Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi ni te, Kaku Tatakaeri

I wanted to watch this series since I saw some vines about it, and with a short glimpse starting at episode 12, I got hooked immediately. It seems to have all the elements that I am so wild about; wizards, warriors, dragons, inter dimensional travel, cute moe girls, cute tsundere girls, demigods, military stuff, tanks, jet fighters, explosions, guns, military deployments, sieges... this whole series essentially is a big nosebleed fest for me.

"Gate" is about a portal that opened in modern day Ginza, where an army of knights, ogres, monsters and dragons went through and waged war on the humans. After the initial onslaught on the civilians, the military was able to fight back. Caught in the middle of saving the civilians is a self-confessed otaku and JGSDF office Itami. Although with the help of their modern equipment, the JGSDF was able to fight back and occupy the gate on the other side, Itami became a central figure of peace negotiations as he uses his knowledge of fantasy games to maneuver himself around the new surroundings.

As good as an otaku geekout series this was, there were a lot of things bothering me as the series progressed.

One is the obvious similarity of the situation of the occupational forces in Afghanistan and the JGSDF as they occupy a stronghold of the holy mountain where the gate portal is located. The villages around it also developed in the same way as other communities that surround a US base in modern times.

And much of the progress and display of might portrayed by the military is by the sheer advancement of their weapons over the primitive clans and races. The only redeeming fact is that Itami has a moral obligation to be valiant, pure and true to the spirit of inter-gate peace and interactions. Without him, the series would just be a big show of modern age man bullying a more primitive race.

I was also dumbfounded at the scene where the JSDF Special Forces, cut down the CIA-backed Special Forces/ Operators into shreds... along with other Russian and Chinese Special Forces that infiltrated Japan because of the magic word... "oil". Well, I have no proof to disprove that premise... after all, not all Specials Forces capabilities of nations are known. But, man.., talk about floating your own boat.

But all in all, the series is a good watch for its balance of action, slice of life play, comedy, and other fun stuff... after you get past the grim realities of all that diplomatic backstabbing, family back stabbing and a destructive spiral into despair caused by feelings of anger and vengeance.