Gilgamesh Tablet 1: Orphans of the Apocalypse - CineGeek
- CineGeek
- Stephen Lackey
- 08/03/05
- click here
"It's gloomy, gothic, creepy, and ambiguous. In other words, it's awesome!
"
"Don't get me wrong I love me some good anime action just like the next guy, but it's refreshing on occasion to see a calmer more story driven series here and there."
There's a lot of Mad Max type stuff in anime. You know what I mean, a group of good people trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world fighting crooks and monsters, sometimes in the same scene. These are usually fun but focus on action and imagery over story. Every time I see one of these types of anime on the horizon I give it a shot because I have a weakness for the 'day after' stuff.
Gilgamesh, while certainly being post apocalyptic, is still a very different take on the subgenre than I'm used to seeing in anime. First of all the artwork is gorgeous, but in a classier more subtle way than is common to the subgenre. In fact, at least for the first volume, everything about the series seems to be subtle. The story is slowly and precisely developed focusing on character and plot rather than action. Don't get me wrong I love me some good anime action just like the next guy, but it's refreshing on occasion to see a calmer more story driven series here and there.
After a tragic terrorist incident the sky is turned to a bizarre mirror reflecting the remains of the Earth back upon itself. As the planet tries to recover two organizations fight for control, a rag tag group of mutants who want to see the world the way it was before the terrorist attack and a dark organization led by a scientist who was responsible for the terrorist attack. Caught in the middle of this war are two orphans who hold the secret to saving the planet or destroying it. Both organizations seek these children out. The question is which one should they side with? You won't get that answer in volume one that's for sure.
In this first volume the teenage orphans run the streets evading debt collectors seeking payment for their late mother's debts and avoiding both organizations. These first five episodes are tight little stories slowly dropping tidbits of information about the children and their father and their overall connection to the tragic events that have nearly destroyed the Earth.
These first five episodes are gorgeous to look at, very well written, and addictive in nature. Fans of more twitch style anime may get bored but for those of us that enjoy a deeper more realistically paced story will be hooked almost immediately.
9/10
The Video
The muted colors and fine details come through loud and clear here with only minor grain here and there.
8/10
The Audio
The audio comes in a dubbed English Dolby 5.1 track as well as the original Japanese 2.0 track with English subtitles. Sound design is pretty basic for both tracks but the dialogue, sound effects, and score are crisp and clean throughout.
7/10
It's gloomy, gothic, creepy, and ambiguous. In other words, it's awesome!
Posted on Wednesday, August 03, 2005 (Archive on Saturday, September 03, 2005)