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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Average Mecha Anime, 24 Jun 2009
This review is from: Gravion - The Complete Collection [DVD] [2002] (DVD)
When young teenager Eiji Shigure recieves a mysterious note from his missing sister, his searches lead him to the powerful and rich Klein Sandman. However, when this turns out to be false, Eiji is tricked into piloting a Gran Diva. A machine created by Sandman which employs the use of a unique enzyme within Eiji's body - G-factor. Eiji soon joins a team of young pilots and together they battle to stop the invading Zeravire from destroying their planet. Furthermore, each of the pilot's machines have the ability to combine in order to form the giant fighting robot named GRAVION. Along the way, Eiji makes friends with his Gravion co-pilots and what ensues is a character driven, mecha epic.
Gravion is a popular mecha series created by Gonzo Digimation and directed Masami Obari. The series runs for 13 episodes and this release sees them all collected in a 3 disc set. The story to Gravion is incredibly simple and for the most part of the series, doesn't go anywhere. The series mixes both mecha action with teen comedy. However I must say that the series pulls off the latter better, simply because the action scenes look dull and the same animation is recycled and reused each episode. Especially with the Gravion combining sequence which I must have wayched about 10 times or more in the series and lasts for about 2 minutes each time. The is combining sequence also plays the same background music track which soon became irritating, so in the end I started skipping this scene. Furthermore, the action scenes look ridiculous because the Gravion and the other machines look like little plastic toys which are coloured with bright yellows and reds that make them look like they've come straight out of a childs colouring book; so much so that it is hard to watch it and take it seriously.
On a plus side, Gravion does a good job at creating some likeable characters and adding a nice layer to them. Furthermore, there is a decent voice cast for the english dub which includes voice actors such as Chris Patton as Eiji Shigure (who plays Sousuke Sagara in Fullmetal Panic, Greed in Fullmetal Alchemist and Sho Fukamachi in Guyver) and Luci Christain as co pilot Luna Gusuku (who also plays Nami in One piece, Asuna in Negima and wrath in fullmetal alchemist).
Ignoring the action figure-esque mecha and the bold animation style, Gravion comes across as kind of an Evangelion rip-off. The structure of each episode is reminiscent of the classic Eva series with the Earth being attacked by a different monster/alien every episode thus the government sending out teenagers to fight them. The Zeravire actually look a bit like the villainous angels from Eva as well. However, tonally, the two series' couldn't be more different. While Evangelion is more focused on teenage angst and psychological issues, Gravion is more upbeat and light hearted.
Though the story is not incredibly original and contains alot of plot holes, as well as the action sequences looking dull and drab, Gravion's likeable cast of characters is enough to sustain it for most of it's 13 episode run. There is a sequel series entitled Gravion Zwei, which aparently ties up loose ends, however, it has yet to be released in Britain and after watching series 1, I wont be busting a gut to see it any time soon.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the sequel, 28 Jan 2010
This review is from: Gravion - The Complete Collection [DVD] [2002] (DVD)
If you like sentai or mecha shows, this is a typical example. I would score it higher but it fails to conclude any of the plot threads it sets up, and you need to watch the much better Gravion Zwei in order to find out what became of Eiji's sister, resolve the mystery of Leele's past, and learn the reason behind the alien invasion.
Gravion Zwei also plays with the "monster of the week" format much more, which gives the show a lot more variety, and I think the animation is slightly better, too. Bottom line is that Gravion is okay, but it's only the first (and duller) half of the story.
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2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
gravion, 7 Jun 2009
This review is from: Gravion - The Complete Collection [DVD] [2002] (DVD)
what can I say that has already been said giant robots scantily clad maids must be gravion a wicked combination of action and comedy a must for any
mech fan
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