Kiddy Grade is a science fiction anime series.
The galaxy has suffered interstellar war and has finally formed the Globe-Governments' Union to bring peace and stability. But disputes persist over jurisdiction, eventually leading to the establishment of GOTT, the Galactic Organization of Trades and Tariffs, particularly its Encounter of Shadow-Work Member (ES) force, a group of agents who tend to work in pairs. Amid the slew of similarly unnecessary acronyms that makes a plot synopsis look like a government manual, the important part is this: there are pretty girl agents, and they tend to work in pairs.
Hoping that the modern generation's attention span is short enough not to notice a darker, less exuberant take on Dirty Pair (and probably right in that assumption), Keiji Goto's "original" story concerns Éclair, a teenage agent whose secret weapon is a tube of lipstick made of a high-tech substance that actualizes on contact with air-thus when she draws a whip or a rope, she will have one for real. Her preteen cohort Lumiere has the power to control machines with her thoughts. These abilities, we are told, are what allow them to be agents at such a young age.
Mixing the girl-buddy crime fighters of Gunsmith Cats with a sexy sci-fi setting out of Agent Aika, KG unsurprisingly introduces a forgotten past for one of its protagonists like something out of Gunslinger Girl, causing Éclair and Lumiere to go on the run from their former associates. A feature of Eclair's trauma is that she seems unable to prevent herself from endlessly repeating the same pattern of events, which is somewhat ironic from an anime series that relentlessly reversions dozens of clichés from earlier shows. However, instead of being one more off-the-peg quirk, this revelation leads to a major shift in the show's priorities after the ninth episode, dumping the planet-of-the-week crime fighting of the early chapters in favor of a long arc in which the hunters become the hunted. As the characters recall their past lives, it also introduces elements of amnesia and reincarnation more familiar from Gall Force (or indeed, the final moments of the first Ghost in the Shell movie), and more serious science fiction in the form of the Nouvlesse (a Japlish mangling of Noblesse), the wealthy, privileged elite of the GOTT universe who regard themselves as the last true humans in a galaxy of hybrids and mongrels. This ultimately leads to a full-on apocalypse as the fate of the Earth itself is threatened by a master race's master plan.
The Gonzo studio doesn't appear able to make anime that looks less than glorious; but here it faces what might be called the Ghibli problem-we have this fantastic technical ability, can we marry it to the same level of script and storytelling every time? KG is a thing of beauty, but not an earth-shaker, and the dark undertow of sensuality never quite comes good-or should that be bad? A manga spin-off also appeared in Dragon Junior magazine.
Hoping that the modern generation's attention span is short enough not to notice a darker, less exuberant take on Dirty Pair (and probably right in that assumption), Keiji Goto's "original" story concerns Éclair, a teenage agent whose secret weapon is a tube of lipstick made of a high-tech substance that actualizes on contact with air-thus when she draws a whip or a rope, she will have one for real. Her preteen cohort Lumiere has the power to control machines with her thoughts. These abilities, we are told, are what allow them to be agents at such a young age.
Mixing the girl-buddy crime fighters of Gunsmith Cats with a sexy sci-fi setting out of Agent Aika, KG unsurprisingly introduces a forgotten past for one of its protagonists like something out of Gunslinger Girl, causing Éclair and Lumiere to go on the run from their former associates. A feature of Eclair's trauma is that she seems unable to prevent herself from endlessly repeating the same pattern of events, which is somewhat ironic from an anime series that relentlessly reversions dozens of clichés from earlier shows. However, instead of being one more off-the-peg quirk, this revelation leads to a major shift in the show's priorities after the ninth episode, dumping the planet-of-the-week crime fighting of the early chapters in favor of a long arc in which the hunters become the hunted. As the characters recall their past lives, it also introduces elements of amnesia and reincarnation more familiar from Gall Force (or indeed, the final moments of the first Ghost in the Shell movie), and more serious science fiction in the form of the Nouvlesse (a Japlish mangling of Noblesse), the wealthy, privileged elite of the GOTT universe who regard themselves as the last true humans in a galaxy of hybrids and mongrels. This ultimately leads to a full-on apocalypse as the fate of the Earth itself is threatened by a master race's master plan.
The Gonzo studio doesn't appear able to make anime that looks less than glorious; but here it faces what might be called the Ghibli problem-we have this fantastic technical ability, can we marry it to the same level of script and storytelling every time? KG is a thing of beauty, but not an earth-shaker, and the dark undertow of sensuality never quite comes good-or should that be bad? A manga spin-off also appeared in Dragon Junior magazine.
Episodes
| Season/Ep# | Name | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 - 24
|
As Time Goes By |
02/18/2003 | |
|
1 - 23
|
Annihilation/Zero |
03/11/2003 | |
|
1 - 22
|
Demolition/Titan |
03/04/2003 | |
|
1 - 21
|
Nouvlesse/Arc |
02/25/2003 | |
|
1 - 20
|
Lost/Days |
02/18/2003 | |
|
1 - 19
|
Take/Revenge |
02/11/2003 | |
|
1 - 18
|
Unmasked/Face |
02/04/2003 | |
|
1 - 17
|
Phantasm/Reborn |
01/28/2003 | |
|
1 - 16
|
Look/Back |
01/21/2003 | |
|
1 - 15
|
Break/Down |
01/14/2003 | |
|
1 - 14
|
Steel/Heart |
01/07/2003 | |
|
1 - 13
|
Conflict/Destiny |
12/31/2002 | |
|
1 - 12
|
Frozen/Life |
12/24/2002 | |
|
1 - 11
|
Set/Free |
12/17/2002 | |
|
1 - 10
|
Rebirth/Slave |
12/10/2002 | |
|
1 - 9
|
Mirage/Snare |
12/03/2002 | |
|
1 - 8
|
Forbidden/Instrument |
11/26/2002 | |
|
1 - 7
|
Trial/Child |
11/19/2002 | |
|
1 - 6
|
Twin/Star |
11/12/2002 | |
|
1 - 5
|
Day/Off |
11/05/2002 | |
Series Credits
| Person Name | Episode Count | |
|---|---|---|
| Kaoru Suzuki | 1 |
To edit the cast, go to an episode page.
Original US Poster Art
General Information
Edit
 Name |
Kiddy Grade |
 Name: |
キディ・グレイド |
| Romaji: |
Kidi Gureido |
| Publisher | Gonzo |
| Start Year | 2002 |
| Genres | |
| Themes |
Add a new theme
|
| Aliases |
Franchise
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Similar
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We don't have any info about Kiddy Grade's related seriess. Help us fill it in! |
Recurring Appearances
| Lumiere first in Depth/Space |
24
|
| Eclair first in Depth/Space |
24
|
| Dvergr first in Tight/Bind |
1
|
| Alv Jenever first in Tight/Bind |
1
|
| Eclipse first in Depth/Space |
1
|
Top Editors
-
Agent_Lost
31 points
- Shirobane 3 points
- ChaoticMind 1 point
