Another silly cartoon. This time we’ve got Kiddy Grade, whose premise is somewhat similar to that of the Dirty Pair: two girls working for some galactic oversight group enforcing the rule of law, justice, and the good of society. Unlike the Dirty Pair, the ladies from Kiddy Grade have supernatural powers (the little one is a super-hacker and the older one has all manner of superior combat abilities). They are also minors. And competant.
Eclair is the tough-girl of the two, and as the older of two minors is the subject of 90% of the show’s fan service. She’s armed with a lipstick-based weapon that produces some kind of crazy ribbon, which she is able to use to great effect.
Lumiere is the younger, elegant teammate. She has a great rapport with their spaceship and can control electronic devices though… telepathy or something.
More images from this show can be found at the PBCC Online Gallery if you care to peek. There is some mild fanservice going on in this one, but nothing on the order of Agent Aika, or even Hand Maid May. The plotline and dialogue are a bit trite, but the animation is quite nice. It’s good in much the same way a James Bond movie is entertaining: nothing to challenge you with, and you’ve seen it all before elsewhere, but still nicely executed.
FFS. Another kiddy grade basher who hasn’t continued watching the series.
I thought the first few eps were pretty dire aswell. Go watch from ep. 8 onwards and then come back with your tail between your legs and rewrite this review. It’s so obvious you haven’t continued watching the series as Kiddy Grade comes into a ‘Grade’ of it’s own after ep. 8 and ep. 11 is my favirote anime episode of all time.
I’ve viewed up to Episode 13 now, and the show is growing on me a bit more. The first half dozen of episodes had no little character development that I had given up on it as a serious work, but was pressing on for mild entertainment value.
I don’t recall every episode with great clarity, but if Episode 11 is the one where Eclair and Lumiere participate in the union-busting on the earth-like planet, I agree. Excellent episode with a good plot, character development, and voice acting. I understand that Eps 14-16 are available now in english, so I intend to get ahold of them sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Thanks for the input.
Kiddy Grade is definitely a series that requires a second and a third glance. While it may seem to have a pretty shallow and obvious plot line in the beginning the darker tones to the series make themselves known as you go on. The plot is actually quite complex and I promise that by the end of episode 15 you will be so confused that you won’t know what to think. The music in the series is also fantastic (I’ve just bought the first two soundtracks), along with the animation style. I highly recommend giving it a second chance! I’ve recently created a Kiddy Grade site, the first online in English I think. Go take a look.
http://www.geocities.com/thrynn_kg/Kiddy_Grade
I agree, the first 8-9 episodes are dedicated entirely to fanservice, and even I was growing tired of it… fortunately, Gonzo made a turn for the better with 10 and on. I can only hope to see what happens on 17 now 😀