Red Garden

Red Garden is a show full of weird little quirks, but there's nothing particularly quirky about its premise: four girls are forced to fight supernatural forces. Each evening, at any time before midnight, a team of female students from a prestigious school in New York may be summoned by a mysterious woman named Lula to engage in a deathmatch against fast, vicious, zombie-like monsters. Surrender and nonparticipation are not valid options. The girls know nothing about why they've been chosen or who they're really working for, but they hope to find out before it's too late. Studio Gonzo's artistic work here is wholly different from thenorm. Red Garden's characters are tall and lanky, distinctly European-looking, mostly pale and thin, as if to emphasize their fragility and their proximity to death. Their hair and their hard, angular faces are rendered with an attention to detail that borders on obsessive. The backgrounds do a competent job displaying the ins and outs of a big city, from elegant party halls and bustling streets to half-vacant, slummy apartments; none of them draw the eye in quite the same way as the characters, but the effort is nonetheless appreciable. Shortcuts are taken in the animation here and there, but for the most part they're at least placed in such a way as to not be obtrusive, neither adding to nor detracting from the visual experience. The fight scenes are more about the emotional element than the actual combat, so I'll look past what could generously be described as uninspired choreography on that front. Red Garden is at its visual best during moments of calm, when its uniquely stylized character designs can draw a breath and do their job. The soundtrack is orchestral, almost exclusively low and atmospheric, sometimes rising with a subtle and foreboding crescendo during developing scenes of action. On its own two legs, it's humble, not what you're likely to remember as an awesome musical score, but it blends seamlessly into the show, quietly touching the right notes and enhancing the mood from its place in the background. That merits a certain amount of praise. It does its job, and does it well. Red Garden's biggest strength lies in its characters, who are drawn from different backgrounds and social circles to fight for their lives. We meet Rose, a shy and caring everygirl; Rachel, a rebellious partygoer; Kate, the daughter of a wealthy family who is held to high expectations in school; and Claire, a tough loner with few friends. In the past, they've all been passing classmates at best, and they have no common ground. They simply don't like each other. Their personalities don't mix. Two are meek and timid, two are strong and overly confrontational. They bicker, judge, and throw insults without considering the consequences, as teenagers are apt to do. Combat only amplifies these difficulties—how can you entrust your life to (or risk your life for) someone you don't even respect, someone who talked down to you earlier that same day? The end result, curiously, is that all of the girls are too hesitant. No one makes a move during a fight, out of fear that none of the others will come to their aid. But necessity's hand is at work. The girls soon realize that the choice between cooperating and dying is really no choice at all, and they begin to work as a team, slaying their opponents with newfound proficiency. In the process, they find their common ground: a strong desire to live. Trust in battle leads the group to new highs, and eventually the stilted pseudo-friendship turns into the genuine article. Interactions under the moon and those under the sun bleed together. The team meets in everyday life, and its members warmly help each other work through personal problems. The girls are well-written, well-developed, and believably frayed. Red Garden's drama can sometimes seem over-the-top, but it's usually justified. After all, its characters live each day on edge, trying to get through school while dreading the summons of Lula, never knowing what might happen at night, frequently haunted by what happened the night before. Anyone would be a nervous, screaming wreck in that situation. If only the story were handled so gracefully. Early in the series, the girls reach the realization that they're being forced to fight because of two ancient families who cursed each other, and the series takes it from there, delving deeper and deeper into a labyrinthine backstory about the two families and the set of rules by which the curses can be removed or applied. Now, that's a neat (if somewhat trite) idea in its own right, and it could have lead to something rather slick; it has a certain sort of dark, modern folklore appeal to it. But suffice to say that no matter how many ways I look at the dozens of details piled upon this story, they simply don't add up to anything coherent. Every time something is revealed, more inconsistencies and unanswered questions are revealed along with it. At almost any point, they could have (and should have) stopped adding to the top of the structure, and reinforced its base instead. But they don't, they keep stacking and stacking until the house of cards falls. It is a brute-force approach to storytelling which relies on the incorrect assumption that the sheer number of elements is what makes a story intricate and involving. It is dense but ultimately nonsensical, and it ends up serving as a vehicle to carry the infinitely more interesting character drama to us rather than serving as a strong addition to the show. One other thing: the characters sing. Much as I wish that were a joke, an exaggeration, or just a bad dream that I had, it really happens. Red Garden's characters sometimes burst into song at the drop of a hat, and it is every bit as awkward as it sounds. Where this idea came from, the world may never know; there is nothing else in the show that hints at it being a musical, and the songs occur once per episode at most, sprouting spontaneously out of normal dialogue like tonally-challenged tumors. The singing itself is mediocre (in both Japanese and English) and the lyrics are cringeworthy. I wish I could pass this off as just another little quirk in a series that's full of little quirks, and some might choose to look at it that way, but the truth is that even without this element Red Garden would be a bit of a confused experience, and the moments of song produce an even more heightened sense of unreality, as if begging the viewer to ask: am I really watching this right now? In fairness, they appear to have scrapped this idea about eight episodes in, and the last two-thirds of Red Garden are blissfully singing-free, but the “what were they thinking” damage is pretty well done by that point, and it's not easily forgotten. I don't see any of these as fatal shortcomings, though combined, they might come close. When Red Garden works, it works surprisingly well, with a unique artistic presence, fitting music, and a group of interesting characters serving as the high points of the series. It's certainly not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but if it sounds like it might be yours, giving it a try couldn't hurt. I can't sing its praises, but I'll give it a soft recommendation.

Title: Red Garden Manga, Anime: The manga of Red Garden started running just under a week before the show started airing on Japanese television in Gentosha Comics' magazine Comic Birz, with story by Gonzo and art by Kirihito Ayamura. It is still running in Japan, and has two volumes to its name. It has yet to be licensed Stateside. The anime itself ran on Japanese television from October 3rd, 2006 to March 13th, 2007, and was directed by Kou Matsuo (well-known for directing the Rozen Maiden project) and animated by Studio Gonzo (well-known for Gankutsuou and Saikano). ADV has licensed the show Stateside, andthe third volume will be released on the twenty-second of this month. Story: Red Garden's focuses in on four girls -- Kate (the one who's rich and is on the student disciplinary council Grace), Rachel (the bitchy queen bee of her clique, you know the type), Rose (the sweet, quiet one with the little siblings) and Claire (the punk) -- who go to the same school (Roosevelt Academy, which is strangely Japanese-esque for being in the middle of New York) and, for whatever reason, can't remember the night before. As the day goes on, they find out that a girl they all knew, Lise, was found dead that day. After being let out for the day, each of the girls sees a bunch of red butterflies, and mysteriously wind up in the same place. A creepy lady and her male partner show up, inform the girl that they're their instructors, and before telling them to kill a man who turns into a freaky wolf-demon thingy with their bare hands, that they're all dead. Quite the first episode, huh? The rest of the series focuses on how the girls deal with the fact that they're dead and all and the fact that they now have to fight and kill these monsters in order to stay alive, and the mysteries behind all this unfolding bit by bit. One of the most frequent complaints that you will hear about Red Garden is that it's slow. And I won't deny it; the series does overall focus more on the personal lives of the girls and how what's going on now affects that more than the actual how and why of what's going on, and it makes things seem painfully slow. However, the latter does come into play, and when it does, it hits hard. The first ten or so episodes lays the groundwork for what's going on, the next six develop the situation as things are revealed and the stakes are raised, and the final six shows all the cards and lays everything on the line. By the end of the series, you know everything that's going on in these girls' lives, and you feel like you've known them your entire life. They did really well, developing them. And even most of the bad guys and minor characters get some development, so they seem more human and less like cardboard cutouts. Oddly enough, there are a lot of references to American pop culture, which makes sense, as it's set in NYC, but it still throws you for a loop at first. It's not perfect, though. The how and why of what's going on is never fully explained, which is mildly annoying, but not unexpected, seeing as this is the guy who directed Rozen Maiden (and could've resolved it quite nicely in Traumend, but NO!). And there are random bits of song that are thrown in in the first half that many will find painful, but they're quickly abandoned by the second half, which was a good call. And the ending and its vagueness (another hallmark from Rozen Maiden) will probably piss some people off, but know that there is an OVA called Dead Girls that is available raw, but not subbed, and some group should really pick it up. Art: Red Garden has an interesting style in how they design their characters -- more like the Korean style that I've seen in manga, really, than what I consider manga. The necks are unrealistically thin, the noses are really weird, and the lips are huge. But you get used to this by the third episode or so, and it grows on you after a while. And they use gradient shading here and there, and it really looks nice, but only because it's not overused. They also had the budget for outfit changes at least once every episode, which is nice, but the fashion sense was a bit lacking at times, and resulted in painful outfits. Otherwise, fairly decent animation. Music: The background music for this is very heavy on strings and piano, and it's really done well. It does seem a bit overdramatic at times, but those times are few and far between, and for the most part, it adds to the scenes quite nicely. JiLL-Decoy Association does the OP, "Jolly Jolly", which is a lighthearted bit of J-Jazz, and seems a bit out of place with how dark the rest of the series is, but is still pretty nice. LM.C does the two EDs; "Rock the LM.C" for the first half of the show, which is a blend of hard rock and rap, and "Oh My Juliet" for the second half, which is more rock-oriented and a bit more of a love song. Seiyuu: Red Garden is unusual in that the dialogue was recorded before the animation was created (when it's usually the other way around), and you can tell the difference in the quality of the acting, which is top-tier. They've also got three of my favorite seiyuu (Rie Tanaka, aka Suigin Tou; Takehito Koyasu, aka Ilpalazzo and Hotohori; and Daisuke Ono, aka Koizumi), which just adds to the awesomeness. Voice Actors: However, as normal, the awesomeness of the seiyuu does not translate to the VAs for the English version. Most of the VAs perform their lines like robots, and/or are painfully fake-sounding/high-pitched where they shouldn't be. Acting like this is the reason I've gone to subs and never looked back. Also, this is why America should just stick to subs. Fail, ADV. FAIL. Length: 22 episodes is just the right length for this series. Yes, it drags a bit in places and probably could have used more development in others, but any shorter and it would've gotten the shaft, and any longer and it would've gotten painful. Overall: An excellent series with an unusual art style, beautiful music, and excellent story and seiyuu. Yeah, it has some problems (most notably with VAs), but it could be far worse. Story: 9/10 Art: 9/10 Music: 9/10 Seiyuu: 10/10 Voice Actors: 5/10 Length: 9/10 Overall: 51/60; 85% (B )

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Action Shojo, slightly confusing I really enjoyed watching Red Garden – the storyline was interesting and unique, but unfortunately it wasn’t perfect. Truth be told I was having a hard time understanding the plot. At first, I thought it was too complex, but then again, not really. Everything was pretty much explained during the last episodes, except for the butterflies. I think “weird” is a more fitting word to describe the story of Red Garden. You know what’s weird? The girls’ enemies. Why did they have to move like rabid dogs? I also thought the plot was moving really slow. During thefirst episode, Rachel seemed to have gained a new ability, but they didn’t talk about that again until the second half. The whole plot wasn’t confusing though. I love how there are dramatic parts in between the episodes, those that are about the four main girls’ relationships with the men they encounter in their life. I especially love it when the focus is on Rachel and Rook’s relationship. That’s why I call Red Garden action shojo. The four main characters were great. They all had different dynamics, but they were great with each other. I liked every single one of them. I liked Claire’s independent personality, how Rachel isn’t afraid to speak her mind, Kate’s gracefulness, and Rose’s cute pout. I also like how they’re made to live to kill, or vice-versa. The supporting characters were great too. The boys were really dashing, and the villains were horrific. I didn’t get Paula though, the leader of Grace. She seemed like she was in love with Kate. I also didn’t get the two policemen who kept following them around – were they even necessary to plot development? I kept thinking those two were some sort of filler characters. I wasn’t really a fan of the voice acting. Sometimes I felt that the characters didn’t have any emotions in their words, and sometimes they sounded like they were eating their words. They all seemed to have weird accents. Out of the four main characters, Rose’s voice actor, Ayumi Tsuji, is probably the best. I loved her cute voice and it really brought out Rose’s moe personality. Other notable names on the cast list are Rie Tanaka as Lula, Takehito Kowasu as Herve, and Daisuke Ono as Nick. Gonzo really did a good job in animating Red Garden. The colors were really great and vibrant. Normally, what I notice in most of the series I watch is that the colors are of the same hues. What I mean is it’s usually all pastel, or all the colors have to be really loud. It wasn’t like that in Red Garden – the color coordination had a nice contrast. The character designs didn’t look like the usual designs you’d find in anime. I’d say it was American influenced, and I would say the same for the clothes that the characters wore. I would love to have Rachel or Claire’s clothes in real life. Also, everything was detailed, which made good eye candy. I really loved the music. All the opening and ending themes were really catchy and contemporary. I don’t have a favorite among the three, because I like them all equally. Background music was also good. What I had a problem with was the creepy random singing of the four girls. Thank God they only did that for the first few episodes. Another good thing to note about Red Garden is the mixture of different story telling elements that you will witness in watching the series. Of course there’s some action, some drama, some horror, some mystery and even some comedy. That’s why it’s interesting and definitely a must-see.

Mystery, Action, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, and...Necromancy? An unusual combination in creating a show, however, it is one that manages to pay off. Red Garden manages to take each one of these genre's and mix them together for a highly original anime experience. Red Garden thrusts you right into a story about our four main female protagonist and their struggles with trying to adapt to there new lives and as recently deceased high school girls living on borrowed time. You might think this show would take a very straight forward action oriented path. Given the shows premise and the fact that the girls are orderedto fight to stay alive, but this is far from the case. There is action, but it's not the main focus of the show in any way, shape, or form. Instead we follow our girls as they try to balance there new lives while solving the mystery around there death. The show, because of this has a very sophisticated feel to it. Red Garden is an anime about survival, but about mentally surviving. It's about trying to get your life back together when everything you have ever known is flipped upside down. You will follow these girls as they try to adapt to there new life, and because of it change, grow and in some cases become completely different people. Which is what makes this show so enjoyable, is watching these girls go through just a tremendous amount of growth. Each character learns more about themselves then they could every had previously hoped for. As they become acquainted with one another, as there view on the world opens up from there previous narrow view point, as they learn the truth about there lives and there future, all of it leads to some of the best character growth in anime television, ever. You will hate some characters in the beginning because of how the act and grow to love them as they change. Which, to the show's credit is something they handle very well. The writers of this show know how to make the viewer feel compassion and sympathy for each character. Rose, Claire, Kate, and Rachel all end up changing in some way, and it's damn powerful. How much these characters grow will just leave you speechless. You even end up feel sorry for Herve, while at the same time hating it. It's a show that isn't black and white, it's Grey, everything they deal with is Grey. The overarching plot does have some problems and unanswered questions, but at the end of the day they are forgivable. A series such a Red Garden is not about the mysteries surrounding these girls, rather it's the girls handling these mysteries and growing upon them. I hated the art style of Red Garden, and I still kind of don't like it, but it has grown on me. I definitely prefer the character models, and setting of Red Garden then most anime. The characters and backgrounds look incredibly realistic, but the character mannerisms always annoyed me, right up to the end. They are on the brink of being realistic, but at the same time not being quite there, leaving me in a somewhat confused state. It's pretty then 90% of the generic anime that comes out today, but it is still rough around the edges. I, for one, never really like the musical aspect that Red Garden tried to approach in the beginning of the series, which is why I was glad when they dropped it. I think trying to add a musical layer into a show is a good idea and has the potential to really add to a show, but I feel as if it hindered this series. It was like the creators of this show were going for some type of realism where each of the girls was just a horrible singer. Which, in real life they probably would, but it isn't real life, it's fiction. I don't really like listening to off-pitch singers, it annoys me, and it annoyed me hear. Maybe if they had gotten some voice actors that could also sing then it might have worked out, but sadly they didn't. Which, again I am glad they dropped it for the second half of the series(Somewhere around episode 9). It's a highly mature anime that will leave the viewer in a very sombre state as they pray for the safety for the main characters. You will become attached as each character grows as people, you will feel sympathy for those you once hated and hate those you once liked. It's a complex anime of mixed feelings and genre's. It's a slice of life show through and through, you will follow these girls on there daily life as they simply try to survive, as they adapt to there new lives while trying to cling to what they know as reality. So please enjoy as you embark on this very sophisticated journey.