Wayback Series - Gate Keepers

Maybe you, can open the Gate.

Ever since today's March (aka the graduation season), I decided to put my work on hold because of my workplace's Lent schedule, and my preparation for this year's Holy Week why? Because I had to save some money for future events. Don't worry I'll be back for a while.

Okay so let me get this straight. If you are a fan of some works from the studio GONZO, then Gate Keepers is your vintage pick.

This incredible but legendary anime is actually a primary RPG for the PlayStation. The game then later adapted into a manga written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi and drawn by Keiji Gotoh, with a total of three volumes published by Kadokawa Shoten from 1999 to 2001. It was later turned into a anime, and it airs on April 3rd, 2000 to September 18th of the same year with a total of 24 episodes. A six-episode OVA sequel, Gate Keepers 21, is released two years later, and the main stars of the OVA were the next generation of Gate Keepers. All incarnations of the titled series, is followed the same basic premise and it shares most of their characters, some are with major discrepancies. Francine Allumage, a game-exclusive character, is completely absent from the anime, while Misao Sakamori, another game-exclusive character, was replaced in the anime with Megumi Kurogane, a original new character (in fact Misao does make an appearance towards the anime's end).

The premise of Gate Keepers is pretty quite amazing, and it set in 1969 Japan, in which a period of time is now experiencing intense economic and social development after the Second World War in 1945. Alien/interdimensional beings, in which is unbeknownst to humans, have emerged with some plans to take over the world by sending numerous agents to wreak havoc in cities, and it could be resulted by turning people into robotic minions, they are known as the 'Invaders (just so you know they are known for wielding briefcases that turned into weapons)'. In a defying attempt to confront the Invaders and to defend the planet, the Alien Exterminating Global Intercept System (aka A.E.G.I.S.), an elite but highly secret organization of peace-keepers, was set up with the government's special funding. The organization is rely on the ability of the power to open dimensional 'gates' of paranormal energy that give his or her superpowers called 'Gate Keepers'. These superpowers that he or she can wield, are the only weapon that have an effect against the Invaders. Although the organization has branches around the world, the anime focuses on Japan's Far East division. The Far East division's A.E.G.I.S. HQ is lie beneath Tategami High School, a facade created by the organization to mask the new Gate Keepers' active recruitment. The location allows the agents to be enrolled in school and be available for a mission at a moment's notice since many of the candidates were high school students.

Now for the characters. The focus character of the series and the controller of the Gate of Gales, Shun Ukiya is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai (years later he will become Inugami in Gugure! Kokkuri-san). Shun has a deep passion for kendo, and discovers that he had the ability to open his Gate in a chance encounter with an Invader attack near his hometown. After discovering the existence of the Invaders and of the organization's skills he developed after discovering his Gate includes 'Ultra Senpuu Kiri' and notably the 'Shinkuu Missile', he subsequently invited to join A.E.G.I.S. and his Gate is considered to be the most powerful of all the Gates that has been discovered.

Ruriko (aka Rurippe called by her childhood friend Shun) Ikusawa is voiced by Ayako Kawasumi (Saber in Fate/stay night and Leina in Queen's Blade), and she is one of the first Gate Keepers recruited in Japan by the organization. Viewed as a model student and in school activities, she's a active participant, but be warned though, she always snaps when Shun uses her nickname in public (what a shame). Ruriko controls the Gate of Life, in which she utilizes it for combat through the materialization of a bow and arrow.

Reiko Asagiri is partially the fact that she is a extremely forgetful and a absent-minded girl (due to a shock from her parents' divorce), she is a extremely talented pianist who discovered her Gate of Illusion when the Invaders attacked her during her very first public recital at a theater. Her ability is to create illusions while playing music does not come unnoticed by the Invaders, who them suffer intense agony when they listen to her melodies. She is the only Gate Keeper other than Shun who operates the prototype Unit 00 Gate Robo, and yes she's the only one who pilot a jet aircraft. Individually, she wields any musical instrument involving keyboards as a weapon (ex. melodica). She is voiced by Mayumi Iizuka, who is known as the one who played Kasumi (aka Misty) in Pokémon.

A tomboyish athlete, Kaoru Konoe (voiced by Naoko Takano) was tormented by her previous stint in the school's track team, and she awoke her own Gate, the Gate of Close Combat, in which she increased her natural physical abilities to epic insane proportions, to create such a logic defying world record for sprinting that it was revoked (just before steroid abuse years later). When fighting the Invaders, Kaoru wears her PE (physical education) uniform; a white shirt with her class tag and blue bloomers (or burūmā). Kaoru jumped at a chance to join the organization so that she could use her abilities without restraint, and to 'steal Shun from Ruriko'. Girl, talk about stealing love from someone.

The mumbling asocial girl who has the ability to set up forcefields around herself with the Gate of Walls (or Gate of Steel in other translations), Megumi Kurogane is voiced by Rikako Aikawa (Nicks Chaiplapat in Infinite Ryvius and Nahato in El Hazard: The Alternative World). To make things worse, Megumi has a secret loathing for Ruriko - she is bitterly jealous of her wealth, popularity and intelligence, and she hates it when she outshines her without seeming to put any effort. Although she is a member of A.E.G.I.S., she does not appear to be interested in socializing with her fellow Gate Keepers.

Wielder of the Gate of Fire and hails from the Chinese (Shanghai) branch of A.E.G.I.S. and later joined the Japanese branch to help out with the Invader's high concentration activity, Feng Fei Ling is voiced by Chinami Nishimura (aka Reika Aoki/Cure Beauty in Smile PreCure!). Her companion Shun (not to be confused with the other Shun), a golden monkey who is a licensed A.E.G.I.S. agent often helps her target Red Invaders. Her brother and her grandfather were taken away by unidentified men from their house according to her flashback, never to be seen again.

Other voice actors appeared in the series including Masami Suzuki as Hojo Yukino (aka Japan's oldest Gate Keeper), Takehito Koyasu as Chotaro Banba (aka the Big Boss), Etsuko Kozakura as Kanetake Meguro (aka Specs in the AXN subtitled version and the organization's mechanics department head), Kinryu Arimoto as the Commander, Miki Nagasawa as Keiko Ochiai (the Commander's private secretary), Tomokazu Seki as Reiji Kageyama, Hidekatsu Shibata as Count Akuma, Shozo Iizuka as Kaiser Kikai ('HEIL VADER!' was his catchphrase), the late Kaneto Shiozawa as Yasutaka Fukuoka (aka Megumi's teacher's pet), and Chiemi Chiba as Shun's imouto Saemi Ukiya.

Relive the adventure, the drama and the epically madness that is Gate Keepers. GATE OPEN!