Twwk enjoyed the premiere so much that we decided that the rest of us would like to join in the fun too, hence this second First Impression, this time as a BtT Team effort!
Here’s the episode recap from Twwk:
Ara, the world of humans, was once a paradise but is now a wasteland filled with treacherous people and terrifying creatures. Meanwhile, above Ara, there exists another realm, one that’s beautiful and ethereal, where the titular Gabriel cares for a wondrous garden and guards the “Eternal Seed.” He takes his job seriously but his spirit is young and somewhat restless; he asks for tidings about others of his ilk and wonders about the humans living below. Among those residing in Ara is Nok, a giant hunter, who has been imprisoned until he is freed by a terrifying giant summoned by Namay’ah, a young woman who thinks she has brought a god to life. As Nok battles his foe, an enemy sneaks into Gabriel’s garden to steal the Eternal Seed. And in the chaos of both these battles, Gabriel is about to be thrown into an adventure he wasn’t expecting, but one that he has perhaps been made for.
claire
Wow, that first episode sure is jam-packed! We get three POV characters, copious lore setup, and a good look at the worldbuilding, while also hitting that point that is usually ten percent of the way into any YA novel, where the lead character’s entire life is upended dramatically and an (unwanted) adventure begins. There’s a certain amount of reliance on tropes to get all this heavy-lifting done, and it’s a shame that the one female character is also the most annoying one (Gabe suffers a tad from the perky boy syndrome common to shonen leads, but he has cat approval, so I’ll give him some grace!); but I get the sense that each of these characters is in for a mighty growth arc, rather than spending the series fulfilling plot functions. Part of what convinces me of this is the fact that the series is reminiscent of the classics of the 80s, like the original She-Ra, He-Man, and Thundercats, in the visual style, characters, and worldbuilding, but with a higher production value and MCs that are already more three-dimensional than the Hasbro heroes. This tells me that Gabriel and the Guardians is building on a tradition of classic animation, but bringing to bear also the greater potential of the medium developed since its makers were kids. It may be a passion project, but it’s clearly coming from a passion not just for conveying a message, but also for the medium itself. This is very welcome indeed, particularly for Christian media where the artistry of the medium is often sacrificed to the message. Also, the music score is totally rocking, with just enough synth to bring the warm fuzzies of nostalgia for any 80s kid. In short, show me more!
Mecahawk
It’s a breath of fresh air to see a unique anime setting that’s both visually and intellectually appealing coming from a Christian studio. I believe Angel Studio’s vision for Gabriel and the Guardians has some great opportunities and lofty hopes for which to aim. The world brought to life through Colossul Studio and Tiger Animation is a bit reminiscent of shows like Last Airbender and some of their other works with their design style, specifically in terms of character art, which isn’t a bad thing at all. The colors are vibrant, the characters immensely identifiable, and the audio design and voice work is on par with anything you’d see coming out of most other production studios. It’s also refreshingly novel to see characters upfront with some of their moral ideals even if only subtly hinted at, such as Nok saving his former jailor from being crushed, or when Gabriel speaks to his cat friend about the mendability of broken things. He just meant a column, but it’s clear his worldview centers on that, what with the divide between the heavenly and worldly realms. It’s a bit of a callback to much older writing styles where most of today’s young adult fantasy presumes a universal code of morality and truncates any moral messages for the final arc, obscuring them through feel-good, boilerplate, undisagreeable niceties when the time constraints force it upon the series. I suspect that our protagonist is going to have to suffer a bit for his beliefs, but that in the end, holding firm to his ideals will make the difference in overcoming the countervailing winds. I hope to see more of this show soon and get to know its characters on a deeper level.
WacOtaku
Dragonball V(eggieTales) is finally here! Joking aside, my more serious thoughts are best prefaced by the following story:
I once watched a video lecture on making Christian media, and the presenter was a producer at an indie film company. He told a story about a would-be writer who kept insisting he needed to use her badly undercooked movie script. When he tried to gently tell her that it needed to be overhauled in the second draft, she entirely missed the hint and said to him, “God told me that’s the script of your next movie.” To which he finally had to respond frankly with, “God needs an editor.” The point of the story is that in making Christian media, we can’t act as if passion and good intentions will excuse poor craftsmanship. We owe it to the audience to offer them something that is good qualitatively as well as morally.
Gabriel and the Guardians has taken this lesson to heart. The art is gorgeous, the animation is fluid, top-tier voice actors were brought onboard, and the OP and ED are catchy. The plot appears to be sticking to a lot of popular tropes and genre conventions, but it also understands those tropes and how to use them well. In short, the show looks and acts like a professional anime project made by people who love the medium, not a pale imitation signed off by a committee with a vague notion that, “That Japanese art style seems to be getting popular these days.” (There’s likely an entire book that could be written about the issue that a piece of Christian media looking so professional is, in and of itself, newsworthy—and el capitan TWWK went into more detail on that topic in his own article on this show.)
Getting into the show itself, I sense a lot of Avatar: the Last Airbender influences at work in Gabriel and the Guardians. Some of these influences are little things, like a quick gag that closely resembles ATLA’s most famous running joke; others are more substantial. Perhaps this is just me, but I can’t shake the feeling that Namay’ah is “Evil Katara” (or at least a deeply misguided Katara, although her set-up does strongly imply a future redemption arc). Gabriel also seems to have more than a few similarities to Aang in his fun-loving and well-intentioned, but also hesitant and conflict-averse personality. That being said, these characters have plenty of distinguishing features as well, and the archetypes they pull from are so ancient and universal that it would be deeply unfair to call the cast a simple copy-paste of any single work.
I am just a tad disappointed that we got a straightforward, mainstream shonen battle series for Angel Studios’ first big “anime” production—I’d love to see a Christian animation take on something like Oregairu, Laid-Back Camp, or even Vinland Saga—but that’s the eclectic anime geek in me talking. The rational part of my brain knows that for a studio taking its first serious steps into the anime market, it’s wise to take a safe bet on something with broad appeal and then branch out from there. And hey, if Gabriel and the Guardians proves that Christians are willing to support more serious animated works targeted at older audiences, maybe I’ll finally get a TV series of The Mice Templar after years of hoping against all hope (seriously, go read it: its Christian themes are so pervasive that I’m a little amazed it was ever released by a secular publisher). But for now I’m just going to enjoy Gabriel and the Guardians—not because I feel like I’m “supposed” to watch it—or because Mom won’t let me watch Toonami so I have to settle for a substitute—but because I want to watch it.
Gaheret
Machine ghosts and space cowboys stare at the Western traveller who takes the anime-ish route, hoping to be the Next Airbender. Many interesting attempts end up feeling flat. It is usually a matter of texture: anime tends to be a very layered medium, brimming with ambiguous feelings, surprising symbols, and strange little moments. A lot is happening beneath the tangles. Western animation is typically much more straightforward and idea-driven, a tendency that also has its virtues. Going full anime is an inherently risky move, but I’m happy to report that Gabriel and the Guardians seems to be pulling it off.
“May we never be shaken. May we never fall.” There are quite a few intriguing elements in this premiere. The opening is really good. I found the three main characters and the worlds they inhabit intriguing, and they bring to mind some visually striking titles of the 2000s like Xam’d, RahXephon, or Wolf’s Rain. So far, Gabriel shares another trait with these shows, though: it jumps around quite a bit. As a result, you don’t get a lot of time with anyone except Gabriel. I’m following, though, and I’m open. If the characters end up forming a team, as the title implies, the issue could be rapidly resolved. This leads us to the second risky move: the themes.
Gabriel is trying to put the more mysterious chapters and concepts of the Book of Genesis into fantasy lore use. The Tower of Babel, the Nephilim, the fate of the Earthly Paradise and Nok (Noah? Enoch?) all make an appearance. Even more so than anime, the Bible is overcharged with meaning, and these attempts can easily fall into the banal (2014’s Noah and Exodus are good evidence). The mystery itself makes a completely faithful approach impossible, nor would the format allow it: if Gabriel was an incorporeal being who decided everything in a single, defining act, the show presumably wouldn’t be a lot of fun. I’m happy as long as we get something resonant with the biblical tales, one way or another.
I think Angel Studios is good at that sort of thing. So far, we have seeds of light, a war between order and chaos, giant killers, and dreadful idols. My only significant complaint is that the hellish characters look a tad too goofy, but perhaps this is out of concern for the younger members of the audience. I’m cautiously optimistic, and I will continue watching. Let’s see where Gabriel and the Guardians takes us.
And so there we have it! So far, Gabriel and the Guardians wears its artistic inspirations on its sleeve—and not to its detriment—but we’re still waiting to see exactly how this series will walk out its faith inspiration too. The fact that we can’t see the whole faith story yet is a positive though, because it means that this series is about building a story and not just trumpeting a message. And that’s something that we at Beneath the Tangles can definitely get behind!
Gabriel and the Guardians is streaming through Angel Studio’s platform, which you can access here if you are in the US, and via the mobile app if you are outside the US. The first episode is free, though it requires that you create a free account. Subsequent episodes will likely be available to subscribers only, but so far, only one episode has been released.
