Elemental Gelade is a new series being released by Geneon that originally got its start as a manga by Mayumi Azuma. The show aired in Japan last year and ran for 26 episodes, which seems fairly standard in today's world. Actually, after sitting down to watch the show I have to say that it is just that; "standard."

Don't misunderstand me because I say Elemental Gelade is pretty generic. I had a lot of fun watching it and am intrigued enough that I would be interested in the next volume. It's just that everything from the character design to the basis for the series is "safe" and just about as a-typical as you can get. There were several moments while I was watching the show that I was reminded by something else. Sure it is funny and yes the characters are likeable, but just about everything here fits one anime stereotype or another.

The show centers around a young sky pirate named Cou who is best described as brash and pigheaded. How he got to be a part of the dreaded Red Lynx pirates is beyond me (at this point anyway) but the fact remains that he is friends with the boss though he still treated like a child. In fact the pirates won't even give him a weapon so he resorts to using a hook and a rope as his tools of the trade. One day that all changes when he comes face to face with the Lynx's latest bounty.

In the storeroom of the Red Lynx's flying ship is a casket with strange markings on it that Cou finds himself playing with. Inadvertently he fumbles his way through a code and unlocks the crate. Inside is a beautiful girl with blue hair who identifies herself as Ren. She seems to be the quiet depressed type and mumbles something about hating humans. Before we get to figure out what's going on the ship is attacked and all sorts of stuff hits the fan.

A group from Arc Aile comes along requesting that Ren is handed over to them and then a bunch of ninjas show up trying to steal her. During the fight Cou gets his butt handed to him but thanks to Ren's power he makes it out alive. You see, Ren is what's called an Edel Raid, which is basically a being that can join with a human host to give them super powers. That's the niche of this series and the focal point of the plot. Basically all of these hooligans that show up on the Lynx's ship are after the Edel Raid and it continues to be an issue through this first volume.

Also going through this first volume we sort of a tried and true form of character and relationship development. Cou has a straight out act before you think mentality and tends to jump into battle or say something without thinking. That doesn't really change though the way he interacts with Ren does. Since Ren is apparently not human she has the age-old "I'm going to be quite and sad looking" attitude that tends to plague anime that feature characters of her type. When the two get together Cou fumbles for what to say and Ren simply stares at him or just mutters his name. Either way it's not very exciting.

One nice thing about Elemental Gelade is that it features a decent amount of continuity. The five episodes that are featured on this first disc flow well together and don't feel episodic in the least. There isn't a lot of depth to the series though and what you see is seemingly what you get. There could always be some more development in the future but in the first volume here nothing really changes dramatically. For a series that focuses on the action and an interesting premise there isn't a lot of "pop" to be found. Elemental Gelade coasts by in the first five episodes and doesn't stand out yet in any way. Maybe that will change with future volumes, but we won't be able to tell until we check those out.

Elemental Gelade is presented with its original 1.33:1 fullframe aspect ratio. Even though the character design leaves a lot to be desired I do have to say that the transfer for this show is fantastic. I was a little disappointed at the lack of a widescreen presentation, but the video quality this show receives is clean and sharp with little to no aliasing. I guess my only beef with this particular category comes from the simplistic artwork and reused animation. It's not a byproduct of the DVD but rather the show's production itself.

Sadly stereo is the only way you'll be listening to Elemental Gelade whether it's in English or Japanese. The voice acting for both language tracks is good enough but due to the limitations of the audio you do have to take it with a grain of salt. There's little directionality and no channel separation as you'd expect, but at least the quality of what's here is good enough to get a passing grade.

Do you get excited when you only have a clean opening and ending animation as supplemental material on your anime? Yeah, me neither. Unfortunately that's all that you'll find on this release apart from some previews.

Elemental Gelade is a show that wants to be loved. It features a bevy of characters, an interesting concept and a decent sense of humor. Sadly the depth really isn't there, the characters are rather cliché, and the premise isn't exactly the freshest thing to come along in recent days. The first five episodes here set up the promise of better things to come but we won't know until we check out the second volume to see how they turn out. If you're looking for a new series I'd rent this one first or wait until the second installment to get a verdict.

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!