Tales of gods and goddesses and the epic battles they wage between themselves are easy fodder for storytellers to turn into movies, books and anime series. Countless ancient cultures have given rise to thousands of myths and legends which are still recounted to this day.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient poem that tells of a Sumerian king that lived around 2700 B.C. He was well known throughout Sumer and the surrounding lands as a great and fearless leader; often times ruthless in his kingship. Years after his death, legends and myths sprang up around the man, making him two thirds a god and one third human. His name was Gilgamesh and even today his tale inspires people, specifically ADV studios.
Plot Summary
Gilgamesh the anime is a sci-fi series set in the not too distant (but bleak and desolate) future. In this future the sky is a shimmering mirror without a trace of its trademark blue. Remnants of a once advanced humanity crumble on a daily basis and people are forced to live without the technological amenities they once cherished.
The current state of the world was caused by a single act of terrorism by a leading scientist from the research facility Heaven’s Gate. Heaven’s Gate was a haven for the world’s top scientists located in the ancient ruins of the Sumerian city Uruk. A psychic phenomenon called Dynamis, centered on the tomb of the mighty king Gilgamesh, attracted all manner of scientists to study it. They hoped to discover the key to immortality and conducted unethical experiments towards that end.
At the start of the series, two orphaned siblings are on the run through a decayed city from loan sharks seeking to make them pay for their mother’s debt. Kiyoko and Tatsuya find shelter in an old and seemingly abandoned house from the men and the rain. Inside they meet a trio of black clad youths who want to help them in their predicament. The young men take care of the debt collectors and then disappear to deal with another threat.
This new threat comes in the form of two teenagers and one child. A battle ensues between the two groups which engulfs the house Kiyoko and Tatsuya are hiding in. The siblings pass out under the stress of witnessing a psychic battle and wake up in a limo accompanied by the teenagers and child.
The new group seeks to allay Kiyoko’s fears, but in the end they rile her up even more. They say they wish to protect the two by placing them under the care of a dark benefactor known as the Countess. Kiyoko wants none of it and demands to be let out of the limo. Tatsuya is younger than Kiyoko and doesn’t see the deeper meaning behind the three’s intervention.
After the two become acquainted with the Countess, Kikyo decides to run away while Tatsuya, who is learning to control his new found psychic powers, stays with his new friends. A bitter dispute between the Countess and Kiyoko ends with Kikyo leaving her beloved brother to go and try to make a living to pay off the Countess who bought them both.
The story goes on to revolve around the war being waged between the Countess’ Dynamis wielding children and the anti-matter fiends known as Gilgamesh.
The two siblings are continually fought over as both sides of the conflict wish to lay claim to the duo’s powers for their cause. The Countess wants Tatsuya and Kiyoko’s help in destroying the Gilgamesh who she says wants to destroy world. According to the Gilgamesh they want their help to renew the planet and bring a new order to the Earth. Who to believe?
Review
I’m still putting the pieces together in my head on how this anime matches up to the Epic of Gilgamesh. The original story tells the story of the great king Gilgamesh who was part god part mortal. He aspired to be a god on earth and forced his people to build the giant walls surrounding his city of Uruk. His people suffered at his hands in trying to placate him with their work, but he worked them even harder. Eventually, the gods heard the people’s cries and sent a wild man to plague Uruk’s countryside and distract Gilgamesh from terrorizing his people.
Gilgamesh himself went to inspect this wild man and try to subdue and stop his destruction of the fields and pastures. The wild man’s name was Enkidu and he was a match in strength for Gilgamesh, a feat never before seen. After a time Gilgamesh captured Enkidu with the wiles of a temple prostitute. Enkidu became civilized and fast friends with Gilgamesh. He tempered Gilgamesh’s fire and passion and made him a better ruler. They were the best of friends until Enkidu’s untimely death by the hands of a jealous deity.
Gilgamesh was then obsessed with finding the key to immortality after his friend’s death. He gave up his kingship and wandered Sumer in search of a means to cheat death forever. He came close, but immortality was snatched from his fingers before he could ever partake of it…
Uh, soooo there wasn’t too terribly much besides the names “Gilgamesh†and “Enkidu†to tie the anime in very closely with the myth. There were a few references here and there and the overall theme was loosely akin to the original. Bottom line: Don’t watch this anime if you’re looking for a modern re-telling of an ancient legend.
Character Design
Gilgamesh was a damn stylish anime. It fused high fashion with gothic tones and created a wholly unique flavour. The Gilgamesh were incredibly fashionable creatures, more like super models than hideous freaks of nature. Every time I saw them I was like, “Work it baby! Turn to the left!â€
The character designs had this weird fusion of Asian and Caucasian in the face. It was a bit disconcerting for me at first, since in my head I was shortening their eyes and rounding their lips. I got used to it and even enjoyed it a bit, but every time I started the series again after a few days of not watching it, I got that weird “something ain’t right†feeling.
The colors were apt for the high fashion goth feel the anime had. The clothing designs were also well matched.
When the beginning credits played I kept seeing in my head the Gilgamesh and Dynamis kids walking down a fashion runway and tossing their hair. Every single time. Gilgamesh had this OC meets Evangelion meets Hot Topic aura emanating from it. This wasn’t a bad thing, but there were many, many teen soap opera moments liberally sprinkled throughout the series. Someone always wanted to hook up with some one and then the drama resulting from either the success or failure of each endeavor was played out.
Like I said, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, just different. I was actually only annoyed twice during the series. Once was when I thought it was going to go all Evangelion on me. The next was the cop out ending that also reminded me a bit of Evangelion. It really felt like they could’ve wrapped everything up real nice like if they only had one more episode, just one more! Be a rebel, have 27 episodes!
Voice Acting
Dear god, do not listen to this with the dub!! I think the creators were totally going with the teen soap opera thing and cast the series with WB rejects. It was horrible! Why did that adorable little boy sound like Ashton Kutcher? How was that necessary? The fix it button, AKA, subtitles button, made everything all better. Oh, and the lack of actual emotion that matched the action was a real put off as well. Skip straight to Japanese audio and you can thank me later.
Music
Soundtrack-wise, the music was well paced and set. The opening creds song, like I stated earlier, was more suited for Paris’ fashion week than to a sci-fi drama. But if that sci-fi drama is suitably fashionable and teen angsty like Gilgamesh is, well then, it was perfect.
Gilgamesh was a good series that had it in itself to be great. It fell short of greatness due to the limits it placed on itself by the teen drama factor and lack of development towards the end. The character development was also good but not great. Overall, this series was really good, just shy of being great, but it’s still one that’s got great style and ambition.
Rating
Gilgamesh gets 3 out of a possible 4 Hammies!
