Gate...
Recently, I watched Gate...
The initial arc of the story, the SDF establishes a stronghold at the site of the portal and promptly obliterates the otherworldly forces with modern weapons and tactics. Itami is placed in charge of a small reconnaissance unit to make peaceful contact with the natives. Our hero, soon begins to work toward building a sizeable bevy of female natives ranging from elves, to demigods, to magic users. And, of course, Itami also encounters a large and dangerous fire-breathing dragon.
The second story arc has Itami's force assist a large city-state with a mob of hostile soldiers attempting to overthrow the local rulers and pillage the city. The battle builds to a wonderful climax as the local forces find themselves overwhelmed by the hostiles. Then, the helicopter gunships show up to make relatively short work of the offenders, and all of this plays out to the tune of Ride Of The Valkyries. This sudden change of the tide of battle, greatly impresses the local rulers.
That brings us to the next arc, which has otherworldly people coming to our world. Once here, our guests get a taste of political intrigue from our world as a handful of great powers endeavor to wrest control of Japan's monopoly on the portal and the people that live in the Special Region. After this adventure, the remainder of the series focuses on otherworldly politics with a brief respite as Itami and the SDF go dragon hunting.
Throughout the series, Gate, feels a lot like an extended infomercial for the SDF. But, I don't hold that against the series. There is some red ink in the series associated with violent conflicts, but, as a whole, Gate, isn't particularly gory. There is some bare skin, but, there are no naughty bits to speak of. Overall, Gate was very entertaining, but, did suffer from a bit of slow pacing in parts of the series as it took a while for the disparate threads to come together in the end. I gave Gate a 3 out of 5.
The story of Gate revolves around a mysterious portal from another world that suddenly opens onto our world. Our hero, Itami finds his trip to the annual comic convention interrupted by a flight of dragons and hordes of hostile beings rampaging through Tokyo. The invaders have the advantage of surprise until the Japanese Self Defense Force shows up on the field of battle with modern weapons and promptly cut the invaders to pieces. In short order, the SDF, secures the portal and send expeditionary forces to the other world, which is known as the Special Region.On August 20XX, a gate suddenly appears in Tokyo's Ginza district, unleashing a portal where monsters, medieval knights and other fantasy beings come from another world and wreak havoc on Tokyo. The Japanese Defense Force take action against these monsters and push them back into the Gate. Third Reconnaissance Team is dispatched to the Special Region lead by officer (and otaku) Youji Itami. On their travels, they are joined by a beautiful elf girl who is a survivor from the dragon's rampage and guide the group across the dangerous new world.
The initial arc of the story, the SDF establishes a stronghold at the site of the portal and promptly obliterates the otherworldly forces with modern weapons and tactics. Itami is placed in charge of a small reconnaissance unit to make peaceful contact with the natives. Our hero, soon begins to work toward building a sizeable bevy of female natives ranging from elves, to demigods, to magic users. And, of course, Itami also encounters a large and dangerous fire-breathing dragon.
The second story arc has Itami's force assist a large city-state with a mob of hostile soldiers attempting to overthrow the local rulers and pillage the city. The battle builds to a wonderful climax as the local forces find themselves overwhelmed by the hostiles. Then, the helicopter gunships show up to make relatively short work of the offenders, and all of this plays out to the tune of Ride Of The Valkyries. This sudden change of the tide of battle, greatly impresses the local rulers.
That brings us to the next arc, which has otherworldly people coming to our world. Once here, our guests get a taste of political intrigue from our world as a handful of great powers endeavor to wrest control of Japan's monopoly on the portal and the people that live in the Special Region. After this adventure, the remainder of the series focuses on otherworldly politics with a brief respite as Itami and the SDF go dragon hunting.
Throughout the series, Gate, feels a lot like an extended infomercial for the SDF. But, I don't hold that against the series. There is some red ink in the series associated with violent conflicts, but, as a whole, Gate, isn't particularly gory. There is some bare skin, but, there are no naughty bits to speak of. Overall, Gate was very entertaining, but, did suffer from a bit of slow pacing in parts of the series as it took a while for the disparate threads to come together in the end. I gave Gate a 3 out of 5.
