Gate

For me this was a through back to classic anine like Macross of Samurai warriors (main stream). It has all the prerequisites for most dramedy anime a mix of good guys bad guys a protagonist hopelessly at odds with his character. Some how funding himself surrounded by this odd collection of supporting characters. All of whom are made up of classic archetypes the grizzled old noncombatants, the quiet stable medical officer the gungho soldier. Than you have the girls demigod badass, wise wizard, than the traumatized victim that once she wakes up yet another badass. Look in short you want to watch an anime that has some laughs and drama not to mention some kick but animation this is for you if you are looking for something way more serious highlighting the horrors and trauma of war I suggest Beserk or if you want to go way back Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise. Trust me there is enough of the terrible Hell that is war in those movies to sufficiently depress you.

"A gate to another world opens, and..."

Anime that start out like this are a dime a dozen these days, and this one starts out exactly the same. However, it soon takes that familiar start and does its own thing with it. What would *really* happen when the world discovers a gate to another world? Would politicians want to make peace with these new people, or would they want to scavenge this new world's resources? Would everyone welcome the newcomers to their respective worlds with open arms, or would there be fear and distrust?

If you were to just judge Gate by some random screencaps, you would be hard-pressed to tell it apart from any other anime like it. A lot of the tropes it uses have been done a million times before. Cute, big-breasted girls fawning over well-intentioned, cool-looking guys. Fantasy creatures galore. Wonder at the differences in their respective worlds.

But Gate takes a much more realistic approach to what would happen if something like this were to occur for real, and that's why I'm okay giving it a 7. It's still tropey as hell, but it manages to stand out from the rest because of its realism.

Do I recommend you watch it? It's only 2 seasons for now, and there's a lot of stuff out there that is better, but if you're wanting to watch something isekai-ish that is not just the same thing repeated for the 1000th time, Gate is for you.

If I had to liken Gate to another television show, it'd be Stargate SG-1/Atlantis. Of course, Gate is (besides being an anime) more fantasy than sci-fi, but Gate has the same sort of character dynamics and plot. The leader/main character has a very cavalier attitude and acts like he really couldn't care less about his work, but in reality he's a do-gooder at heart. The fantasy land is plagued by the Empire which doesn't think twice about sacrificing its plebeians, and the people of the fantasy land are of a medieval era and think that the earthlings' technology is magic. The main character(s) go around rescuing the common people and expect nothing in return, but their superiors are more interested in the gains that an unexplored and easily conquered territory can offer. Of course, Gate is an anime, so the main character has his own little harem conveniently drop into his lap (I'm not complaining; that's 90% of what makes anime awesome).

The specifics of the plot: Tokyo suffers a surprise attack by forces of the "special region," who arrive via a suddenly opened gateway that links Earth to their world. Although the invaders have tamed dragons, their weapons are of the medieval era, and their forces are easily defeated by the JGSDF. However, the sneak attack results in massive civilian casualties. In order to prevent this from happening again in the future (with some obvious ulterior motives), the JGSDF sends troops to the other world to occupy the other side of the gate. In order to get the lay-of-the-land, the JGSDF sends Lt. Itami and his squad to make contact and initiate negotiations with the locals on the other side of the gate.

I'd say that the animation is 9/10, and the plot is, while somewhat unoriginal, also a 9/10. The characters (or at least the main character) are a 10/10, as they're easy to relate to and like. The action, while not being of the typical anime mecha or superpower clichés, is a 10/10. Just my personal opinion, but there's something about medieval action sequences that's just awesome, and this anime has the added bonus of exploring what a battle between medieval weaponry and modern weaponry might have to offer. The result: a very subtle, unique, and almost philosophical juxtaposition regarding how very efficient we as a species have become at the art of killing (with a lot of anime charm thrown in).

Overall, in my opinion, this is the best anime of 2015.

The theme of Gate is what would happen if a modern country somehow connects to a Medieval Fantasy World, a clash of automatic guns against swords, a Humvee vs Cavalry, a modern fighter jet vs dragon. It is a fun world making for the fans of genre with the modern world having realistic take on politician, press and otaku's, all having their own agendas. Lots of interesting and fun characters, this anime really surprised me with its storytelling. At times kiddish other times too mature for kids, so I am not sure who the target audience it, still a fun watch. Ended up binge watching both the Two Seasons.

This series fluctuates between a care free attitude and brutality quickly, this can be a bit jarring for some (as can be seen in the reviews) but I suggest an open mind and looking at it from the view of a "survivor" using copping mechanisms to keep sane, and keeping real world history in mind.

Conquering nations were rarely kind and slavery and the abuse of the captured was very common, if anything "Gate" downplays how bad it really would be.

Here's to hoping there will be a 3rd season.