TheDeedsOfMen

A gate to a medieval fantasy land opens up in Japan, and this can only mean one thing: sword-wielding troops get mowed down by the glorious Japanese military in their attack copters with Wagner playing. And I mean that in-universe; the soldiers are literally playing a CD of Wagner in their copters. Why, you ask? Because Japan needs more technology and minerals and such because nationalism says so. Oh, and some humanitarian reasons, but those aren't as important. The plot kicks off when out of nowhere a gate appears and from it come a bunch of orcs and medieval troops that indiscriminately kill civilians, wreck theplace and interrupt the otaku event the protagonist was planning to visit. As so it happens, the protagonist is not only an otaku but also a member of the SDF (Japanese military), and once the initial attack has been dealt with, he joins the force sent through the gate. This fantasy land is declared a part of Japan, named the Special Region, because why not? (Nice name, by the way; that's what I'd call a fantasy land too if I ever occupied one.) The Japanese constitution forbids (at the moment, anyway) deploying the SDF abroad, but I guess that's one way around it: just annex territory arbitrarily and suddenly it's all Japanese soil. Some fighting ensues, but no worries: their enemies are so outgunned they might as well be throwing rocks at them. Aside from the technology gap, these feudal lords also come from the Zapp Brannigan school of tactics with plans like: 1. Suicidal charge, 2. Suicidal charge, and 3. Suicidal charge under the cover of night (worth a shot, I guess?) Actually, that was kind of the idea behind the original invasion into Japan: go to an unknown land without any intel or recon and slaughter everything for fun and profit. ...Yeah. Soon enough our merry band can venture further into this land while talking about their waifus and singing magical girl theme songs, eager to meet the local catgirls. In the process they recruit mages, elves and goth lolis. The writers thought the SDF wasn't overpowered enough, so the goth loli happens to be an invincible demigod priestess who effortlessly crushes everything in her path. The tone of the show is what you might expect, with slaughter and fanservice taking turns. What is a hot bath scene without people's arms flying off afterwards? There is also a cultural clash going on, which is used for dialogue like: "I had no idea our world had [insert everyday thing here]." "Princess, this is another world!" "Oh, right!" Repeat it a few times and you have comedy gold. Some of the cultural misunderstandings actually make sense, such as the different interests of a feudal society and a modern country, the treatment of prisoners or the idea of throwing a half-naked woman at the protagonist to earn his favor. Actually, the last one just might have worked if he hadn't been distracted by all the animal girl maids already. And who can blame him for being distracted? Barely dressed girls keep throwing themselves at him out of coincidence or because he's just that awesome. If it isn't obvious by now, the operation beyond the Gate is a one-country effort. Sharing resources with others? Don't be ridiculous. The US, Russia and China (the rest of the world doesn't exist) don't deserve their slice of the cake. Especially America. "A sky with no civilian or US planes in it is a dream come true" for Japanese fighters. Of course, this is all run by the SDF. Civilian personnel? Media presence? Dream on. All we need is the SDF. Who else would defend Japanese interests? The Japanese government is corrupt and easily swayed. The parliament is a bunch of idiots who want to mess with the SDF's business for no reason. How dare they ask questions about civilian casualties under a media blackout? Eventually there is an entire town for the locals, with shops and everything. Would now be a time to bring in civilians? No, that could get in the way of the runaway militarism we have going on. To maintain order, some of the locals are actually given armbands with "Military Police" on them. The visuals include machine guns, missiles, tanks, artillery, copters and fighters, which is nice. Sadly most of the soundtrack is not Wagner, which is a shame because that would be poetic justice. By the way, it is never explained how the Gate was built. Did the Empire build it (which I kind of doubt) or just find it? Are there more of them? If you are after fantasy tech, shouldn't this be near the top of your list? Think about it: you could discover a Stargate network and explore even more worlds for even more glorious nationalism! But nope, never mentioned. Now let's all take a moment and salute the Japanese flag flying in the distance.

Stark700

GATE, a simple 4 letter word that can release so much potential with its premise. The idea behind GATE is that of a series about modernized humans clashing with fantasy (warriors wielding ancient armor, elves, dwarves, dragons, etc). By clashing, it doesn’t entirely mean a total war between the two sides. After a while, both sides begins to establish a diplomatic relationship with one another. Sounds strange right? It also kind of goes in a two-fold. Fantasy enters reality and reality enters fantasy. Both worlds are separated by a gate and at the center of it, there’s a man named Youji Itami. Gate - JieitaiKare no Chi nite Kaku Tatakaeri (Gate - Thus the JSDF Fought There) or simply known as GATE is a television series that adapts the light novel of the same name. It was originally serialized online on a novel website called “Arcadia” but later got published as a book in 2010. The series also has a manga that is based on the story with the same main characters. Speaking of which, Itami is the main male protagonist of the show and it’s easy for us to get familiarized with him. Despite being a soldier, he’s actually quite more like an otaku with his fascination for fantasy. This lands him in a position where he happily investigates the fantasy world beyond the GATE. Little does he know that is more than what he can bite off. The show itself adapts many elements that blurs between lines of fiction and reality. The fiction part obviously comes with the fantasy creatures like elves, dragons, and even a demi-god. JSDF (Japan Self-Defense Forces) has more of the reality role. Their military is equipped with high level technology and hence were able to fight against the fantasy world in the beginning. There was even an infamous event known as the “Ginza Incident” when monsters appeared in the Ginza, a real world location and made a memorable massacre. Of course, JSDF responded fiercely and showed that humanity is a doorknob to absolutely nobody. By establishing such a premise, it’s no wonder that the show has a lot of potential. Think about it really, when you have a war that is more than just about imperialism, it shows how much it can evolve. Throughout the story of GATE, we see much of that with cultural, political, and military themes. GATE’s characters are highly diverse not just because of personalities but by races. No, I’m not just talking about nationalities but also non-humans. The main core consists of three girls – Tuka Luna Mareau (a 165 year old elf), Lelei La Rellena (a 15 year old human from the fantasy world), and Rory Mercury (a demi-goddess who is apparently over 900 years old). These characters have different personalities but also creates fascination as they enter the real world. What we witness throughout the story is how they adapt with real world concepts such as modern life technology and politics. Additionally, a plus side about the show is that the human characters are fairly mature. Itami is an older male (as opposed to the high school teenagers you’d commonly see these days) and has a strong interest in otaku. His military experience also gives him an edge when negotiating with certain parties and we see a lot of what he is capable of throughout the story. His relationship with co-workers from the Third Recon unit also gives us a firm idea of his personality – a casual guy who is kind at heart and easily able to make friends with others. From the fantasy world, there are also other regions that establishes the clever creativity of this how. For instance, there’s the special region that is composed of an empire with a diverse cast of characters. Pina, the princess of that empire, hopes to establish peace with Japan. There are obvious reasons for this but the show also affirms her personality as a proud princess who is caring towards her people. Furthermore, the show has a strong emphasis of its world fiction. Landscapes and towns are built with resourceful elements of fantasy to make the other world look legitimate. Similarly, there’s a creatures that show their menacing presence while establishing dominance in their world. An interesting idea about the show also comes from the political affairs of the story. In the second half of GATE, we get politics as there’s some strong indication that not everyone is in favor of the “special region” idea. So in essence, the show plays its part with conflicting affairs that argues about political principles. The show also has some sense of nationalism although is vaguely portrayed and restrained to Japan, as other countries are pursuing their own interest. To say the least, GATE knows its principles and invests time to show ideologies from various parties. On a more military aspect, I think the show is also aware of its modern technological capabilities. The military reveals a strong degree of realism with its arsenal of weapons throughout the show. We have aircraft such as the Kawasaki OH-1, AH-1 Cobra, and other artillery that makes its presence well known. Soldiers (known to some in the fantasy world as “Green Men”) also demonstrate their degree of professionalism and ethnics. While the series isn’t entirely built about military, it certainly has an appeal to this side. I will also say that GATE’s author did a fairly decent job at demonstrating the firepower and capabilities of the JSDF’s military. The battles have cinematic sequences and is well animated on most parts especially during mid-season. While the show has lighthearted comedy from all sorts of angles, it also should be realized that its intentions isn’t a parody. Sure, the series makes a bit of fun at otaku culture such as Itami’s knowledge or the character designs of the main girls. However, there’s legitimacy with the war. The first episode easily establishes that JSDF is serious about their counterattack. Furthermore, Itami knows the stakes of war as lives are lost. Unfortunately, it doesn’t capture all the violence and more mature content of the original story. Certain contents are omitted from TV that are deemed controversial and violent. Fan service is also shortened although still exists in a few forms such as with Rory’s teasing and the bath scenes. However, the adaptation does expand on certain parts of the story, especially with events from the manga. Impressively, A-1 Pictures actually manages to capture the art style of the story. Their work can be a bit of hit or miss in terms of fantasy shows but I do give them some praise for adapting GATE. The character designs of characters from both the real world and fantasy world evokes interest. Military technology looks and feels real with their modern looks. Japan also has a good degree of realism with its modern cities and technology. From the fantasy world, the main female characters are distinctive with their design ranging from Rory’s goth dress to Pina’s medieval style battle gear. And like I mentioned before, the world fiction of GATE stands out as a fantastic feature with what is shown. To further enhance the experience, we get epic battles that almost always reveal the potential of certain characters and weapons. Soundtrack is powerful but not the type of mind-blowing you may expect. The OP and ED theme song has a catchy tone to it with a modest style of storytelling. What makes GATE perhaps more noticeable is the dialogues that are spoken with sharp tones. And by sharp, I mean the type that clearly defines what kind of characters’ personalities are capable of. Rory’s sarcastic and curious voice is perhaps one of the most noticeable while Pina’s voice shows a sense of her patriotism. On most parts, the OST works well enough to match the intense atmosphere of the action and lighthearted moments. When it comes down to it, GATE is a show that opens a gate with wealth of interests. There’s the certain “it” factor that makes this show stand out with both sides of the world. It blurs between the lines of fiction and reality with what it has to offer. And to be quite honest, GATE does it quite well on most parts with its creativity. This show is definitely not one that matches anyone’s tastes though. Certain audiences such as those interested in political or military affairs may find this more enjoyable than others. For action junkies, GATE can appeal to that side as well although it’s not a main investment of the story. When it comes to characters, there’s a colorful range of them and by the end of the season, there’s likely one or more that you may like to find out more. The first season is set as 12 episodes but many of the ideas and concepts opens up potentially for more.