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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Tuesday, 25 September 2007 17:00 |
 A young boy pairs up with a young girl who gives him awesome fighting power, and begins a quest to help her reach her legendary homeland. I’m sure I’ve heard something along those lines before. Sky pirate Cou’s the boy in question this time around, and he’s about to find that protecting cute young girls isn’t always easy...
1 - The Song of the Sky and Wind
The Red Lynx are a group of sky pirates, stealing what they can from other ships of the skies. Cou is one of their members - a junior one, to be sure, but he doesn't see it that way and clearly thinks he's God's gift to piracy. Unfortunately, all he gets for his bravado is endless grief & ridicule from his shipmates. A routine raid on a nobleman's ship changes Cou's luck, though - the haul includes a casket, containing a young girl - an Edel Raid, a member of a race of humanoids who can grant special combat power to those they pair off with. Her name's Ren, and she really doesn't like humans - which is a shame, as there are plenty of humans who seem to want their hands on her. When it looks as though Ren is going to be recaptured, she puts her hatred to one side, and grants her power to Cou...
2 - A Fateful React
Having sensed something unusual about Cou, and being in danger, Ren opts to lend him her powers - a process called Reacting, and the result for Cou is seeing his girl transform into a huge sword. Just what he needs to see off the wave of assailants that have boarded the ship. With the battle over, Ren returns to her normal form - but a last-gasp flyby by a grappling ship sees her captured. Cou's not about to let her be taken so easily, of course, and heads off in pursuit...
3 - Betrayal and Confusion
Having noticed that something seems to be bothering Ren, Cou goes to her room to try and find out what the problem is - to find the room's window lying open, and Ren missing. Unaware of what's happened to her, but believing she's been kidnapped, he begins to panic, and to wonder how he's going to get her back. He's right that she's been kidnapped - the family they were staying with had notified the local lord, Beazon, that they were in town, and it's Beazon who now has Ren. Having at least some idea now of where Ren might be being held, Cou once again heads off to get her back...
4 - Elemental Gelade of Light and Darkness
Ren's suggestion to React with Beazon turns out to have been a trick - she instead releases a blinding flash of light, giving Cou and Cisqua a chance to escape with her. Good plan in theory - wandering into a room full of wolf-like monsters kinda spoils it. Having learnt his lesson about taking Ren and her powers for granted, Cou decides he wants to defeat the monsters without her's help, but soon finds he may not be up to the task. Meanwhile, Beazon's artificial Edel Raid, Parl, is beginning to realise that her love for her master is thoroughly one-sided...
5 - The Teardrop from That Day
With Beazon defeated, Cou and his party continue on their journey. A fork in the road seems them separate, searching for the right path, with Rowen and Kuea taking one road, and Cisqua travelling with Cou and Ren. Along the way, Cisqua tries to convince them that Edel Gardens is just a legend, a place that doesn't exist, but Cou's not prepared to listen to her - he's just determined to do what he can for Ren. While they're arguing, a group of local bandits attacks - led by an old friend of Cou's, Rig, who had left the Red Lynx after an argument with the group's leader. Seems Rig's working for the enemy, though, as he's Reacted with two Sting Raids - and their orders are to retrieve Ren, and kill Cou...
First, a little terminology. Edel Raids may look human, but they’re not, entirely – they’re set apart by a powerful stone that each bears, an Elemental Gelade, that gives them the ability to React with a human partner to create a powerful fighting combination. That ability makes them extremely valuable to humans, with most of them being treated as little more than slaves. There are also Sting Raids, humans who have had artificial Gelades implanted that grant them similar power – but at a high risk to their own safety. An Edel Rain can only React with one person – once they’re bonded, they can’t React with anyone else until their partner dies. That little point will become significant for Cou, as our Ren’s a particularly powerful Edel Raid, and that means there are a lot of people after her - any if they want to use her power, they'll need Cou out of the way. Permanently.
Elemental Gelade starts off much like 1,001 other fantasy / fighting shows have started over the years. The premise is simple – boy meets girl, thinks she’s cute, and promises to protect her & help her reach home. In Ren’s case, that’s the legendary Edel Gardens, where Edel Raids can live in peace without being used and abused by humans – and being legendary, she of course doesn’t have a clue on how to get there, which means Cou finds himself on a difficult quest to find it.
Cou’s very much the typical teenager – it’s his hormones that first encourage him to become involved in Ren’s life, and that land him in no end of trouble along the way, as he just doesn’t know when to back off or when to keep his mouth shut. His quest would probably be a whole lot easier if he’d just learn those two little skills. Ren remains an enigma – she hates humans, in general (not surprising given how Edel Raids are usually treated), but there’s something about Cou that she finds unusual, and that prompts her to React with him when she finds herself in danger of capture. She makes a good fighting companion, but otherwise tends to be very quiet and reserved, so you don’t get the feeling that there’s any real personality there yet – she’s just bland, boring, and there.
Edel Gardens may be a legendary place of safety for Edel Raids, but there’s also a real place of safety – Arc Aile, home to the Edel Raid Complete Protection Agency, who aim to keep Edel Raids safe from the humans who would otherwise exploit them. After Ren is awakened, it’s not long before the diminutive Cisqua, and her sidekicks Rowen and his Edel Raid partner Kuea, arrive to bring Ren there – apparently whether she likes it or not. Cisqua has one hell of a temper on her, and a neat line in heavy weaponry to back her up – she’ll always ask nicely for what she wants, but it would seem that saying “no” to her can be very bad for your health. Rowen does his best to keep his commander’s temper in check, but he’s not helped by Kuea, who’s often itching for a fight (especially when she’s hungry, which is pretty much always). Events conspire to prevent Cisqua & co from bringing Ren back to Arc Aile, and they soon find themselves tagging along with Cou and Ren as they search for Edel Gardens. With that, the stage is set for the rest of the series and the show can get down to business.
Elemental Gelade’s biggest problem is that there’s absolutely nothing here that hasn’t been done before, and it’s presented in a way that doesn’t take any chances with the formula or give anyone a chance to stand out. Some shows can make a common idea enjoyable through good execution – this series doesn’t even really manage that.
The characters aren’t the greatest, either. Cisqua’s easily the best of the bunch and is very enjoyable to watch, but the rest of the lead cast are just bland rehashings of stereotypes that have been used countless times before. In the five episodes on this disc, there was nothing done with any of them that would lead me to think they’re going to break out of their moulds, either, and that doesn’t really encourage me. The story also follows a common quest / fight format that neither inspires nor entertains all that much – it’s much in the same mould as shows like Star Ocean EX, and very little of what you see will stick in your mind for long after you’ve finished watching – with the possible exception of the opening theme, which is probably the best part of the show.
Elemental Gelade is neither stunningly good nor stunningly bad – it’s just mediocre, in idea, presentation and characterisations, and most of the storylines on show you’ll have seen many times before. There are no real surprises, and the core cast are mostly just “there”. I think in some ways that’s the worst fate a show can suffer – at least if it’s truly bad, you can poke fun at it, but with Elemental Gelade you can’t even do that. Not a series I could recommend.
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