is a mecha anime television series produced by Sunrise. It was written by Ryousuke Takahashi, who also created the series with Sunrise and shared directorial duties with Goro Taniguchi.

The series is marked by an exceptionally detailed and convincing treatment of mecha design and operation, albeit within the context of the alternate reality of the story. Set in the near-future (at the time of release), a little-understood form of matter known as "Mile One" allows a powerful and influential Japanese family, the Gowa, to produce a bipedal weapon which they refer to as a Tactical Armor (TA). At this time a war breaks out between the US and the fictional Middle East country of Belgistan, much like the Gulf War. When US military forces attempt to seize the capital they are systematically wiped out by what appear to be rival TAs. The Gowa Family seizes this opportunity to demonstrate their weapon system, and civilian pilot Yuushiro Gowa and the military squad to which he is attached are deployed to Belgistan. There, he meets rival TA pilot Miharu, with whom he seems to share a deep spiritual bond.

Much of the initial plot is driven by means of news reports, the style of which is heavily influenced by the coverage of the first Gulf War by CNN. Elements of Japanese culture, such as Noh, rigid family hierarchies, corruption of government by Zaibatsu and Samurai appear throughout the series.

Composition

Gasaraki consists of 25 television episodes which were first aired on TV Osaka from October 4, 1998, to March 28, 1999. It was released on VHS and DVD in North America and the UK by ADV Films.

Characters

• - The main character of Gasaraki is a quiet, withdrawn teenage boy who is viewed as a tool through which his elder brothers in the Gowa family seek to further their goals. He is a member of a special JSDF unit charged with testing the TA system. As a test pilot, he is found to possess the ability to synchronize to an extraordinary degree with the TA hardware, and in particular with the Mile One synthetic muscle tissue (a process described as a "Mental Burst"). At the behest of his family, he is also a performer of a fictional, mystical form of Noh theatre, the dance of Gasara, through which he is able to open dimensional gateways.

• - Much like Yuushiro, Miharu is a quiet, introvert girl, who is a test subject for the organization known as Symbol. She pilots the organization's version of the TA, that is referred to as Fake.

• Meth - A council member of Symbol

• Phantom - Symbol's CEO

Episode List

1. On the Ancient Stage of Stone
2. Opening Movements
3. Tantric Circle
4. Mirage
5. The Touching
6. The Puppet
7. Return
8. Inferno
9. Storehouse
10. Kugai
11. Ties
12. Unravel
13. Disembark
14. Companions
15. The Threshold
16. Karma
17. Chaos
18. Rear Windows
19. Wails
20. Upheaval
21. Run
22. Personification
23. Eternal
24. Punctuation
25. Gasara

Voice Cast

References

• Anime News Network - Gasaraki (TV)

Media links

• Gasaraki promotion trailer

External links

• Gasaraki ? Sunrise' Gasaraki page.

SunriseScience fiction television seriesDrama anime and mangaMecha anime and mangaSupernatural anime and mangaAnime of the 1990sAnime with original screenplays

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