| Gasaraki | |
| Genre: | Mecha, Military, Supernatural |
| Type: | tv series |
| Director: | Ryōsuke Takahashi Gorō Taniguchi (assistant director) |
| Producer: | Kazunori Takagi Fumikuni Furusawa Tsunetoshi Koike Eiji Kanaoka |
| Music: | Kuniaki Haishima |
| Studio: | Sunrise |
| Network: | TXN (TV Tokyo, TV Osaka) |
| First: | October 4, 1998 |
| Last: | March 28, 1999 |
| Episodes: | 25 |
| Type: | manga |
| Author: | Meimu |
| Demographic: | Seinen |
| Imprint: | Kadokawa Comics Ace |
| First: | October 1998 |
| Last: | May 2000 |
| Volumes: | 4 |
is a 1998 mecha anime television series produced by Sunrise. It was directed by Ryousuke Takahashi, who also co-created the series along with Sunrise (Hajime Yatate). Goro Taniguchi was the assistant director. The screenplay was written by Toru Nozaki.
The series centers on Yushiro Gowa who pilots a bipedal weapons system known as a TA, short for Tactical Armor. Much of the initial plot is driven by means of news reports.
Set in the near-future, the series is formed around political narratives that concern a fictional war between the US and the fictional Middle Eastern country of Belgistan. An influential Japanese family, the Gowa, produce a bipedal weapon, the TA. When US military forces attempt to seize the capital they are systematically wiped out by what appear to be rival TAs. The Gowa Family seizes this opportunity to demonstrate their weapon system, and civilian pilot Yuushiro Gowa and the military squad to which he is attached are deployed to Belgistan. There, he meets rival TA pilot Miharu, with whom he seems to share a deep spiritual bond.
The series has a mix of futuristic and historical narratives and includes elements of Japanese culture, such as Noh and Shinto, rigid family hierarchies, corruption of government by zaibatsu, and samurai appear throughout the series.
In ancient Japan, the Gowa family created a demonic Armor in order to defeat their enemies. Hundreds of years later in the 2010s, this armor is exploited by the Gowa in the development of Tactical Armor for military usage and the usurpation of Japan.
Gasaraki consists of 25 television episodes which were first aired on TV Tokyo and the rest of the TX Network from October 4, 1998, to March 28, 1999. It was released on VHS and DVD in North America and the UK by ADV Films. Nozomi Entertainment has re-licensed the series and was re-released in 2012.[1]
On January 13, 2000, the video game, Tactical Armor Custom Gasaraki, was released for the PlayStation.
Critical reception of Gasaraki has been generally positive.
Issac Cynova of THEM Anime Reviews gave the series a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, handing out praise to the visuals, soundtrack, backgrounds, characters, the storyline, and mecha battles, but criticized the pacing of the series, stating that "much more like the Patlabor movies, it prefers to let action take a back seat to plot, and though this in itself is not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned, it does present a problem when combined with this one, singular, devastating fault: Its plot it stretched way too thin between twenty-six episodes." Cynova concludes that the series does get better near the end, and that "it's beautiful, and fairly well thought out, if not well executed."[2]
Theron Martin of Anime News Network gave the series a B rating, praising the story, animation, and soundtrack, but criticized the series' main protagonist, the final episode of the series, and the overemphasis on Japanese nationalism, stating that "this is a very negative look at both Asian immigrants and the United States which, in the latter case, may not set well with some American viewers." Martin concludes that "this one is highly worth checking out if mecha content that emphasizes realism and technical detail more than cool factor sounds like your kind of thing."[3]
Benjamin Wright of Animerica gave the series a positive review, stating that "Its story is deep, involving, and well thought out. Its characters are distinct and complex, with appeal for mature viewers as well as for the younger "nobody understands me" crowd. Its mecha, a masterful mix of lowbrow and high-tech, are imaginative and satisfying." However, he does note that the series starts off slow and that its first episode is unlikely to grab a lot of viewers.[4]