Gdleen

“Gdleen” is a 1-episode OVA with fantasy, action and sci-fi elements that takes tropes from those genres and runs with them, but doesn’t really get anywhere. The story begins with a Japanese company employee named Ryu who, along with his boss, the robot MOS, crash lands on a planet called Gdleen. Although this doesn’t seem to have been their initial destination, MOS is insistent that Ryu get out there and research the planet’s resources for their company, and even write a report about it, even though they’re stranded on an unknown planet with hostile inhabitants who are actively trying to kill them. After inexplicably escaping deathmultiple times, Ryu comes across Fana, a fairy who ran away from home (we never see any others of her kind, however), as she is bathing in a pond. They both get captured by the hostile race of beings on this planet, while MOS, who is receiving favorable treatment at another race’s settlement, couldn’t care less. Ryu and Fana are to be brought to the planet’s god, Governor, as sacrifices, but there’s something suspiciously wrong about the whole ordeal. Can Fana and her powerful magic save the day? Will Ryu and MOS ever get back home? And what bout Fana and Ryu’s budding romance? The premise of this show is okay, but the execution is lacking. Cheap, nonsensical gimmicks are often used to drive the story forward. Also, all of the characters are tropes and/or stereotypes: Ryu is the typical self-insert salaryman, MOS is the typical smart-talking computer navigational system/robot, Fana is the typical absurdly naive love interest, the antagonist is cliched and predictable, and none of the other characters are memorable. Furthermore, the characters are largely unlikable, especially MOS, whose demands that Ryu work normally despite everything going on around them are incredibly annoying. Fana’s all-too-convenient naivety and nonchalance about being captured are also irritating. The story has a conclusion that’s relatively serious, despite the overall comedic and lighthearted tone of the OVA, although it could be considered a happy ending. In the end credits, there’s a still image showing an “epilogue” of sorts, so we know how all the main characters end up, but it’s rather sudden and surprising. The OVA’s technical aspects are generally average. The animation and character designs are okay, although backgrounds and other elements of the world aren’t that detailed. We’re given a look at the planet from space at the beginning and end, and it has a unique appearance, but due to how jumbled the direction is you might miss this. There are also a few scenes with nothing much happening in them that seem to go on for too long. The voice acting is acceptable, except I found Fana’s voice to be grating. Music is by and large forgettable — the folk rock-inspired ending theme is okay, but it doesn’t fit the tone of the series too well. There is significant objectionable content in this OVA, including a number of scenes with nudity, characters getting killed/shown as already dead (this isn’t too graphic, though), some animals and a guy relieving themselves and some explicit dialogue. Please note that this OVA also has a lot of flashing effects, and there are two scenes where the flashing is particularly intense (close to the halfway mark and during the climax). If you are even the least bit photosensitive, I would recommend either not watching this at all, skipping those parts, or watching those parts at reduced speed. Overall, “Gdleen” felt aimless to me. Was it trying to be a comedy? An adventure? A romance? A critique on society? It spread itself too thin and bundled itself with too many tropes to get anywhere, and the characters are difficult to sympathize with. This OVA was hard to watch, so I don’t recommend it.

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