Not the standard low hack 'n slash show you'd expect from the first episode.
Ga-Rei: Zero is the kind of show that works its way through its story in an unconventional way, which reminds me of Divergence Eve. Don't worry; that's the only similarity, because Ga-Rei: Zero manages to produce a solid story which follows its script to the letter, leaving no space for inconsistencies. Don't be fooled by the plot gaps you see in the first episodes, because all of them will be addressed later on in a show which has most similarities to a mature plot-based thriller. And plot-based thrillers only work with good main characters.
Animation: Nice character movements, good atmosphere, but slacks on backgrounds.
At first sight there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with anything. The characters look good, the show emits a fitting atmosphere and even the backgrounds seem to be looking good. Most of the people who watch this show will never notice anything wrong either, so for me to address this is kind of like trying to make it look bad. I can assure you, that's not my intention. But when I see something wrong, I address it. And for this show I see a bit of slacking on backgrounds every now and then.
There is also a fairly grim smirk on my face whenever I see the beasts from the first episodes; blocky CG, as if they haven't been able to work it out completely, so it looks like it was brought here from a few years ago. Fortunately, they don't use the CG too much, so there are not many scenes where I felt it was looking aged.
Again, this all sounds like criticism and it is. But that doesn't mean that most people simply never even see these flaws and truth be told, the rest is simply good. And even the flaws are being made up for by creating and keeping that tense, dark and grim atmosphere.
Sound: Great BGM, excellent voice acting, but less good songs.
First thing which caught my attention was the fact that the show seems to be using a whole lot of BGM and that it knows how to use it. Just like how people praise Initial D for its well-use of music BGM during the show, it looks to me like Ga-Rei: Zero knows that trick as well. Two thumbs up for making incredibly good use of striking BGM – although the vocal songs are a less good match.
The mediocre quality of the songs simply shows too much and despite them being inserted at the right moments, the songs themselves don't do much. That's a pity, but then again, the BGM makes up for it once it kicks in, so I don't think it had too much impact.
It's true that the BGM is less visible during the middle parts of the show, but that's merely because there is less action, so the BGM keeps itself on the background, rather than incorporating itself in the scenes.
I was happy with the voice acting. None of the voice actors showed even a slight difference to what they should be sounding like, so the match with the character design was done well. Emotions were done well and when the animation displayed rage in a character, the voices align properly. There is nothing to mention, as I didn't think there were any flaws in the first place.
Story: Starts off chaotic, only to turn back and provide the necessary background to provide a solid story.
When I started watching this show, it didn't look at all like it would prove worthwhile. The first episode looked chaotic and devoid of any development, but the fact it had an interesting ending made me decide to watch the second episode as well.
Once again, the second episode seemed to put me off once more, which means the show either tries to cover up its flaws by making it chaotic, or it actually has something more. And it is only the 3rd episode where the real story starts. Or, like I said in the beginning of the review, this is what it has in common with Divergence EVE: an action-paced start, only to be followed by the reason how we get there – followed by the continuation of what happened after that.
I was pretty much impressed with the solid continuity, the mystery and the atmosphere this show tried to create and after the first few episodes the show manages to produce a mature, solid story with a fine plot and doesn't bail out on anything in order to make that plot work. The characters are there for the story, not the other way around. Which is odd, as the middle part of the show focuses mostly on the characters' development, but that is all to make you understand why these characters are part of the story.
A minor negative part is that by the time they arrive at the point of episodes 1 and 2, they simply re-tell it again, but this time from the perspective you can understand. All of a sudden these episodes will make sense, but it is a bit sad that they spend another episode on that, as most of it has already been shown.
Characters: Only a few good characters, but those are worth the time.
The first thing which came to mind when I finished the show was that out of all the characters, I only saw a couple which were actually round characters. The rest is mostly there for filler – however, despite having next to none depth, they do a good job in creating the atmosphere the show needs.
Doesn't mean that the show doesn't have to offer any good character development, because those few characters who were round, were also really well integrated into the show. Without them, the plot wouldn't work out this well.
It is hard to point out any examples without giving out spoilers for the latter half of the show, so I'm not giving any.
Value & Enjoyment: Really nice story-driven thriller, with horror-aspects in it.
The start of the show puts you off, but once you get past that, it becomes a really nice, mature show which focuses on a strong plot. Don't be fooled by it, as the show turns out very enjoyable. That is, if you can enjoy shows about monster-hunters and blood-ties.
The show is well worth buying as well, as it is watchable for a lot of people who enjoy a show with a story, just as much as it is watchable for people who appreciate action-based shows. It's short, so you're not finding yourself spending money on a long series and there is even value in watching the show again, which is pretty rare nowadays.
