Ga-Rei: Zero Review
Introduction
Ga-Rei: Zero is actually the prequel to the ever popular manga, Ga-Rei. As far as the audience knows, from the marketing department no-less, the story is about a band of super-powered heroes who use crazy weapons, such as motorcycles and briefcases, to defeat invisible demons. Of course, the show completely subverts this and kills off all the characters at the end of the first episode. The next episode continues on and introduces a new set of characters and then subsequently tells the tale of how they got there. Of course, if you’ve read the manga, then you would be prepared for the direction this series takes.
Characters
- Natasuki Kasuga: The first female lead, prior to her murder at the end of the first episode. She acts as the Lancer in the first anti-demon group you’re introduced to. Believe it or not, she uses a motorcycle as her weapon against demons; there are inscribed runes on her tires and she maneuvers her bike in a way allows her to bludgeon demons with her tires; something that is beyond the impossible. Unfortunately, Kasuga will probably be your favorite girl in the series even if she only lasts for 20 minutes on-screen.
- Toru Kanze: The first male lead, first lead actually, prior to his murder at the end of the first episode. He briefly fulfills his role as hero in the first anti-demon group you’re introduced to. Unlike many of his coworkers, he’s a gunslinger; opting to use dual pistols akimbo. It’s too bad that he gets brutally ripped apart at the end of the first episode, because he’s pretty badass.
- Kagura Tsuchimiya: The real protagonist of the series, albeit not introduced as one. She’s one of the central characters in the manga, so, naturally, she takes up a lot of the screen time. The majority of the plot is based around her relationship to Yomi, her figurative older sister.
Kagura is a very weak person – in my opinion. I know that in the manga, she’s supposed to be a genki, yet competent person. Alas, she’s next to worthless in the anime, especially following her heroic BSOD. Now, this is forgivable because she’s just a young high school girl who’s training to become a demon slayer. I suppose that a little bit of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is understandable. Regardless, she’s a bit of a handful for the un-expecting audience.
- Yomi Isayama: Arguably the only reason for this depressing excuse for a prequel. This entire series is about Yomi’s fall to evil, which doesn’t really tie that strongly into the manga; there’s a story arc about Yomi, but that’s about it. So really, this prequel is merely an excuse to explain Kagura’s and Yomi’s back-story – the rest is just a tear-fest.
Aside from the psycho the animators offered at the beginning of the series, she used to be a kind and loving girl. In fact, the animators successfully induced mood whiplash by first presenting a complete monster and then showing us that she is actually a very loving, and lovable, girl. The moment right before her fall will undoubtedly produce tears.
Plot | [Full Spoilers]
Ga-Rei: Zero starts off in Tokyo sometime in the present, or near present, as invisible demons begin attacking the city. Apparently, this isn’t the first time this has happened. The Japanese Government has established two different departments, in secret, to battle these demons: The Ministry of Defense’s Paranormal Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters and The Ministry of the Environment’s Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division. Both of these departments are aware of each other’s presence, but are vehemently opposed to one another.
Sidetrack
OK. Stop! Tokyo is (and always has been) attacked by huge, invisible demons that create physical destruction and mayhem that not only destroy the infrastructure of city, but also kill people, lots of people, and the government’s only defense departments are having a piss-fight over jurisdiction? Give me a fucking break.
Now, I know that this has happened before, particularly in very recent history (click the link to make more sense of the following point), when the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) refused to cooperate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). But both agencies had a very good reason for not releasing information pertaining to their respective cases:
- FBI: The FBI’s only job is to prosecute crimes that have been committed (i.e. gather evidence and build a case). If the FBI were ever to give their information to any other agency, it could, and most likely would, spawn a leak in their case and would jeopardize their case—most cases require the testimony of a witness, who will only speak under very strict circumstances, such as witness protection.
- CIA: The CIA’s only job is to gather foreign intelligence (as in intelligence pertaining to the whereabouts of threats that are aimed at the United States, but do no originate from the United States) and take necessary actions to protect the United States from foreign attack, whether terrorist and/or state related. The CIA has an even tighter rope to walk, because if they allow other agencies to have information that they obtained through secret means, it could jeopardize their ability to defend the United States from foreign attack. Also, the CIA has operatives working in hostile territory and information pertaining to a given event might allow foreign attackers to trace it back to the CIA and their operatives, thereby losing the initiative of the operation. Simply put, if the CIA shares information and that information gets into the hands of the wrong person, it could seriously fuck up the CIA and make them look retarded. Bad!
Here’s the thing though (Rebuttal): Before the events on 9/11, the FBI and CIA were not willing to cooperate with one another because of the aforementioned reasons. But they were more than willing to share information right after the airplanes smashed into the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. But this idea is not reflected in Ga-Rei: Zero, where demons are wrecking havoc all over Japan, not just Tokyo, and the two Ministries are still not willing to cooperate. That’s just bullshit.
Back to the Point
Getting back to the point, we see our purported heroes kick demon ass, after the redshirts get killed of course, only to be obliterated by Yomi (now, the antagonist). Well that sucked.
Topside, Kagura is kicking demon ass until she encounters Yomi, who’s just finished ripping The Ministry of Defense’s Paranormal Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters intro shreds, literally. The two face off as sisters, which hinders Kagura’s will to fight Yomi. Unfortunately, the audience doesn’t have the emotional attachment to Yomi to make this event significant; actually, it’s rather obnoxious and revolting that Kagura won’t fight Yomi. Yomi is clearly a cruel monster, so what do the animators do? They tell you how they got there.
The Quick and Dirty Flashback
The episode switches to the past and the story follows Kagura’s training as a demon slayer alongside of Yomi, her figurative big sister. Yomi is kind, light-hearted, and loving. She’s sweet and mello; the perfect big sister. Through a particularly violent family feud, Yomi’s father is murdered and she finds out who killed him. Yomi then kills the murderer and then gets attacked by the real demon threat behind the murder. She gets severely injured and sinks into a state of deep-seeded weakness. After much emotional bonding, Kagura asks Yomi if she killed the person who murdered Yomi’s father, who is Kagura’s uncle. Yomi doesn’t answer her straight and Kagura, slightly heartbroken, walks outside for some “fresh-air.” All alone and regretful, Yomi silently cries and repeatedly says, “I’m sorry.” In her darkest hour, Yomi is confronted by the demon behind her father’s death and he “possesses” her—in a sense—and Yomi becomes the horrible monster that was portrayed in the first episode.
Back Up to Speed
After several battles, Kagura finally wills enough courage to kill her sister.
We look around and see dead characters—dead main characters. Broken characters. Hollow victories. No real overarching theme. And a bittersweet ending—if not a downer ending.
Themes
Now, my initial discussion with Josh yielded the conclusion that this series has no themes—no serious themes that is. The slogan of the series comes up every episode, right beneath the title:
“Will you kill someone you love, because of love?”
OK, now that’s an interesting, yet ludicrous question to ask someone. As Josh related:
“Will you stab your own heart with a knife, thereby killing yourself, to save yourself?”
I know that the animators really wanted to emphasize the relationships between the main character and Yomi, but this slogan just comes off as sadistic and cheesy. Although, to the credit of the animators, Yomi does become well liked by the audience by the time she gets possessed by the main demon villain. It’s a really unfulfilling and unproductive anime to watch—theme-wise.
Final Thoughts | Conclusions
Ga-Rei: Zero isn’t an awful series. I know I didn’t give it very many complements, but I just can’t bring myself to say that it’s an awful piece of work. It isn’t terrible—in fact I was so hooked on the series that I finished it in 3 days. It’s a very entertaining series, but it falls short of being rewatchable. It masquerades as a deeper work when it’s just as shallow as any other summer action flick. The idea that killing family members and emotionally traumatizing high-school girls just doesn’t seem highly valued on anyone’s “Themes” list.
Ga-Rei: Zero is entertainment, nothing more. Whether or not you actually find yourself enjoying the carnage and bittersweet ending will depend on your own taste for dark snuffy-like films. Personally, I feel that there are much better ways to explore the depths of human dispair and sacrifice—even using demons as a vehicle for such goals—but Ga-Rei: Zero just didn’t present the material right. What’s more is that the manga is, supposedly, light-hearted, very light-hearted. I have no idea why the animation studio would try to give the fan-base mood whiplash by presenting a darker and edgier prequel.
In any case, I would carefully recommend this series, but I would only advise that you watch it once.
Score | Charts
New Rating Scheme
After discussing some of Josh’s rating criteria, I’ve decided to change the way I review my anime. I tend to put a lot of emphasis on the themes and motifs an anime can draw, whether or not they’re actually there. I’ve realized that this gives a lopsided view on what makes a “good” anime vs what makes a “bad” anime. There’s so much more to an anime series than the images it portrays and the questions it asks; in fact, there’s a lot of work that goes into the production of the anime. You also have to consider how the audience feels about the series. Simply put, anime is no different than any other media that’s produced for profit; it’s ultimately meant to tell a story and bring someone’s ideas to light. My previous reviews have neglected this fact and might have harshly criticized other anime series without taking into account the context of the work; the purpose of its creation. As such, I’ve decided to add a “Tilt” value, that won’t be shown on the graph, but will be explicitly told in the review calculation. The Tilt rating will be my own personal rating that will “curve” the final rating. The exact value is determined by my opinion of the work, how I perceived its purpose, and how well it fulfilled that purpose. The Tilt value is weighted, but the total weight of the grade exceeds 100%. This means that this curve is a flat increase in score and presents a significant bias that gives the reader a better idea of how “good” the anime series is. Now, in order to offset this, I’ve decided to allow negative values for anime that I do not approve of, but I’ll warn you beforehand. Furthermore, I plan on breaking down all the review calculations for you in this section.
*Deep Sigh* Whew, with that, here are the ratings.
Ratings
| Attributes |
Values |
Weight |
| Impression |
7 |
5% |
| Hype |
8 |
| Plot |
7 |
30% |
| Setting |
6 |
| POV |
5 |
| Characters |
5 |
30% |
| Themes |
2 |
35% |
| Symbols |
2 |
| Images |
2 |
Rating Summery
Rating Raw Score: 44
Weighted Score: 4.375 (43.75%)
Tilt (Raw): 7
Tilt Weight: 25% (Total Inflation: 125%)
Tilt Weighted Score: 1.75
Total: 6.13
Rating: 61.30%
Charts
Rating Chart:
Attribute Chart:
Anime Crunch 