Gabriel DropOut

Every now and then, I often go through a bucket list of things when deciding to pick up a new anime. Make no mistake, Gabriel Dropout’s list consists of some of the most generic tropes you’ll discover in anime. Does that automatically make the show unwatchable? Absolutely not. I mean, the show is like a soup with all sort of generic ingredients in it to bring out the flavor. However, it’s a show that can also be a delight for fans who wants to see some colorful entertainment. On the surface, the series doesn’t really stand out much. It’s essentially about angels and demons who havedescended to Earth to learn about humans and their life style. Main female protagonist Gabriel “Gab” graduated at the top of her class but upon landing on Earth, she becomes a lazy hikikomori who is more interested in video games than anything else. It doesn’t take long for viewers to understand what her character is like as the first episode establishes her role as pretty straightforward. The other characters also take little time to make their way into the story as well. As a slice of life story, there’s not much linear storyline or complex plot going on. Every episode consists of segments that makes up for its storytelling. In fact, most episodes can consist of multiple storytelling segments with little relations to another. However, what makes this show special is the character cast. It’s a small yet effective character cast that consists of Gab, Vigne, Satania, and Raphiel. Gab and Raphiel are the angels while Satania and Vigne are the demons. Contrary to what viewers may expect, these characters are more like antithesis of their archetype. Gab hardly has an angelic personality but is instead portrayed with a lazy and spoiled attitude. Satania is pretty much a harmless villain as her devious behavior is often overshadowed by her own idiocy. The idea is that these characters all came to Earth to adapt with society. Yet, they have their own motives that is satirized by comedy. Speaking of which, the humor of this show plays a big role to fulfill enjoyment. Like most comedy/slice of life stories, it tries to sell its humor and does it quite well. The most effective way it does so is with the character chemistry. With such a small cast of characters, we can easily see how their relationships are without overthinking it. Take Satania and Raphiel for instance. Raphiel often teases Satania while the latter tries to cause mischief with hilarious results. On the other hand, Satania always tries to “compete” with Gab but somehow falls short for whatever reason that comes up. Vigne stands at the middle ground as she a more mature character yet also has her own outrageous moments. That being said, the show also introduces some lesser impactful characters that spice up the character chemistry. One of the more noticeable characters though is Tap, an angel that adds her own bits of magic into this show. In retrospect, the key success to these characters isn’t how their roles are portrayed but rather how they bring the show’s humor to life. As a manga reader, the adaptation is faithful but doesn’t follow every chapter in a linear order. I can also say with disappointment that there were some chapters that should have been adapted. As a standard 1-cour show of 12 episodes, it’s not all too surprising. In the meantime, the humor can be a hit or miss for some fans. Its attempt to sell comedy will not meet everyone’s standards and from the first episode, it can be the deciding factor of keep or drop. Finally, I have to admit that Gabriel Dropout lacks character development. There’s not much change to any of the main characters while we don’t learn much background story about them either. While some could say that slice of life stories like this doesn’t need them, it can still be disheartening for fans who are more interested in those elements. Adapted by Doga Kobo, the show is quite colorful. Literally, every character stands out in some way from their different hair colors and their extra accessories. (Gab’s halo, Satania’s devil-like hair piece, Raphiel’s crosses, etc) Production quality is also simple yet effective to bring out the gimmicks. There’s not much fan service (although there’s a beach episode) so expect more or less comedy as the series’ main way of servicing the fans. The character expressions also works quite well to supplement with the show’s humor. Soundtrack isn’t all too impressive although it gets down the idea right for its OP and ED theme songs. What should feel impressive is the character voice mannerisms. They fit them so well. Gab’s voice really makes her sound like a lazy sloth while Satania’s devilish laughs gives her the impressions of a devil. By the time I finished watching Gabriel Dropout, I felt like the character voices really outdid themselves. Should you watch Gabriel Dropout? It sounds like a tough question but really has a simple answer. If you fancy comedy without relevancy with its storytelling, then this is the show for you. It has humorous gags and characters shine with their personalities. However, if you’re more into something serious or development in storytelling, then look elsewhere. For me, this series has the virtue of being funnier than what it looks like. Now that’s a certain kind of fun.

There are two ways I look at Gabriel DropOut. One is as a CGDCT anime and the other is as a comedy. While the two usually go very well together I separate the two of them for a reason. As a CGDCT anime Gabriel DropOut is alright. Vinge and Satania are cute, and at least Gabriel has a cute design, even if her personality is annoying. However, as a comedy anime it is painful. The biggest issue I have with Gabriel DropOut is that it's not funny. Many of the jokes all boil down to the same thing: "The angels act like demons and the demonsact like angels." That's actually an interesting idea but the problem is it's not very funny. And it's certainly not funny enough to fill up 12 episodes. However, still the show likes to repeat this joke over and over and over and over again. That and Satania bullying (having funny mean things happen to Satania) is the bread and butter that this show has. Both of which got boring pretty quickly. They do sometimes mix in other jokes but even those jokes fall flat most of the time because it's predictable how they end up. Some of them are jokes I've seen from other shows in the past. The execution of these shows as well tends to be lackluster. There isn't enough variation in the setup or the punchline of the joke so it only adds to that samey feeling. Comedy is subjective but I have a hard time understanding what's so funny about this show. Rather it's attempts at humor usually annoy me more than anything. The characters range from good to incredibly grating. As it turns out the demons fall into the former camp while the angels fall into the latter camp. Satania is dumb but can be pleasant to watch due to her attitude and the life she brings to the show. Vigne is basically a normal girl as a demon so like a normal girl, she's cute as well. I wouldn't consider either of the characters very well developed as the show never really pulls them apart from their normal behaviour or gets them into situations where they have to grow. There was a moment with Vigne where she showed some more depth but for the most part, the show lacks in that department. That said the two demons are fine characters and at least are likeable. The issue with these two is that it depends on who they're paired up with for how enjoyable each segment is. They're usually paired with the angels which sadly doesn't help them out. Gabriel is a whole mess of issues. First off she's basically an okatu character played straight. She's never more interesting than that, and her cynicism and her lack of caring get really annoying to watch. It's even more so annoying when they make up this backstory of her being a perfect little angel before getting tainted by the modern world and video games. That actually could have been an interesting story if Gabriel cared about retaining her angelic nature and if it happened slowly through time. Instead, it takes one night, throwing out all illusion of having character development or depth in exchange for a cheap laugh that isn't even funny. What's worse than her bland and uninteresting personality is that there's nothing that makes her likeable. She usually ends up acting pretty mean to her friends, which only serves to make her character less likeable. Thusly. I have no reason to want to see her on the screen nor care about her well-being. It even hurts her cuteness because she has a great design yet it's hard to really adorable or enjoy the looks of someone who I don't like. The ruins part of the magic that could be there. Raphael is a sadist, and if she had any redeemable traits that'd be ok. But she doesn't. Rather she's pretty much a sadist and nothing else. Her target of prey is poor Satania. Sometimes this works well and is funny but most of the time it doesn't. Satania bullying only really works when Satania is being played due to her own faults. Otherwise, it's cruel and seems unfair for poor Satania. What did she do to deserve being bullied? She has her flaws but not enough to justify the amount of bullying she receives in the show. I personally have a problem with characters getting mistreated whether by the world or by other characters and since it ends up happening so often it only adds to the annoyance that this show can provide. But going back to Raphael, that is the main point of interest with her, and probably the only notable one. And like Gabriel, she gives no reason to like her, and thusly she's annoying to have to watch, as well as again being a bland character. Unlikeable characters are fine when there is a purpose behind them. Say if they are villains, or if they're used well for comedy. However, the comedy gotten from these characters are stale and not worth while. Furthermore, they clash against the notion of caring about the girls which hurts the CGDCT aspect of the show. The show doesn't work that well all together, and the root of the cause is its failed comedy. Thusly, I imagine how one feels about Gabriel DropOut depends on how funny one finds it. If one finds it funny then it's some of these problems feel like less of an issue. But personally I didn't, and thusly I relied on the characters to win me over. While Vinge and Satania worked, the angels did not, at least for me. Despite Gabriel DropOut's poor attempts at humor there were a couple of episodes that did shine. These episodes proved that the show can throw in some good material when it wants to. There is a later character that appears named Tapris who is proof of this. However, the show spends more time mulling around the same jokes to really go anywhere and that's it's loss. The art and animation were solid throughout but never seemed notable enough to give it praise. The music was ok, although I don't really care for the OP very much. Overall the show is inconsistent and has issues with its humor and its characters, however, it is pretty cute and does have some merits. This is a show that you can probably tell whether you'll like it or not from the first couple of episodes. They never really move on from that type of material. Personally, I don't recommend it but there are worse shows to watch. An unimportant note: The CR subs for this show were absolute trash. They kept on inserting random jokes instead of translating the actual line. Although that's CR's fault not Gabriel DropOut's fault.

Doga Kobo might not be the absolute biggest name in the anime industry but if there is one thing they have truly made a name for themselves for, then it is their aptitude at making moe comedies. With an repertoire including the likes of Himouto Umaru-chan, New Game and of course the legendary Yuru Yuri among others, this is truly the studio's specialty. Adding to this lineup, this season we now have Gabriel DropOut, which once again showcases just how to make this genre shine at its very brightest. Gabriel DropOut can briefly be described as role-reversed angels and demons turned moe. The story mainly followstwo angels and two demons, who all end up moving from Heaven and Hell respectively to the human world upon starting high school. The catch is that the angels in question are a lot less admirable than you might expect, whereas the demons are not particularly evil. It is a simple twist on paper, but it ends up working to great comedic effect more often than not in this rather mean-spirited comedy show. Given the nature of the anime, it is unsurprisingly largely character-driven. First of all there is the show's supposed main character Gabriel, named after the archangel. She is someone who used to be a picture-perfect angel with the most pristine, beautiful smile whose sole intention was to spread as much happiness as possible in the human world. That is until she one day randomly ends up playing an MMO as a healer in order to help the other players (how the game ended up on her laptop in the first place is never explained but whatever), only to find that people were dying when she ran out of mana, causing her to purchase an exclusive premium healing staff for real money in desperation. And this turns to be the starting point of Gabriel quickly going down a slippery slope until she eventually becomes a self-centered game addict and a hikikomori. In other words, basically a lost cause and in this case a fallen angel. She is rather reminiscent of Doma Umaru from Himouto Umaru-chan in this sense, but Gabriel is even more hopeless since unlike Umaru she 1) does not put in any effort in school or try to keep up appearances either, and 2) fully embraces the NEET lifestyle and does not even try to improve herself whatsoever, much to the dismay of her friends. Speaking of which, her best friend is Vigne (who I think is supposed to represent the demon Vine but I am not sure), a very diligent and kind-hearted demon who only wants to help people. Her devotion manages to get Gabriel to at least get out of her room and attend school sometimes, but unfortunately that is not the way demons are supposed to behave, and thus she sometimes finds herself in just as much trouble as Gabriel regarding lack of financial support from back home. The poor girl just cannot find it in herself to be evil as much as it is expected from someone in her position. Someone who most definitely wants to be as evil as possible though is the so-called "future queen of hell" Satanichia—more commonly known as Satania—which is quite obviously a feminized version of Satan. She is perhaps the real star of this show as most of its funniest gags revolve around her... or rather her misfortune. Put simply, Satania is an idiot, and her attempts at being evil always end in complete failure. Also, the other girls are generally pretty mean to her in return for all the nuisances she creates. This is undoubtedly the most mean-spirited part of the show as Satania is most often treated as the butt of everyone else's jokes, but it works out surprisingly well because of the light-hearted nature of it all (and let us be honest here, quite a lot of the abuse she is given is well deserved). Although pretty much everyone has a piece of Satania every now and then, the main culprit behind Satania's torment however is the fourth and final of our main characters: Raphiel (named after the archangel Raphael). She is a former classmate of Gabriel's from their days up in Heaven, and whilst she may look like a model honor student at a glance, she is actually both a sadist and a huge troll whose favorite pastime is manipulating and toying with Satania in various ways. As she already proved in Prison School, HanaKana is surprisingly adept at voice acting sadistic girls, and the case with Raphiel's character is no different. There is not much in the way of actual plot progression throughout the show. There are a couple backstory segments showcasing how Gabriel and Vigne first met, and in some of the latter episodes we also get to see some more glimpses of what Heaven and Hell look like when the girls temporarily go back home on vacation, which also lets us meet their families. Beyond that though, the show mostly consists of standalone skits (usually like four segments per episode or so), however that is totally fine because this is purely a comedy show at heart, and quite a lot of the time it is actually legitimately hilarious. I cannot actually label it as the comedy of the season for the simple reason that KonoSuba 2 happened to be airing simultaneously, but during any normal circumstances it certainly would be. Granted, humour is very subjective so I cannot promise anything, but at the very least I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed every single episode of the series. Gabriel DropOut is not a complicated series, but it executes its own premise excellently and delivers a consistently enjoyable and momentarily hilarious experience. Combined with Doga Kobo's typical clean and shiny moe art style (and a fantastic ED I might add), it all amounts to one of the best moe comedies I have seen in quite some time. PS: For whatever reason, Crunchyroll's subtitles for this anime are absolutely cringeworthy. In what universe does "Itadakimasu~" translate to "Through the Dark Lord Amen" if I may ask? Keep your 4chan memes away from my subs please, because if you think you are being funny I am sorry to disappoint you. Hopefully some fansub group will pick this show up and retranslate it from scratch sometime in the near future so that it might actually be bearable to read.

Gabriel DropOut is a series you will hear praises sung for due to its take on comedy and unabashedly moe characters as the angels and demons enter the human world and interact with each other with their role reversed personalities. It starts out fun but once it settles into a rhythm it refuses to let up to show even the slightest development in either story nor character. Story: 5/10 Gabriel is an angel that graduated at the top of her class in heaven and she and her classmates enter the human world to learn more about humans, while there she discovers MMO games and quickly becomes a lazyshut in that refuses to do her duties as an angel. She's accompanied by the role reversed cast of angels and demons and the series follows them around in their exploits. Art: 8/10 I really love Doga Kobo's work, and in terms of moe character designs it seems as if KyoAni and Doga Kobo will always pop up in the same sentence. They use bright distinct colors throughout giving the series its light tone, animation is always on point but not quite to the level of LoveLab despite airing several years after it, and the backgrounds are all nicely done. If you like anime simply for the art, Gabriel DropOut will never disappoint in that regard. Sound: 7/10 The VAs in Gabriel DropOut all do fine jobs delivering their lines to fit the moods and personalities of the characters, it never feels off and works throughout the series. The OP and ED are both well done and similarly entertaining. Character: 4/10 The characters are the largest problem I have with Gabriel DropOut and are what make it suffer the most. The main cast consist of Gabriel, the game obsessed, lazy protagonist. She's accompanied by her polar opposite Vingette, a demon who's defining character traits are her upstanding morality and kindness. Raphiel, an angel that has become so bored with the human world that she's developed a craving for sadism. And Satanichia, best described as the devil may care punching bag of the series. Once you're introduced to these characters most of what you'll have to look forward to is Gabriel being lazy, Vingette being responsible, Raphiel finding ways to beat up on Satanichia, and Satanichia being cocky and being the punchline for most of the slapstick humor. The characters never develop or move beyond these defining traits so each episode will repeatedly play out these scenes. This gets tiresome and even though the characters are likable, they're entirely one dimensional and their interactions aren't enough to carry the series. Enjoyment: 6/10 Overall: 5/10 As someone who loved Doga Kobo's work on Yuru Yuri and LoveLab, Gabriel DropOut comes off feeling as if the effort and care put into the latter two titles was missing from it. While it was mildly entertaining, I had a hard time enjoying it due to how stagnant it started to feel even before the halfway point of the series.