released 05 sep 04 / last mod 01 jun 07 / greg goebel / public domain
* At the outset of the first volume of KIDDY GRADE -- an anime series with 24 episodes on 8 DVDs -- we learn about the Galactic Organization of Trades & Tarriffs (GOTT). GOTT is, as its name implies, a trade regulation and negotiations organization for the Galactic Union, but GOTT also has a clandestine function under its "ES Force", operating as a law enforcement group with a certain shadowy emphasis on MISSION IMPOSSIBLE-type social-engineering operations.
The "muscle" of the ES Force is in the form of field teams, and KIDDY GRADE focuses on the team of Lumiere and Eclair. Lumiere looks like a pretty, skinny middle-school kid and has a refined and angelically calm personality, while Eclair looks like a pretty, by no means skinny, high-school kid and has a personality that is anything but calm. They are both "wired" with a serious load of hidden augmentations -- Lumiere can crack and control any digital system, while Eclair can provide massive amounts of brute force when needed, aided by her "magic" tube of lipstick. They are assisted by their powerful and sentient spacecraft, the WIRBELWIND, and a mecha named DONNERSCHLAG.
Lumiere and Eclair seem to be the most junior ES operative team -- hence the series title -- and saying some of the older teams can be unfriendly would be a massive understatement, being more like dangerous enemies at times. In fact, some of the activities of GOTT are so shadowy that it's unclear sometimes that Lumiere and Eclair are actually working for the good guys. There are other mysteries in the story as well: are either Lumiere or Eclair really as young as they look?
* That gives a fair pocket description of how KIDDY GRADE starts out. The impression is of a series of comic-book galactic adventures targeted at a high-school audience and following closely in the tracks of DIRTY PAIR. It is nothing particularly new, nothing particularly spectacular in terms of script and production, and makes sure the watchers get their fair share of "fan service" (Eclair the shower, lesbian overtones to the relationship between Lumiere and Eclair, and so on). However, the production qualities do seem, if not extraordinary, at least above the run of the mill -- the theatrical soundtrack work is very creditable -- and the stories snap along nicely at the outset.
In fact, in time KIDDY GRADE creates a set of intrigues that suggest that it will turn out to be a very interesting and neatly thought out story. Unfortunately, after raising such an expectation, in the end the series dashes it by resolving the intrigues with a series of clumsy plot devices, almost as if the scriptwriters had a box titled CORNY ANIME PLOT STEREOTYPES and picked through it to find one to plug a particular plot hole.
The final result is an annoying muddle, and the nice production values can't save the series from its ultimate crash and burn. The title KIDDY GRADE turns out to be only too appropriate: despite its promise, as it turns out this series barely reaches the high-school level, and is of no interest to adults.
