Gilgamesh: Cage Without a Key (Vol 2 of 8) Anime DVD Review

Anime DVD Review: Gilgamesh: Cage Without a Key (Vol 2 of 8)

Reviewed by: Krista

Stumble It!

Title: Gilgamesh: Cage Without a Key (Vol 2 of 8)
Publisher: ADV Films
Running Time: 100 min
MSRP: $29.98
Ratio: 1.33:1
Region: 1
Release Date: 8/09/2005

Overall Rating:

Content:

My Rating:

The first Gilgamesh DVD hooked me with its stylistic artwork, intriguing characters and vague references to Sumerian mythology. So it was with great curiosity that I picked up the second DVD.

The story picks up with Tatsuya right after the Gilgamesh disappear from the hotel with Kiyoko. Tatsuya and the Orga search for clues to how the Gilgamesh could have entered their space. Meanwhile, Kiyoko finds herself on a plane at a nearby airbase and gets briefed on the Gilgamesh mission. They ask her to join them but Kiyoko is still plagued with abandonment issues and blatantly refuses to help any initiative founded by her dad. As they talk, Tatsuya and the Orga show up outside the plane and they let Kiyoko reunite with her brother.

Once back in the hotel, Kiyoko finds herself alienated from the others. The Countess is suspicious of her time spent with the Gilgamesh and hates her piano playing - the one joy she has. Tatsuya grows more like the Orga as he learns to use his power of Dynamis. Soon, Kiyoko realizes that since her brother likes it there and she doesn't, it's time for them to part ways. She's leaving.

With Kiyoko off doing her own thing, the story is able to focus on the next plot element. The Orga take Tatsuya into the city where the Countess is meeting an old friend and researcher involved in Heaven's Gate. The hope is that one day, they'll be able to return the sheltering sky to what it was before.

This DVD is a bit more fast paced than the first as we delve deeper into who the Gilgamesh are. It's also more character driven in just a few episodes, Kiyoko and Tatsuya realize they are on different paths and part on separate journeys. So far, it's a solid start and I'm looking forward to more.

Audio/Visual:

My Rating:

I alternated between watching this in Japanese and in English - both are pretty good. The intro theme is a catchy j-pop/techno theme that serves as a pick-me-up for the intensity of the series. The ending song is slower piece with strong female vocals and piano accompaniment. The rest of the score is made of orchestral pieces that complement the anime extremely well.

Visually, this is a very stylistic anime. The characters are pale with haunting eyes and a very limited color palette against dark, detailed backgrounds. There are some 3D effects, but they are limited to explosions or teleportation or some variance in the atmosphere, so they fit in nicely.

Packaging:

My Rating:

The cover has a provocatively dressed Kiyoko sitting in on a lush red bed in a hotel room. The environment is strikingly different from the style of the anime - it looks 3D and is colored in hues of red/orange. Kiyoko is drawn in her normal style, so she stands out as the artwork's focus.

The menu has an old scroll coloring with red around the edges. Tatsuya's side profile sits to the left of the menu options while different background scenes fade in and out behind them.

Extras:

My Rating:

There are a number of extras: clean opening and closing, production and character art, voice actors talk about being involved with the Gilgamesh characters, a recap of DVD 1 and a preview for DVD 3, as well as the standard previews and credits.