Review of Elemental Gelade: Vol. 2

Introduction

Cou, Ren and the gang are back for another helping of `Elemental Gelade`, a shōnen manga-based (or, `for the boys`) anime show which sticks very closely to its source, down to the print-based expressions of emotion and exaggerated character appearances. This second volume in the six-disc release sees the ex-sky pirate and his merry band of travellers engaging in several kooky adventures on their way to Edel Gardens, a promised land of sorts for the powerful Edel Raid race.

Episodes:

6. Eyeing The Pleasure
7. Determination
8. The Edel Hunter
9. The Secret of Razfe Ankle

Video

Full-frame 4:3, and you`ll be hard-pressed to find any major technical flaws with the transfer. The show itself is bright and colourful, with some fairly energetic animation and the quaint, semi-cutesy visual style that seems to go down well among the broad-appeal anime fans. There are a few evident artifacts during some fast-motion scenes and a few instances where the visuals notably soften or dull, but you really have to be looking for these to pick them up.

Audio

English dub or native Japanese with subtitles, but disappointingly only in Dolby Digital 2.0; a strange choice for such an action and set-piece orientated show. Still, the tracks are both clear with solid mixing. The voice cast on the Japanese track is notably more mature-sounding and versatile compared to the rather dull and samey Americanised dub, which when combined with the manga-faithful artistic choices in terms of character design, does tend to make it feel like you`re simply watching a Saturday morning `toon for kids, doing the show an injustice in the process. Also worth mentioning is that the score is full of pop-ish tunes if that`s your cup of tea, and the theme tune which opens the show is truly a bubblegum J-pop fan`s wet dream.

Features

15 minutes worth of interviews with the Japanese voice cast who don`t look particularly comfortable appearing on-screen, but have some interesting opinions about their characters.

Trailers and a creditless opening are on the disc too.

Conclusion

A pleasantly enjoyable set of episodes grace volume two of `Elemental Gelade`. It`s incredibly light-hearted stuff, with bold colours and cutesy animation stylings that, visually, wouldn`t be out of place on a Sky One Saturday morning line-up. At least, that is, if you take it at face value. There`s no denying that it`s a fairly formulaic, broad anime series that`s just a comical cross-purpose or `battling companion` bust up away from being adult unfriendly, but it cleverly manages to avoid being condemned to the juvenile pile as kids stuff thanks to a high energy, rip-snorting pace, an interesting mythology and playful, knowing interplay between the main characters. Saying that, those likely to get the most out of it on these fair shores are undoubtedly the BeyBlade/Cardcaptor-playing type, the ones who rush out to buy the latest Yu-Gi-Oh videogame; which - somewhat bizarrely - isn`t as limited to pre-teen merchandising marks as you`d think. But if you`re in the mood, any anime fan will find something here to enjoy, just not world-changing stuff.

The journey to Edel Gardens continues, as does Cou`s anxious relationship with Ren. He can hardly be near her without the scene turning into a screwball comedy as he tries his best to impress his Edel Raid, but somehow manages to simply turn into a ball of gibbering nervous energy. The pair, along with the members of Arc Aile who join them, are at the heart of the constant group hijinks that make up a solid half of the show`s running time, with the other half dedicated to battles between themselves and agents of the nefarious Chaos Choir, an admittedly clandestine enemy cloaked in mystique, but one with seemingly one-dimensional aspirations of power and occupiers of a low position on the table of anime bad guy groups. The volume`s tales are a little fluffy - hell, they`re a lot fluffy, but the characters are likeable and the scrapes they get themselves into are enjoyable. There`s some significant fleshing out of the Edel Raid race and some of the darker aspects of the Arc Aile organisation are touched upon, but little in the way of narrative to get excited about.

The appeal of `Elemental Gelade` is undoubtedly broad, but its fusion of Pokémon visuals and blithe spirit isn`t likely to win too many fans among anime lovers who like their Japanimation with a bit of meat on its bones, to deliver gripping narratives or to tackle the big issues. Still, the show is fun, shouldn`t be derided for the decision to keep as close, visually, to the moé-style manga as possible, and this volume points at plenty more throwaway fun for all ages to be had in future volumes.