Elemental Gelade Vol-1 (2005)
Animation Production: Xebec
Released by: Geneon Entertainment
Running Time: 125 Minutes
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

Elemental Gelade! I had no clue what it was until this evening, but I’ll be darned if I don’t keep this at the top of my anime radar screen going forward! This DVD came my way late last week and the box immediately drew my attention, but I didn’t get a chance to check it out until this evening.

Let’s go right into the review and see why Elemental Gelade is a must-buy anime release!

Story

"Cou, the bumbling rookie of the "Red Lynx" sky pirate squadron, has just discovered the treasure of a lifetime - a mighty member of the ancient race of Edel Raids. Ren, at first glance, seems to be a shy and defenseless girl, but she holds within her a power that many are willing to kill for. When Cou takes it upon himself to protect Ren on her journey to a mysterious place called Edel Garden, he immediately makes new friends and dangerous enemies. " -- DVD Box

Review

The first volume in Geneon’s release of Elemental Gelade features episodes one through five in the series, which include:

Episode 1: The Songs of the Sky and Wind
Cou, the youngest member of the Red Lynx pirate group just helped his comrades in arms steal a large collection of treasures, but unbeknownst to him, they have also landed a weapon of tremendous power, a young girl by the name of Ren! Now, it’s up to Cou to defend Ren from not only a small group of warriors who have come to reclaim her in the name of the Complete Protection Agency, but also a shadowy group of ninjas! Can he keep his promise to protect her?

Episode 2: A Fateful React
After an intense battle against the shadow group that attacked and destroyed his group’s pirate ship Cou ends up joining forces with the Complete Protection Agency to protect Ren. This is the beginning of a great adventure.

Episode 3: Betrayal and Confusion
Ren has been kidnapped and it’s up to Cou and the gang to rescue her, but are they up to working together as a group? And what about Ren? With everyone fighting over her, she is beginning to question the nature of humans, who only see her as a weapon. Is Cou different from the rest?

Episode 4: Elemental Gelade of Light and Darkness
This is it! The battle for Ren’s safety and the struggle to show her what the difference is between a power hungry individual and those who would sacrifice their lives for her. Who will come out on top after all is said and done?

Episode 5: The Teardrop From that Day
Making their way along a secluded mountain path our heroes end up fighting against a spider-shaped Edel Raid! Can Cou fight it without using Ren’s powers?

Let me start by saying that this show was a ton of fun to watch and kept me interest high long after the first episode had ended, something that not a lot of anime shows can do in this age of too many me-too series. There’s really nothing particularly original about the premise itself, but the way in which this series brings together several different elements from a variety of genres and combines them to form its universe gives it a unique flavor all of its own. From Final Fantasy to Pretear to any number of RPG-based anime, Elemental Gelade brings all these together in a hybrid adventurer/traveler show that has our group of heroes traveling from place to place learning more about themselves and their quest with each stop along the way.

The gimmick of the series (if you want to call it that) is that in the world Guardia there are people who are referred to as Edel Raids and Sting Raids (there are probably others, but these are the ones covered in episodes one through five) who have the ability to “react” with regular humans to give them amazing powers. These powers are manifested by the weapons these Raids become and the power they wield when they are used in combat. For example when Ren reacts with Cou she becomes a powerful sword that is as light as a father. Others like the Sting Raids, which are artificially augmented humans can become protective gear or even take on the form of fire breathing weapons. I’m sure this has been done in many other shows, but my most recent recollection of a series using this idea is Pretear, which used a similar concept. Regardless of that I love how the idea is implemented here and how it is used to develop the main cast.

At the heart of the story are our two protagonists, Cou and Ren. Cou is a young pirate, whose spirit is unstoppable and whose dedication to completing whatever he sets out to is unstoppable. Ren is a legendary Edel Raid, whose powers are said to dwarf those of others, albeit her quiet demeanor would make it hard to guess she held that much power within her. These two characters are pushed together through a variety of circumstances and while at first it’s a confusing situation for each, with each new challenge they grow to understand each other better and function as a team. The struggle in their relationship comes in the form of Ren being apprehensive to accept Cou as someone who is genuinely interested in being her friend and caring for her, when all everyone in her life has wanted was to use her as a weapon. On Cou’s side of the equation he wants nothing more than to keep his promise to protect Ren, while at the same time avoiding the temptation of using her as an ultimate weapon during the group’s journey.

With that relationship at its core the series quickly becomes a traveling/adventure series after episode one and with each new story we learn more about the universe of Guardia, the Raids and our merry band of heroes. The way each story is constructed though, makes each chapter fit neatly within a larger context, thus avoiding the stand-alone feel that the episodes of shows like this tend to have.

On the production side this is an absolutely beautiful anime that benefits greatly from all the latest animation and effect techniques. From colorful backdrops, to amazingly smooth character and mecha animation you would be hard-pressed to find anything here that doesn’t shine brightly. The visual effects which are used throughout the show for environmental effects and to portray the “react” sequences in which characters bond to create weapons and special attacks and they look amazing in every instance. BTW I would also like to mention that I LOVE the character designs by Taeko Hori.

On the audio front things are just as beautiful and well executed as in the visuals department with orchestral music that goes from chants-inspired numbers to more adventure-like themes reminiscent of the best that the Final Fantasy series has to offer. All the voice actors in each of the language tracks also put in a tremendous effort that absolutely pays off in terms of bringing their two dimensional counterparts to life. Really, nothing to complain here.

DVD-wise my copy of Elemental Gelade is the one that comes in the box set and boy do I recommend this version over the stand-alone DVD case. First you’ll get a beautiful storage box for all the DVD’s in the series, second you’ll get a chrome metallic pencil board and third you’ll get an authentic replica of Ren’s head ribbon! The DVD itself comes with clean versions of the opening and ending credits, as well as previews for other Geneon releases and a small insert inside the box with artwork from the show.

Final Thoughts

Elemental Gelade is one of our top picks this for your anime summer! If you’re looking for something new to check out, this title is definitely worth checking out and adding to your collection. While nothing in it is groundbreaking the totality of the package is enough to give you a bang for your buck.

Very recommended!

Jeffrey Couto