Pete just suffered through two episodes of Gravion and declared it braindead.

I survived 2 episodes. Gravion surprised me with its poor form. I’m just not used to watching anything this retarded.

Futakoi was dumb in the plot and character relationships, but this is worse: incompetent across the board.

But is it incompetence? I don't think so. I think they're doing it deliberately.

The first time I watched it, I tried to take it seriously, and I hated it and stopped watching. Later I tried it again, and this time I approached it as being satire -- and had a great old time.

After I watched Gravion Zwei, I became convinced that the director had his tongue firmly in his cheek from the opening minutes of the first episode of the first series. There are jokes, in the sense of mockery of the genre, for which the groundwork was laid in the very first seconds of the first series. It's clear the director placed them there so they could be sprung at the end of the second series. For example: You know that preposterous, amazing castle? It turns out it's a space ship. In the final plot arc of the second series they use it to travel to the enemy home world.

The reason Gravion is retarded is because it's parodying the worst aspects of classic mecha shows -- and they are all retarded.

Back when I watched the series originally, I exchanged a bit of email with Avatar about it. Avatar was convinced that Sandman was an author-insert. I am absolutely convinced that Sandman is a satire of author-inserts, a deliberately over-the-top ultimate Marty Stu.

Early on, the satire is played with a sufficiently straight face that you can be a bit confused by it. But as the series continues, it gets more and more broad, and I could definitely see them starting to grin. By the time you get to the ending of the second series, they've pretty much dropped any pretense. The joke is out in the open and they're pounding in the tropes and cliches as fast and hard as they possibly can. Once you get into the final plot arc, it approaches farce. I had a great time.

If you're really a fan of mecha series, Gravion is not for you because you're the one they're laughing at. Gravion is the mecha series for people like me, who think that mecha series are stupid. That's because Gravion mocks the mecha genre with utter mercilessness.

UPDATE: Even the costumes are satire. Do you really believe anyone would wear the kind of clothes that Luna is shown wearing in her first appearance on screen?

That costume isn't just fan service. That costume is a joke. And that's what Luna wears when she isn't working. It isn't livery; she isn't one of the maids. She's one of the pilots, and the pilots all wear whatever they want to when they're not on duty. That's just what she likes -- and I don't believe it for an instant. I don't think the director does, either.

In fact, nearly every character in the series can be found here, somewhere. There is one, and only one, character in the series that is played completely straight and is not mocked in any way. Her name is Yumi, and she's the girl Eiji left behind when he embarked on his expedition to find out what happened to his sister.

Speaking of Eiji's sister, near the end of the second series we do learn her fate. I defy anyone to predict it, and I can't see how anyone could believe the director was being serious about it. (And the seeds of that joke are also planted at the very beginning of the first ep of the first series.)

Yes, Gravion is stupid. Only it isn't. I think it's extremely witty and perspicacious. It's the genre Gravion mocks which is stupid.

UPDATE: Pete is one of those people who don't mind watching fansubs. I challenge him to download the third episode of Gravion Zwei and watch it. And see, afterwards, if his opinion changes. That's the onsen episode. Particularly noteworthy is the ping-pong game.

Or if you want something that's less fan-servicey, the second episode would also be a good choice. That's where Eiji's friends come to the castle to try to find him, and everyone goes on a picnic. And then there's an emergency, and a chase scene.

But the third episode (i.e. the sixteenth of the overall series) really is the best choice for this. I don't see how anyone could watch it and still believe the director was being serious.

UPDATE: Pete responds:

I fully trust anime creators be this braindead, and there’s no real satire here in the way it existed in Excel Saga and Abenobashi.

That's true, but that's not the only way satire can be presented.

I think the problem here is more fundamental: Pete is a fan of the mecha genre, and doesn't think it's funny to see the genre mocked.

UPDATE: How many mechas does it take to change a lightbulb?

UPDATE: My referer list just reminded me of this.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 08:08 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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