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Year: 2015-2016
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Military
Episodes: 24
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Have you ever been to a cosplay convention? The ones like WonderCon and Comic-Con. Those places are fantastic seeing everyone dress up as their favorite character along with buying the latest comic book, game, or anything your mind could imagine. Now, what if one day, you were minding your own business while going to this place and then all of a sudden, a gate to another world opens up. Through it, an invading army that looks like it was from medieval times or even World of Warcraft started attacking the people. Do you think this invading force could combat against the mighty force against an advanced military? After the attack, your country goes through the portal and see that you outmatch everyone in power and weaponry. Would you conquer the lands or try to establish a relationship?
Gate is a funny anime where a Gate to another world opens up in the middle of Tokyo. Through it, a medieval-type force with dragons tries to invade the city only to be repelled by the Japanese military. As the world watched, Japan soon becomes a dominant force in the new world as they invade it and learn more about its ways.
Overview:
In modern-day Tokyo, a portal from another world suddenly appears. Out of the portal, a legion of Roman-style medieval soldiers and monsters emerge to attack the city. As panic erupts, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) easily repels the enemy using modern and advanced weaponry and modern military tactics. Seeing the Gate as a threat, the JSDF pass through the Gate and establish a base of their own. After a series of one-sided battles from their advanced weaponry, they initiate peace negotiations with the Empire of the other world. As Japan becomes the leader in the new world, other countries become jealous and want to take the new world for their own. Even in the new world, the JSDF is closely monitored by their own government who wants to stay out of any dispute that the Empire is going through.
Gate follows Yōji Itami and his adventures through the Gate. When the Gate appeared, Itami was on his day off to go to a convention he had dreamed about. As the chaos started, Itami, a reserve JSDF officer, quickly helps rescue citizens and becomes somewhat a national hero. Itami is chosen to investigate the other world because of his extensive knowledge of fantasy stories. As Itami investigates the regions and starts to know the citizens and races in the world, he quickly starts building a harem with a goddess, princess, elf, and magician. Soon Itami becomes one that must stop a civil war from happening and keeping his own government at bay.
Review:
Gate is an entertaining anime to watch. It has a unique take on the story and how you think things would go if something like World of Warcraft invaded the actual world. I thought the story of this anime was fascinating. Just take a second to think if a gate to a new world opens up in the middle of a major city, and through it, creatures from a different world come through and start attacking people. What I found fascinating was that the people on our side had advanced weaponry and DESTROYED the invading force. When they go through the Gate, the weaponry we have is so advance that it is a slaughter. Most anime series have the opposite story where we are the weak ones and then become enslaved. It was nice to see that we were the strong ones.
Now the story has a standard theme of a king who ignores his people’s advice and a crazy-ass prince. What the story also does so well is showing how there are significant language barriers and ways of doing things, but slowly everyone starts learning about each other. The anime is literally what would happen in World of Warcraft met the US military. The story also plays off the theme of not trying to interfere with other country’s politics, but everything affects it. The Japanese government is trying to hold off the other countries of the world from entering the Gate. There is significant politics inside the government and how they do things. It is a mess for everyone.
Now the anime uses some famous movies to get some of the points across and add some more entertainment to the scene. One example was when Itami and his group were protecting a town from a force. When they called in air support, the helicopters flew in like the ones in Apocalypse Now. It was literally the same exact scene. The only thing missing was saying, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
Other battle scenes are quite good. When the group fights this big ass red dragon that EVERYONE is afraid of, you think they will be burned to a crisp. Another scene is when Itami and his group are in Japan, and they get attacked by the other governments. Rory goes BEAST MODE and twirls her scythe all over the place while killing all under a crimson moon.
The characters in this anime are quite funny, and you are bound to find one that you like. Yōji Itami is my type of hero. All the man wants to do is go to a convention in peace. We learn that he is a 33-year-old otaku and JSDF soldier. After successfully escorting hundreds of citizens to safety during the attack on Ginza, Itami is promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and tasked to investigate the world on the other side of the Gate. To the surprise of many of his fellow comrades, because of his very lazy attitude, he is a certified JSDF Ranger and Special Forces trooper. Itami is actually a really caring person that always tries to make people happy.
My favorite character in the whole anime is Rory Mercury. Homegirl is a 961-year-old demigoddess and the Apostle of the god Emroy. Her demigoddess entails that she cannot die and can recover from any wound. We learn that upon her 1000th birthday, she will ascend and become a full goddess. Homegirl is a beast with her scythe and can handle almost anything.
Gate is an anime that you can watch and enjoy anytime. It is not complicated or too gory. It does have one scene that is quite sexual and wrong, but besides that, it is a very good anime. It will make you think if a new world opened up to ours and how our military might will stand to it. The characters are okay. After watching a lot of anime, there will be commonalities between them. Give this anime a chance and see what character you like.
