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SUMMARY

In 1945, an alien race called "Genjyu" attacked the Earth. Because of the aliens superior numbers, many senior U.N. soldiers are killed in action.  In 1978, the Shibamura Company develops the HWT, a humanoid combat robot.  They were also instrumental in getting the draft age in Japan reduced to 16 years old.  Now, high school classes have been organized into combat units, with each "student" assigned specific duties.

The end of the 20th century is coming, and class 5121 is getting ready to celebrate.  It is a time for reflection, as each of the students take a look at their plans for the future.

Hayami is really stressing about his relationship with Mai.  In spite of this best efforts, every attempt to tell her about his feelings fall short.  Even a date setup by his classmates fails miserably.

When Mai is requested by another tandem HWT unit, time has run out for Hayami.  He has only one chance left to profess his love for Mai before the end of the millennium.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The quality is excellent.  There are no pixels or errors noted.  The colors are solid, and the motion, fluid.

AUDIO: There is very little difference between the Japanese and English 2.0 audio tracks.  It will depend on your equipment on which one sounds better.

EDITS: Clean open and close animation were used.  No edits to episodes have been made.

EXTRAS: There is an interview with two of the voice actors included in the liner notes.  There are no extras on the disc.  That's right, no extras.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Screenwriter Takayama Fumhiko's story is very much in the same vein as "Dominion: Tank Police". You have your team of elite pilots, good at what they do, but all a little weird.  You have the new pilot, used to working on her own, not meshing with the close knit team.  This is also a love story, set against the backdrop of a horrible war.

ACTING:  The Japanese cast does a very good job.  You "One Piece" fans will recognize the awesome voice of Akemi Okamura.  She is perfect as the cold yet lonely Mai.  She plays the character as someone who has forced herself to be tough, even though she is really a gentle woman on the inside.  I was totally shocked to discover that Akira Ishida was the voice for the simple yet lovable Atsushi Hayami.  It's a big departure from his calm and cool Karou in "Evangelion".

The English cast didn't do so well.  The reading given by some of the characters was a little to flat and choppy for my tastes.  Some of the voices are too similar, making it difficult to differentiate who is talking in scenes with lots of characters.

FAN SERVICE: There is a "hot bath" scene, a couple of tight shirts shots, and a good lipstick lesbian scene. Mai has one of the best looking "asses" I have seen in anime. There are also tons of non-too subtle references to Starship Troopers thrown in for good measure.

CONCLUSION:

Wait a minute.  This is the last volume?  You mean to tell me that this is the end of Gunparade March?  I don't get to see how the war ends?  I don't find out why the Genjyu invade the Earth or why negative emotions affect them?  The only conflict resolution I get is the answer to the Mai and Hayami relationship question?

Normally, these dangling plot threads and the "shojo" ending would have me ranting and raving about poor writing, anti climatic endings, and wimpy writers.  In the case of "Gunparade March" the ending is perfect.  Why?  The show was never about the war against the Genjyu in the first place.

This is a school romance drama disguised as a science fiction anime.  You may be saying "but it had those cool mecha battles" or "some of the episodes were really nerve wracking and dramatic".  I'm happy to tell you it was a ploy to get you to invest in the characters.  It isn't the setting you should pay attention to, but what our heroes are saying and doing.  I seriously underestimated the subtlety of the writers, and I am man enough to admit it.

I loved episode 10 "Hello Sadness-Once upon a Dime" for two reasons.  One, writer Fumihiko Takayama keeps you on your toes in regards to the unlucky Tanabe.  Her character always had bad luck, but now she seems to be passing out at the most inopportune moments.  I was waiting for something really bad to happen.  The payoff is better than I had expected.

The other part had to do with the play "Wicked Wizard".  As far back as episode 1, the "fairy tale" Wicked Wizard seems to be a popular fable for the elementary kids.  In episode 10, not only do we get to hear the story of "Wicked Wizard", we see that it is a parable about the war.  As the battle between 5121 and a Genjyu unfolds, the fight scenes parallel scenes in the play.  Credit goes to both screenwriter Fumihiko Takayama and storyboard planner Hideyo Yamamoto for doing something a little different.

I will say I would have like some resolution to the dangling plot threads I mentioned earlier.  I think that as we learn the truth, we would see the relationships between the members of Unit 5121 take some major turns during the "final battle".  I think that the emotional turmoil they experience as friends and compatriots die for a foolish cause would bring tears to your eyes.  As the focus is on Mai and Hayami, and that they only had 12 episodes to tell their story, I'll let it slide.

The animation through out the show impressed the heck out of me.  The cell and CG animation is blended really well.  It's fluid and full of motion, and the quality is always high. I give them credit for making the most of the rather drab computer colorization process.  It seems natural that a world devastated by 50 years of war would not look very clean or have bright colors.

They mecha designs are pretty cool with plenty of detail. The characters on the other hand were a little bland.  While they are different, the lack of distinctive features made it hard to figure out who the character was when not in uniform.

The lack of cool extras through out the entire release was disappointing.  While I understand that licensing agreements can make things difficult, surely they could have included some outtakes, interviews, or show Merideth Mulroney designing the cover.  Anything related to the American production would have been better than what we got, which in this volume is nothing!

Sad that it's over, but pleased with the results, "Gunparade March" is one of the few anime that will appeal to all tastes.  It doesn't matter if you are a shojo fan, a mecha head, or a drama lama, you get it all with this anime.  Sign me up for the sequel!

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