Kiddy Grade
Conclusion
Technical Conclusion
Kiddy Grade was a long awaited series by the fans of GONZO's productions . Indeed, the series profiting from an enticing character design and also a quality technical staff transformed the initial interest into true impatience following some carryforwards of Japanese TV broadcasting.
Keiji Goto perfectly managed to be surrounded by a qualified and talented team. First, Megumi Kadonosono truly exceeded itself while drawing the character designs of Kiddy Grade. She was well-knowned with the succes of series like Maho Kishi Rayearth but her work on the serie is a brand new beginning for her career. The characters are definitively modern in their design and female characters have some perfect round forms which are in perfect adequacy with the ecchi tendency reigning in Japan since 2-3 years already. The design of the mechas and other machines and vessels is brillant. It is at the same time original and recognizable very easily. Some 3d effects are added to give a definitively modern and technological environment to the series. Gonzo is the specialist of 3D animation and it would have been a shame not to see some of it in Kiddy Grade. They are integrated perfectly into the drawings in 2d and prove once more that the future of animation will be, in the long term, in this kind of animation, skilful mix of 2d and 3d images in perfect symbiosis.
La mise en scène n'est pas transcendante mais reste agréable à voir. Some shots are really complex and are brillanty distilled throughout the 24 episodes whereas others are simply under the skirt of Eclair in order to provide some nice panties shots.
In the end, Kiddy Grade is a brillant series technically speaking. Even if it wasn't the most expected series of the year, Kiddy Grade managed to live upon its intial expectations. Moreover, and contrary to the majority of the series produced and carried out by the Gonzo studio, the realization is always of the same level of quality throughout the 24 episodes.

Artistic Conclusion
We asked ourselves many questions after we've seen the excellent trailer on the Net at the beginning of 2002, but one thing is sure, Kiddy Grade is a brand new departure for Keiji Goto. This series is really different when you compare it to his previous series like Generator Gawl, Bakuretsu Hunters, Martian Successor Nadesico or Real Bout High School. With the will to get away from the conventions and with some new ideas in order to propose something new to the Japanese animation of the years 2000, Keiji Goto managed to direct an original and very personal work in Kiddy Grade. If you're looking for innovative elements, you might be dissapointed, there's nothing like that in Kiddy Grade. The simple fact of changing the appearance of its principal heroins is a very good thing, but that does not constitute a revolution to be honest.
Still, we have to admit that the series is really well directed with an interesting plot and many revelations on Eclair's tragic past. The series need some attention in order to discover the whereabouts of every character. Even if you're kinda dissapointed after the first 10 episodes, don't worry. Let's get this straight: the beginning of the series reveals with parsimony many important elements of the scenario. It is very intelligently brought and done in a very subtle way.
All the secondary characteres are excellent and serves well their purposes. They're a great addition to the main story. Even if some of the actors didn't have all the reference material in order to impregnate themselves fully with their character, their performances are all excellent. Some ambiguous characters are played nearly perfection.
An aspect where Kiddy Grade cannot deny its membership of the current movement in Japan, it is the fanservice parts of the series. You can't miss Eclair's panties even if you're trying to since it's everywhere during the first half of the series. A true festival even we're far from the Najica's amount of panties shots. It's nearly th otaku's paradise!
On the musical level, the series doesn't differ much from the good J-Pop classics. The opening and ending songs are excellent even if they do not compete with the tremendous song that was diffused on the Net along with the trailer. The OSTs aren't really revolutionary but can provide much enjoyment along with the others singles which deserves to be bought.If you like the series, you'll need the OSTs in order to recreate the special mood of the show.
Kiddy Grade is a remarkable series artistically speaking and much less foreseeable than it appears to be when you scrap upon its shallow surface.

Final Words
Kiddy Grade is still a really popular series in Japan. Popular thanks to Eclair and her oustanding outfits and personnality, the series is well placed in recent surveys. Eclair also managed to be more popular thant the Gundam Seed characters in 2003 which is quite something when you know all the Gundam hype. The series is still into the top 3 of the most appreciated series in Newtype Japan, quite nice for a Gonzo show.
Soon after Japan, Kiddy Grade will be available in USA with FUNimation and in France thanks to Declic Images. It's not really surprising when we know the quality of Gonzo's series actually.

The pros of Kiddy Grade : a thrilling storytelling, great action sequences, great characters and of course the one and only Eclair.
It would be a shame to miss one the hotest series of 2002 and certainly the best surprise of the year!

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Dossier réalisé par Arnaud Lautier (Grouick)
Design © Simon Van Daele et Arnaud Lautier (Grouick) 2003.
© Tous droits reservés à GIMIK et GONZO/GOTT.

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