Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

ThatAnimeSnob Apr 25, 2013

4.5

Gargantia is the series that began to make people realize Gen Urobuchi is just a hack who makes up cool ideas, stuffs them with pretentious dialogues that he steals from books, and then doesn’t give a damn when it comes to making sense out of them, since he knows the average anime fan considers Naruto to be an amazing show. Anything more thematically complicating or violent than Naruto is instantly being labeled as a masterpiece (Akame Ga Kill, Tokyo Ghoul, Future Diary), so why would he bother?Themes and splatter are not enough to mesmerize the masses though; they also need lots of pretty colors for making their minds to go blank, and to be unable to understand the bullshit they are watching. If the animation is bad, they would surely bitch about every little detail, but if it’s good they will magically not find anything bad to say about it (Kimi no Na Wa). Which stands true for this series as well, since it’s very well animated and has lots of cute girls (a contribution of a hentai character designer). That is enough for making your average anime fan to begin waifu wars instead of booing the endless nonsense in the story. It’s not like there isn’t a story and you are just watching a plotless harem. If you analyze it at face value, lots of things are happening and are rich enough in content for writing a thousand essays about. Because if you don’t, you won’t have much to go on, besides saying how untapped the potential is or how nothing really makes any sense. Many will rush to defend Urobutchi by claiming he only wrote a few episodes and that the rest are another writer’s fault. Such excuses don’t make the final product any better and even prove how much of a lazy hack he is for not bothering to write full scripts anymore, since he sells by his name alone. After all, that is what most were saying about the show. It is a masterpiece because his name is mentioned briefly in the production team. As always, the setting is very interesting (a combo of Xenogears meets Waterworld, populated by hentai people), and just like in all the stories Urobutcher writes, it is never developed in any way, since he spends all his time in making up plot twists full of shock effect, and in having the characters being mouthpieces who spit superficial philosophy every 3 minutes. Thus the whole concept of mankind in the far future being in war with space squids is just hanging there as background decoration, while the audience spends the whole show in watching cute girls doing cute things, and amoral monstrosities butchering people over ideologies which have no ground in reality. And guess what; it was more than enough for the majority of anime fans to like this travesty of a show, since it was making them go OMG THAT IS MAKING ME THINK SOOOO MUCH ABOUT WHAT MAKES US HUMAN. Too bad you get no real insight to any of that, since nothing is elaborated or explored, and in many cases is even contradicted in order to confuse you and make you think it’s all 2deep4u. Examples of the above include:- The society of mankind in space. You get this infodump in the first 5 minutes regarding how they breed, fight, and aim to populate the galaxy, but don’t really see anything beyond that. - The morals of the Earth people. They claim to show respect for life, when all you see them doing is constantly killing each other during pirate attacks. - The logic of the Earth people. They blame the protagonist for killing their enemies, even though they ordered him to do exactly that. - The intelligence of the Earth people. They blame him again for not appreciating life the way they do, although he has no knowledge about this, since he is from space, and thus can’t be accused of being wrong about something he was never taught. - The perception of the Earth people. Despite the numerous times the spaceman effortlessly wiped out their enemies, they still think they can overpower him anytime they feel like it with mere sticks and stones. - The abilities of the spaceman’s mecha. They are completely different in each episode; especially when it comes to radars. • On episode 1 it requires from the pilot to walk around so the robot can map the area. • On episode 2 it can map a huge area around it with perfect precision and no help from the pilot. • On episode 3 it has a problem in scanning a few meters away from it. • On episode 4 it can easily see what lies behind thick steel walls but not what swims a few meters in the sea. • On episode 7 it can magically scan underwater just fine. • It accepts to reveal top secret information to the spaceman just because there is nobody present with a higher rank than him. Meaning, all the security systems in the universe can be accessed if you simply fly away from your fleet. • The robot follows commands only when it suits the plot, it keeps attacking even when the pilot tells it to stop, and shovels philosophical revelations down his throat without being ordered to do so. There is this excuse going around, about not having enough episodes for properly exploring the themes. It does not stick when half of the episodes are filler, stuffed with fan service. We get stuff like a masochistic lesbian pirate harem, a beach episode, and a belly dance episode full of underage girls for no bloody reason other than masturbation aid. They are supposed to be there so the spaceman can integrate into the world by experiencing sexuality, but they are so goofy you just can’t take them seriously, much less treat them as thematic exploration.Of course if all you want is fancy visuals, good ideas, and softporn, then the show definitely works. There is a lot of shallow entertainment in it, sprinkled with shallow philosophy and fancy action scenes for maintaining the interest of the casuals. The budget is very high, the animation is very lively, and as far as comedy goes, the interaction between dumb barbarians and super advanced spacemen creates lots of humorous moments. It’s in fact the best part of the show; it’s a shame they didn’t build on that, and instead opted for poorly inserted philosophies by a robot. Characterization is paper thin as well, just like it is in all Urobucher shows, since it’s always concept based instead of character based. People are always treated as plot devices, unable to behave as normal human beings because they exist to serve a role instead of being part of the setting. - Nothing in the protagonist’s shift from emotionless to caring feels natural because he is never allowed to change gradually on his own. Instead of giving the hero some time to ponder if his space culture is worth to go back to, he is instead given horrifying revelations that have him reacting by screaming, and the robot lecturing him as if it’s a wise sage. What you are actually getting is a blank self-insert protagonist with no personality, so he can be anything we imagine him to be, being bombarded with theories about morality by Urobutcher who speaks through the robot, and then having lots of dim-witted hentai chicks trying to befriend (and obviously bang) him, as if you are playing a porn game. - The first time the female pirate leader appears, she is a typical bad guy. How did she manage to be a leader? We are never told. She disappears from the story and reappears close to the ending as a completely different character, again with no explanation. Her out of screen change was the result of having completed her first role, and then being given a new one, with no regards to how or if it makes sense. Why is she even wearing the same slutty outfit, if she is supposed to be in a cult full of joyless people? Why do they believe her or what is she even doing there? There is no answer because the scriptwriter doesn’t care. - The robot ends up acting more realistically than any of the hentai bimbos or the stone faced protagonist. It’s as if there is no bloody way for a human to realize all that; we need an emotionless machine to force-feed us answers that all people should know, regarding what it means to be human. And even the robot is not an actual character to begin with, since it’s just Urobuchi in disguise, stealing quotes from other books and using them as his own, in a lazy attempt to show how smart he is at stealing ideas, without knowing what to do with them. There are several plot twists in the show, and they are all a complete mess. - One is about the alien enemies once upon a time being humans. It makes the protagonist to lose his mind when he finds out he was killing people all this time. But the thing is, those people had altered their DNA to such a ridiculous degree that they were no longer the same species. He wasn’t killing people because they are no longer people. In the meantime, when he was killing hundreds of pirates in the early episodes, he didn’t feel a thing DESPITE THEM BEING PEOPLE. - Another one is Earth going through an ice age, which forces mankind to go to space so it can avoid extinction. If that’s true, how come the people who stayed behind survived this extinction-level ice age and are now having a normal life? It’s almost like the space people could have stayed on Earth. - Another twist is the out of nowhere introduction of an evil robot from the spaceman’s civilization, doing obviously evil things in an evil place with evil people, so we won’t have to wonder if the space people were right to leave the planet. The show itself tells us what to root for, which makes it lazy and contrived since it takes away the dilemma. Also, the final enemy is an evil counterpart of the protagonist and his robot. This is stuff you expect to see in silly fighting shonen and not in philosophical shows that are supposed to be analyzing the meaning of life, like Gargantia does so painfully. There is no sense of seriousness or depth compared to titles such as Haibane Renmei or Ghost in the Shell, it’s a parody of science fiction, with minors twerking their asses all over your face for further making it clear. And yet many viewers were still blinded and wrote essays about how mature it is. Anecdote epilogue: "OMG I killed people!" So what, you killed dozens of pirates in the first episodes. "That doesn't count, I wasn't feeling like a human back then." And now that you do, do you care? "To hell with real humans, I only feel compassion for these evolved monsters which have no emotions or individuality." They are technically not people, you know. They are now a different species, like we are to apes. "We are still cousins!" I am not sure if it means anything at this point, but did you notice know Hideause look like fish? "Yes I did." What have you been eating all this time on Earth? "OMG!" *TROLLFACE* UROBUCHI *TROLLFACE*

theSentinel Sep 1, 2013

10

This anime got a 10 from me, but it takes some serious explaination.  So this will be long and in depth.  Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet,  I hurt myself a couple times trying to say it at first.  This anime was pretty good.  so I was writing this while watching the last couple episodes, and sh*t got so real that I had to change everything, so here I go for the second time. at first I was drawn into the anime, it was fun, kind of funny, cool, ect.  It explored many different themes and, unlike many anime, actually did a good job of explaining things logically for me.  I was impressed.  Normally, I dislike themes about pacifism, it makes me feel less a part of the anime and it seems more like a lecture or some crap.  GotVP had this theme too, but they handled it exremely well.  Here is why: --they didnt dwell on mistakes involving this theme--they didnt try to cram it down the viewers throat--they showed how it can naturally be a part of life, I guess you can say they rationalized it well.I was very very impressed by how they took something that most animes do poorly and made it look good.  Now for a little while it seemed like it might be headed in the wrong direction, but it did not. I was worried up until the end, but my worry was unfounded.  There are also several great twists which add even more themes to the series.  They paved the way for some great character developement and some sick truths.  Furthermore everything matched up.  Everything built into the end.  It doesnt seem like it, but trust me it does.  now to the more direct part so you can gain a better understanding. Story:  --started with simple themes of life and started building heavier themes up from that, everything fit and made sense, they explained every point very well.  Extremely impressive--similar to the themes, the conflicts and moods matched.  Started light, but got heavy and weighed on the hearts of the characters, brought out great story development and finished perfectly. Animation:  Production I.G. made the animations gorgeous Sound:  the voice actors were very solid and the soundtrack was great, not Attack on Titan great, but still a 9. Characters:  I came to love the characters, and they had so many unique and great ones.  Even the bad guys were interesting and well placed.  They also focused on the right people.  obviously the main character needed the most building, but they somehow gave every secondary and most minor characters a special place in the anime.  Only the best animes are able to pull this off.    Overall:  GREAT START, GREAT DEVELOPMENT, GREAT END, what more do you want?! Most people will enjoy the vast array of themes that come out in this anime, and they did it all in 13 awesome episodes.  this gave me the same feeling as Fractale, but Fractale was done by A-1 Studios and they have a tendancy of screwing up, which they did to Fractale.   I HIGHLY RECOMMEND  Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet. GO CHECK IT OUT!!

Gzerble Feb 10, 2015

5.7

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is a show with split personality. This show can't decide if it is philosophical or mundane, action or slice of life, deep or casual, plot based or character driven. Like any psychological condition, it sounds interesting but is actually frustrating to the extremes to deal with. It ends up feeling that it is half-baked in everything it does. The philosophy is cheap, and we don't get a true feel for the world, the action feels out of place and the slice of life boring, it isn't really deep but isn't casual fun, the plot ends up pointless and the characters flat. Or more accurately, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet makes me want to slap around the writing staff for managing to mess up what could have been great. The animation is great for the most part, the sound a bit on the cheesy side but is technically well executed, and the show isn't clever enough to make proper use of that. There are two visions to the show, one bright and colorful, the other dark and gritty, and the clash is just plain ugly. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot going for the show if you do not pay careful attention nor expect excellence. It is kinda fun and kinda interesting. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet could have been great if the writers knew what they wanted to achieve, and that is perhaps even more insulting to the viewer than something bad. It starts out wonderfully. The first few chapters do the whole "stranger in a strange land" thing quite well. But the tone becomes preachy very fast, ending with the "aren't we just great" note that feels so smug. And if there's one thing to annoy the jaded viewer who has watched a load of anime, it is that exact kind of smugness. The art tries to fit in with that, and nearly makes it acceptable - but in the end, it just feels immature and pointless. Writing (Story and Characters): How do you take a great premise, a promising start, and manage to completely destroy that by the end of the show? Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet knows, and unfortunately the viewers will remember. There's such a thing as trying too much, and this isn't the case, not exactly. The scope of the show is limited enough for everything to be good at what it does. It's just that the things it does are too disconnected from one another to give a coherent vision. Not bad. Really, the story isn't bad. It has the classic structure: new situation, protagonist adapts, happy place, minor obstacle overcome, more satisfying place, big obstacle causes protagonist to feel like all is lost, dark things, big confrontation, character growth, final boss, happy end. Harry Potter, Star Wars, James Bond movies, and half of all anime adhere to this structure religiously. It is nearly impossible to make something not satisfying with this structure that is executed well. Somehow though, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet manages. It is still effective, just lacking any sharpness or fun factor as the different ideas clash. The lack of logic behind the mechanics of the mechas is one thing, but completely different is when it can't decide what is the actual focus. It ends up a blur that feels satisfying but has no substance; it is in essence a masturbatory experience, and the money shot is in your face. The characters aren't a great cast. The main female character is actually pretty adorable, but the rest just feel generic or shallow. There is no character development other than two and a half characters out of a cast of a trillion or so. Half of the cast that isn't generic is also annoying as hell. The problem is that Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet doesn't really decide if it cares about the characters or not. A character will get an arc, and then is essentially removed from the show. It makes what little development happens feel temporary or irrelevant. A narrower focus and a clear path to how the characters are important would be nice, but the show decides the plot is more important when the characters could become satisfying. More focus on the plot and world would push this show into the realms where its philosophy and depth could shine, but the amount that is irrelevant to the plot just squashes that notion. Two visions are not better than one, not if one is focused while the two contradict each other. The writing of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet obviously doesn't take that into account. What a shame. Art (Animation and Sound): Spectacular at times, dull at others. The artwork of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is just on the border of greatness, but suffers from the double vision of the creators. It starts bright and colorful, and ends dark and dreary. It just makes the dark bit look dull. And what a shame, because both the sound and animation do wonders for the bright and colorful bit. Gorgeous, spectacular, magnificent. The animation on the first two thirds of the series, when it keeps to the bright and colorful themes, is top tier stuff that is done with a unique and soft touch. The last few episodes manage to go in the opposite direction, and then clash with the sound and earlier part of the series in such an extreme way that it feels completely out of context. The motion is fluid, the character designs a bit on the fan service-ish side but distinct and neat, the backgrounds knock it out of the park, and even the CG mechas manage to fit. The lack of a coherent direction, or a return to color for anything other than the two minute epilogue just manage to take away what could have been wonderful. While very cheesy at times, the sound is professionally done. The effects are organic enough to the animation that they feel just right, the soundtrack a bit towards the generic side adds warmth and flow to the Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, but most of all, even if the voice acting is a bit on the cheesy side, it feels great in the first part... yet completely generic in the other. The lack of a singular vision in the writing created a lack of coherency in the art. The lack of coherency in the art causes the world to lose its charm. And perhaps the fact that the art didn't stray from the writing is what ultimately makes Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet not as good as it could have been even with all its issues. The lack of gimmicks in the animation and sound, especially when this technically executed, is usually a strong point. But actually, it makes the CG mecha fight scene at the end stand out and feel wrong for the series. Things like this are what ultimately set apart the great from the good... the art is only half great (the first part), which isn't great at all. Overall: Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet should have been amazing. It isn't. It is above average, but that is just makes it feel like more of a failure. I guess I kind of enjoyed it, but what I will remember is that it started off as a colorful world to be enjoyed, and ended up with a generic fight against evil that makes that part seem unimportant. I can't really recommend this to anyone, as there are better things in each category. I understand that this is unfair of me, but this show makes you expect excellence and never delivers. If it would make the viewer not expect anything and end up solid, it would have been that much better.