime. With the time spent on the character development of Ledo (the main character), who is forced to adapt to a society that is completely different than the one he grew up in. During this lapse of a main plot goal, the story focuses on Ledo's reintegration into a new society while bringing up the problems Ledo has with his past. When the story begins to move again, as I said before, the outcomes were very predictable, but that doesn't mean the Anime was bad. The way the producers went about bringing the resolution was a little different. The ending wasn't amazing, but it left a somewhat satisfied feeling. Art and Sound: I've never had to complain about the art and sound of an anime before, and the art in Suisei no Gargantia, being from the year 2013, was very good. The flow of the pictures whether during action or the slice of life moments, was exceptional. That's the main thing I look for in the Art, the quality of the drawings, and the flow the pictures have. The fan service that was included was put in there nicely. It didn't have a major role, but was like a mint on your pillow. The sound was beautiful. The OP and ED were very nicely done, and the OST during the anime accompanied the mood of the moment well. To very few anime that I watch can I say, "I need to download this" and Suisei no Gargantia has a few tracks that I do want to put into my phone so I can listen later. Characters: The character development was mainly focused on the two dramatic characters of Chamber and Ledo. While Chamber's development surprised me a little bit because not only was Ledo was affected by the kindness and different atmosphere of Gargantia's population, but Chamber, an artificial intelligence, was as well. Ledo's personality change was mainly seen in his goals. As he went through a lack of purpose without the military and the Hideauze to fight, he found another meaning for life, and reasons to protect a society that is different from the one he knew. Enjoyment: I enjoyed this series mainly because of the characters, the plot didn't interest me too much. If you like anime such as, Asu no Yoichi, Hataraku Maou-Sama!, Oreigaru, or Princess Lover! they all have that kind of feeling of when the main character is suddenly thrust into a new society that forces them to adapt and change for the better. Although comedy wasn't a main focus in SNG, one can certainly find it through the interactions between the main characters and the society. Thanks for reading, -Nebarto

The reason I use the term "90%" whenever I talk badly about animu is that it's well deserved. Atleast; with adult anime, you can try to enjoy the sex. Here's the reason why 90% of anime FAIL. HARD. Along with the reasons why "Gar on the Green Planet" DOESN'T: * The story's gotta be well-written, fun, progressive, edge-of-ya-seat, and smart. Why is A here? What does B do in C situation? This show does well for a story about, pardon my English, "a Space Nazi being stranded on Waterworld and trying to adjust to the culture of Shipfreighters." * You're not here to laugh at the characters' pain or struggle. You want to watch them achieve, grow, learn, and get along with each other. I personally like that ideological clash between Red (who spent all his life fighting dangerous space squids) and the people on Earth (who spend all their lives at the side of holy squids). I also like Red because doesn't whine like a little punk (like every other animu male lead out there). * Expectations & G375. (Quoting Muneakira of "Samurai Sluts,") LIKE I SA~I~D!! [AMERICA IS NOT JAPAN!!] People came in and thought this is gonna be either mecha show or a "slice of life" animu. Like we can't have both. Crap like Infinite Stratos focused too much on being a "harem animu with a useless self-insert male lead" and messed up instantly. This show, on the other hand, had some brains behind it and knew what it was doing. My hope is that it'll get a proper boat ride towards a US localization; English dubbing and all. It's a shame that it's being overshadowed by "Attack On Titans" and such.