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Kiddies Make the Grade
For some, there is nothing as exciting as something new from an old favorite. For others, there is nothing more exciting than discovering someone new. This update features both, with Keiji Goto's directoral debut on the charming and playful Kiddy Grade, and two lovely women who are turning heads in the anime music world: Yuria Yato and Myco.
Keiji Goto is perhaps known best for his character design work for the anime adaptation of Kia Asamiya's Kidou Senkan Nadesico (Mobile Battleship Nadesico). Kiddy Grade is his first directoral job, and his character design talents have permeated this show as well. Employing new and old talent alike, Kiddy Grade also makes a statement on the voice acting front. The show has recently finished its run on Japanese TV, and a U.S. release is likely to happen. Studio GONZO was the production studio for the show, adding to its increasing list of stellar titles.
Kiddy Grade is set far in the future, where many planets have been settled by humans in addition to Earth. The Galactic Union of planets sees to the common needs of all the settled planets. The Galactic Union has a sub-branch called the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs (GOTT), which helps settle disputes between planets. The main characters Eclair and Lumiere are part of a special group of people within GOTT called ES-members: people with extraordinary skills. The show begins as a fun, episodal exposition of the various ES-members' abilities, then turns to a more structured story peering into the heart of the organization. The following screenshots come from various points in the show, though most are right out of the first episode.
The three main characters: Eclair, Lumiere, and Armbrust. Eclair is elegant in appearance, but playful in manner. Lumiere looks like a child, but is mature and sophisticated. Armbrust fills the wispy bishounen quota for the series (but they don't stop at that).
The GOTT ES-members: Dverger & Alv, Lumiere & Eclair, Tweedledee & Tweedledum, A-ou & Un-ou, Sinistra & Dextera, and Cesario & Viola. Each pair of ES-members work independently of the others most of the time, but the show throws pairs together at times.
The many faces of the lovely Eclair. Those golden eyes will be my undoing... (yes, that is LIPSTICK that she's flailing around like a whip).
Eclipse, the director of GOTT, and Lumiere perhaps have the most interesting abilities of the bunch.
Kiddy Grade strikes a great balance between humor, drama, and shameless fanservice.
The eyecatches are cute most of the time, though other times they get a bit...racy. As the other two shots on this row show, the great character design doesn't stop at the main characters. The entire cast is colorful and well-detailed.
The heavier moments of the series alternate between extreme happiness and sadness. Moments like these are where the show will surprise.
Saishu Heiki Kanojo (She, the Ultimate Weapon) opens with an impressive high-speed sweep through the clouds, with the rising sun in the background. The scenery is nothing, however, compared to the aural bliss of the experience, when the sweet and gentle voice of Yuria Yato fills the room. The song is Koi suru Kimochi (meaning 'The feeling of being in love'). Yuria is also the voice behind the ending song for the show, Sayonara - another mesmerizing song in which she begins with a weeping tone and rises to a sort of forceful grace. Yato has an album out, titled Watashi no Shoumei (meaning My Calling, or alternately, Proof of Myself), which contains the full-length version of Sayonara among its twelve tracks.
Our other featured singer is also an incredibly talented voice acctress. Full Moon wo Sagashite (Searching for the Full Moon) is the story of a young girl named Mitsuki who's desire to sing is at odds with her terminal disease. Being that Full Moon is a magical girl show, the normal young Mitsuki transforms into beautiful blonde teenager Mitsuki. Both versions of Mitsuki are voiced by Myco, a member of the 3-person band, Changin' My Life. Myco gives Mitsuki one of the most unique voices in all of anime, having a muffled fullness that makes her character really stand out. This quality carries over to the 'older' Mitsuki as well, though notably more mature. Changin' My Life performed various songs for the show, including the impressive New Future - the first closing song to the show and also Mitsuki's audition performance. We have a sample of the show's second closing theme, Myself, which is Mitsuki's debut single. Changin' My Life has made two albums, and the group seems well on their way to certain stardom (which seems oddly appropriate, considering Myco's role as Mitsuki).
(The single CD shown above is presently the only CD that contains the full version of the song.)
