Kiddy Grade Volume 1: File 1 (2002)
Released by: Funimation
Animation Production: Gimik / Gonzo
Running Time: 150 Minutes
By Kakumei Shojo

The Premise

Interplanetary Law Enforcement Members Éclair and Lumiere fight to protect the innocent and bring criminals to justice

Story

In the future, planets have formed an alliance known as the Global Union. G.O.T.T., the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs, was created for the purpose of playing mediator to settle disputes and keep peace between planets in the G.U. C-Class ES Law Enforcement members Éclair and Lumiere are given assignments by the chief officer of the G.O.T.T. for various functions including escorting of important political or financial figures, securing of dangerous military weapons, etc. With Lumiere’s unique ability to communicate with and hack into any mechanical device and Éclair’s super human strength the two are most certainly a force to be reckoned with. But what truths lie buried in their past? Who are they? And how much do they really know about the organization they work for?

Review

This 1st volume in Funimation’s release of Kiddy Grade features episodes 1 through 5 in the series, which include:

Episode 1: Depth Space
Éclair and Lumiere are 2 young, female ES law Enforcement members of the G.O.T.T, sworn to protect the righteous and confiscate criminals. Their first mission is to escort the charming Auditor Armbrust of the Global Union safely to nearby planet Faunas, and to act as mediator between Faunas and another planet in dispute. Will they be able to accomplish their mission?

Episode 2: Tight Bind
Alv and Dvegr, 2 superior S-Class Law Enforcement members require the assistance of Lumiere and Éclair to secure a highly dangerous element known as Hi-G. This is believed to be the main component used in creating some kind of super weapon. They must act quickly before the High-G falls into the wrong hands…

Episode 3: Prisoner Escort
The girls are called upon once again for a new mission; this time to escort their recently captured and extremely dangerous prisoners through a Warp Gate, which transports those guilty of unforgivable crimes to a desolate place in the galaxy. Once through, they must keep the Insurers (ones who for a large sum of money rescue these prisoners) from saving these men. This time they will work with the Inspector, who is disrespectful to them because of their age. Éclair is resentful that he views them as mere children, and will do whatever is necessary to prove she is a valuable asset to the mission.

Episode 4: High Speed
Éclair goes under cover as a warrior in a battle tournament to find the contestant with technological enhancements that provide its user with superior strength and speed. Unfortunately a corrupt military branch also gets wind of the technology and wishes to procure the person for their own power hungry reasons. Can she locate this person before they do?

Episode 5: Day Off
On their day off, Éclair visits a friend while Lumiere attends an opera. Éclair’s friend takes her to a fancy restaurant for wining, dining, and a little dancing, but something about this place is amiss…
Meanwhile, Lumiere is kidknapped on her way to the opera!

Episode 6: Twin Star
Éclair is assigned to help Ms. Padushka, a senior officer about to resign, with revealing and capturing criminals traveling aboard public transport spaceships.

From the trailers of Kiddy Grade I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I received this DVD for review I read the synopsis on the back and was immediately intrigued...

If you have seen the cover art on the DVD case, and liked what you saw then be prepared for a real treat. The musical opener begins and is accompanied with a style of animation that is truly breathtaking (in a classic anime kind of way.) What you see on the DVD case with the characters is what you get throughout the entire first 6 episodes. This is a series that utilizes little to no CG, but cell art with hand painted backgrounds to tell the story. Art director Chitose Askura creates the perfect atmosphere for Character designer Megumi Kadonosono to place her tastefully sexy and beautifully detailed characters on. The characters are colorful, and stand out perfectly against the various backgrounds. The artists utilize a full palate of color, and the settings range from the subdued dark of outer space, to the dank rust of an old factory building, to the overly bright blue of a clear sky at the height of day.

The quality of animation is just as fluid and beautiful in the episodes as it is in the opener. This series is truly a feast for the eyes. There is some CG but it is used in a subtle fashion, so as not to detract from the beauty of the animation.

In regards to the story, I find it to be intriguing. There are a lot of interesting sci-fi devices used in this story and many liberties taken with the plausibility of the technology. For instance, Lumiere has the ability to project her thoughts into any piece of machinery. She can communicate with it, and she can control it. Lumiere has a connection with her ship Whirlbelwind. Her abilities prove to be useful in many situations. Éclair, besides being a very good martial artist and skilled marksman has some kind of “lipstick” that serves multiple purposes. When she wears it, she gains superhuman strength. She can also use it like a whip. Personally, I found the lipstick whip to be a little too ridiculously shoujo for my taste, but, just surrender yourself to the idea that in the distant future pretty girls have these kinds of weapons and you’ll be alright.

As for the characters themselves, I really don’t know what to think. The story so far hasn’t given any reason to identify with them. Lumiere is the more solemn of the two, although both are mature, and serious, especially for their ages. Éclair is 16. Lumiere is 10. Both of them act like adults although they are only children. Éclair tends to act on impulse and instinct whereas Lumiere is more methodical and researches everything she can about an opponent before taking them on. While Éclair engages in the hand to hand combat, Lumiere periodically uses her unique ability to help even the playing field if their enemy has an unfair advantage. The only quirky thing about either is that Lumiere enjoys the finer things in life such as Classical music, and “grape juice” (served in a champagne bottle with a wine glass). As the more sophisticated and logical, she always tells Éclair that they should be more elegant. Éclair tends to be the more common-sensical of the two, and listens to her instincts. She is short-tempered at times, especially in regards to Armbrust, but like Lumiere she also takes her job very seriously.

I was hoping for more character development than the little to none in the first 6 episodes. I wanted to know more about these characters than what is apparent on the surface, but so far the series has yet to reveal any other facets of their personalities. It isn’t even clear how they met, or first started working for G.O.T.T. I don’t mind being held in suspense, but I am hoping this will be explained in future episodes.

In regards to voice acting both the English and Japanese casts do a very good job, especially with the 2 main characters. Unfortunately from what I have seen the characters are pretty 2 dimensional, so I have yet to see if the actors have what it takes to portray the emotions of their characters in the best and worst of circumstances.

The other aspect of the series that I found to be rather annoying was the episodic flow to the series. Although pacing from episode to episode is great, each episode is its own 25 minute, self contained story, and the transition from one episode to the next was so choppy the series doesn’t feel like a continuous story. There are a few allusions to events in previous episodes throughout, but for the most part, the events of a previous episode unless central to the faint underlying story are disregarded.

On the video front I have to say what a gorgeous transfer! There are 3 episodes per disc in a 2 disc set, which means you get six superior quality episodes per volume. Not bad at all for 1 volume of an anime series, considering the standard DVD release has about 4 episodes per volume. As for the picture quality itself, the blacks stay solid and I noticed little to no pixilation or color bleeding. You are able to fully appreciate the beauty of the animation, style, and attention to detail. This transfer allows you to see this series in all its artistic glory, and this series is pure good ol’ fashioned anime eye candy!

The sound quality for this DVD was very good. I didn’t find myself having to adjust levels to hear the characters over special effects, or background music. The mixing for both the English and Japanese was very nicely balanced.

This DVD has a decent collection of extras including a Japanese Promotional Video which showcases the beauty of the series. There is also a Black and White Promotional Slideshow, The original commercials for the series as seen in Japan, a decent sized image gallery with concept art for the first several episodes, Textless openers and closers with Japanese or English subtitles, and character profiles.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I like this series. The animation style makes this an incredibly beautiful series to watch. The plot is intriguing, as is the universe the story is set in. While most of the story takes place on the planets Éclair and Lumiere visit on their various missions, a good deal of time is spent at GOTT headquarters, and traveling around the galaxy aboard the spaceship Whirlbelwind.

Kiddy Grade is GONZO’s tribute to the Sci-Fi vixen genre of anime like Dirty Pair. However, this story deals more with politics and is a much darker story than Dirty Pair. Director Keiji Goto does a decent job in telling an enjoyable although at times heady story. There are small glimpses of a much more substantial plot involving the mysteries behind Eclair, Lumiere, and GOTT, which should be revealed as the series progresses. Although I am interested in the story and characters, the lack of character development, momentum and continuity from episode to episode in volume 1 makes it easier to resist immediately popping volume 2 into my DVD player. If you think this is a series that may interest you I most certainly recommend at least a view.

Kakumei Shojo