"Kiddy Grade" (2002) TV series 2002-2003

Director:

Keiji Gotoh

Writers:

Christopher Neel (English dub)
Sonny Strait (English dub)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

8 October 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Plot Keywords:

Police | Female Protagonist | Space | Cyborg | Anime

Cast

Colleen Clinkenbeard	...	Éclair (24 episodes, 2002-2003)
Aya Hirano	...	Lumiere (24 episodes, 2002-2003)
Ryoko Nagata	...	Eclair (24 episodes, 2002-2003)
Monica Rial	...	Lumière (24 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Directed by
Keiji Gotoh		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
John Burgmeier		(2 episodes, 2002)
Hidefumi Kimura		(2 episodes, 2002)
Sean Whitley		(2 episodes, 2002)
Christopher Neel		(unknown episodes)
Sonny Strait		(unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Shiro Hamaguchi		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Megumi Kadonosono	....	character design (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Evan Jones	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Yota Tsuruoka	....	sound director (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Stephanie Nadolny	....	dubbed singer: "Mirai no Kioku" and "Future" (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Jeremy Carlile	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)
Colleen Clinkenbeard	....	adr director (unknown episodes)
Steven J. Simmons	....	translator (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Gonzo Digimation

Distributors

• Fuji Television Network (2002) (Japan) (TV)
• FUNimation Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co. (2003) (Japan) (DVD)
• Déclic Images (2004) (France) (DVD)
• MVM (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)

Runtime:

Japan:25 min (24 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:PG (some episodes)

Company:

Gonzo Digimation

Trivia:

Pug's first and only anime role.

Quotes:

Lumiere: Elegant, Éclair, elegant!

Movie Connections:

Remade as Kiddy Grade: Ignition (2007)

Good series, even if a bit silly

Good animation quality, nice story, very detailed script. I liked the technology a lot, since it is different from what we have now only by its scope, power and simplicity of use. Also, the typical feudal future as seen in a lot of SF writings, seems logical to me, since democracy is only the child of overpopulation.

But it does have its weak points. The Japanese/English soundtrack that makes no sense no matter how you translate it, the silly girlish clothes and behaviours applied to seemingly very old and powerful creatures, the heroic theme (the main characters escape from ridiculously dangerous situations by frowning a little, while "normal" ships and people are destroyed instantly).

All in all, though, it was a nice series, it made me watch it from start to end. It does borrow from a lot of successful animes, but it does it in an almost original way. Also, if they would have made it more serious, people would have accused the makers of copying Ghost in the Shell. Man, I miss that series.