Kiddy Grade

The Peacekeepers

Review by Matthew Anderson

24 Episode TV Series

Company: FUNimation

Running Time: 75 minutes (3 episodes)

Region: 1,2,4

Rated: PG-13 (Adult situations, language, partial nudity)

EXTERNAL EXAM

In the distant future, there exists an organization called the G.O.T.T. (Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs). Their mission is to handle trade and business disputes. When negotiations go awry, the G.O.T.T sends in "shadow units" identified as ES agents.

Two of their best agents are Éclair and Lumiere. While they are lower ranked operatives, few can match their skill. Recently, they have been assigned to work with a rather shady representative of the Galactic Union, Mr. Armblast. While not exactly thrilled to be working with him, they have their orders.

From rogue companies, to arms dealers, nothing can stop Éclair and Lumiere from completing their tasks. Still, what is that Mr. Armblast up to?

DVD VISION TEST

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

AUDIO: The English 5.1 is a good mix, with plenty of surround sound effects during the action segments. The music is blended quite well, and does not over power the dialogue.

The English and Japanese 2.0 is pretty evenly matched. It too has a decent surround sound mix. It will depend on your system which is better.

EDITS: The best of both worlds. Thanks to the use of multiple angels, you can watch the open and close with English titles, or the original Japanese versions. No edits to the episodes have been made.

EXTRAS: Better than on their Tenchi Muyo GXP release. There is an art gallery consisting of a montage of scenes from Vol 1, the clean close animation, a promotional video and Japanese TV commercials. There is also a profile section and a reversible cover.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: If you loved "Dirty Pair", then you are gonna love "Kiddy Grade". Based off the concept by gimik Gonzo, Hidefumi Kimura's story is full of action, snappy one liners, and just plain fun!

ACTING: The cast is very good, on both tracks. On the English dub, we have the always entertaining Monica Rail as the cute Lumiere. Her voice is a little stronger than her work in other titles like "Excel Saga" and "Noir". I enjoy Colleen Clinkenbeard's youthful and energetic voice for the hyperactive Éclair.

Let's not forget the Japanese Cast. Anytime I get to hear the awesome voice of Miki Doi, I'm there. As Eclipse, her strong vocals is exactly what you expect for the leader of a black ops team. I love Ryoko Nagata's mix of sexiness and playfulness for Éclair. I was totally shocked to hear Kikuko Inoue as Alv. I never knew she had such a deep, evil voice!

FAN SERVICE: This is a fan service paradise. There are plenty of panty shots, bouncing busts, and nice bodies to make any man happy.

The ship Wirblwind looks a lot like the ship the "Dirty Pair" flies, and the prison looks a lot like the "Death Star" from "Star Wars".

FINAL EXAM

Dirty Pair by Haruka Takachio is one of my favorite anime. While many have tried to capture their spirit, Kiddy Grade is the first I have seen in a long time to do so. It's playful spirit, beautiful characters, and wall to wall action, makes Kiddy Grade the "Dirty Pair" of the 21st century.

This is a thrill ride, plain and simple. There are no deep plots, no epic speeches, and certainly no angst. It's just 75 minutes of booty kickin' panty shootin fun. Thank goodness for that.

"Kiddy Grade" is fun, but it's nothing we haven't seen a 1000 times before. Each episode follows the standard formula; girls get assigned a mission, carry it out in a very flamboyant way, and then they are done. The characters are the standard "bad-assed chicks". Éclair is the one that kicks ass, Lumiere is the one that can control computers, Alv is a conniving, psycho bitch, and so on. There is the mysterious man who plays all sides, and they all work for an ultra powerful organization with ultra powerful equipment. Sure it's derivative, but it works. Why worry about it?

It's funny, but when I saw the original character designs in Japanese Newtype, I wasn't that impressed. They seemed too simplistic and overly cute. Once I saw them in action, my opinion changed. Now, I love them. Appealing to every kind of fetish imaginable, the designs are the reason why fan service exist. From the curvaceous Éclair to the jail bait Deverger, I'm sure that everyone will find a character they really, really like. I know that I can't wait to meet some of you real life Éclair's and Alv's at the next convention.

Once again, Gonzo has given us a superb looking anime series. The CG and regular animation are blended perfectly. The motion is fluid, with a snap that 90% of anime series today lack. I am quite pleased with the brighter color pallet. In recent times, the color in anime has been drab and dull. Seeing Kiddy Grade restores my faith in this technological innovation. Thanks a bunch Gonzo. Keep up the great work!

My only real complaint about this DVD is that there are only three episodes per volume. I don't know about you, but I have a problem spending $24.95 for half of what I got on FUNimation's Tenchi Muyo GXP release. Fortunately, the presentation of the disc is excellent, so that should lessen the sting a little.

If you are tired of pointless, boring crap like "L/R", Kiddy Grade is the cure to your anime blues. Like a good Champaign, it's light, bubbly, and good for the palate.

Return to Top

Back to the Anime Review Page