Gatekeepers

In 1969, "invaders" are showing up around the world. An organization has formed, called AEGIS (Alien Exterminating Global Intercept System), to resist against them. They seek out Gatekeepers - people who can open gates - which gives them the power to fight the invaders.

One of Gatekeepers' strongest aspects is its fun cast of characters. Shun really makes for a great lead character because he has a fun personality that really adds to the show. There is a love triangle that forms between Shun, Karou and Ruriko that makes things even more interesting. Each character has a different type of gate, for instance, Shun has the gate of wind, Ruriko has the gate of life, and Fei has the gate of fire.

I only have a couple of complaints. The first one is that new characters are continually introduced, like a new gatekeeper each episode, until a little over halfway through the series. In addition, a few of the enemies are too silly, such as a huge stereo and a chef-building that attacks with food.

Despite this, every episode kept me entertained, especially the later ones that beefed up the plot a bit more. Gatekeepers isn't the most original show, in plot or presentation, but it still manages to be enjoyable. Gatekeepers is a "monster of the week" show, however, it never felt like one. The story doesn't really start developing until all the gatekeepers have been assembled, but the early episodes are still good. There is also a little bit of mecha thrown in.

The opening is really upbeat and catchy while the ending has a slower pace and is nicely done. The animation is very good and it stays consistent until the final episode. The show features beautiful character designs by Keiji Ghoto.

The ending is well done, and even wraps up the romantic side of things. Gatekeepers is too much fun to pass up. Recommended.

Score:

Written by Marc Frost on Mar 07, 2014