is a 26-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series created by animation director and screenwriter Hiroshi Nishikiori, manga artist and mechanical designer Yoshitsune Izuna, and

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose sta ...

. Produced by Media Factory, GDH, IMAGICA Imageworks,

Hakuhodo is a Japanese advertising and public relations company. It is headquartered at Akasaka Biz Tower in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. History Hakuhodo is one of the oldest advertising agencies in Japan and was founded by Hironao Seki at Nihonbashi-Hon ...

, Amber Film Works, and

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, the series was broadcast across Japan by the anime

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna com ...

network Animax, and the terrestrial Fuji TV network. It has been licensed for North American distribution by Geneon Entertainment, and also aired on

Anime Unleashed This is a list of television programs formerly broadcast by the U.S. cable television channel G4. Second iteration Final programming Original * '' Xplay'' (2004–2013; 2013–2014 (reruns); 2021–2022) * ''Attack of the Show!'' (2005–2013 ...

on G4 in 2005. With FUNimation's "New Show A Go-Go", they have acquired the distribution rights of the anime, and it was available in early 2009.

Story

Several hundred years in the future, the natural resources of the Earth are exhausted, and the progression of the human race has stagnated. Hajiki Sanada, a delivery boy, lives with mother and sister in Unit Blue, in the impoverished part of the Unit known as 'Night Town'. While delivering a package, he unwittingly stumbles upon a 'Gad', a mysterious device that reacts to the strong feelings of a nearby person. The Gad transforms, taking on the form of a humanoid robot referred to as a 'Techode'. Hajiki soon discovers he isn't the only one who has had contact with a Gad, and that contact with one doesn't always end well. The series follows his struggles to cope with his new friends, his techode, and his life in Night Town.

Setting

Unit Blue

The central Unit in which ''Gad Guard'' takes place is Unit Blue, which is separated into three levels: Gold Town, Day Town and Night Town. Gold Town is the

upper-class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

area, where the wealthy and well-off live in comfort and luxury, and plays host to Global Electronics, the foremost provider of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...

in Unit Blue, a commodity not everyone can afford to have all the time. The characters Takumi Kisaragi and Aiko Mary Harmony live in Gold Town. Day Town is a

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

area, equipped with running water and electricity and is busy and metropolitan in most places. The character Arashi Shinozuka is originally from this area where her father owns a

karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

dojo. While not as perfect as Gold Town, Day Town is seen by people on the other side of the tracks as the place where they'd rather be. Night Town is the

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...

of Unit Blue, and is called "Night Town" because all the electrical power shuts off at midnight and does not come back until dawn. In Night Town gangs and punks run the streets, and all the local kids go to school at a church, taught by a nun and a young teacher, in hopes of giving them what they need to escape their meagre living. Leaving something outside at night is guaranteed to have it stolen, and even walking around in broad daylight can be dangerous. Night Town is the dank and grimy setting for most of ''Gad Guard'', where Hajiki and his family live along with Katana, the Jacque Bruno Gang and a host of other characters.

Gads

Known in the ''Gad Guard'' world only as "powerful stones", everyone who knows of them desires Gads and believes that they can fulfill people's dreams. Though the real importance of a Gad is unknown, they are used as very high sums of currency and are usually only owned by the rich or powerful. A Gad has many peculiar abilities and can take shape into a number of things depending on the personality and thoughts of the owner. These creations are separated into three groups: Techodes, A-Techodes and Gadrians. It is unknown what initially triggers a Gad's transformation, while strong feelings are involved, other times there is no reaction at all. Upon a Gad's transformation into something, all metal and most other material around it are violently absorbed and used as a base for the final product.

Techodes

A Techode is one of the three things that sprout from a Gad, and is also called a "Gadrian" occasionally by characters who aren't aware of the difference between the two. It usually takes the form of a large,

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20 ...

robot roughly tall fueled by the emotional bond between the robot and the owner. These robots are "born" after contact with the Gad's owner while they're having a strong or serious emotion in an area occupied by a lot of metal. Once it has transformed into a Techode, a Gad is considered 'lost' and 'useless'. Only a Techode's 'owner' is capable of controlling it, so it is nearly impossible to sell or trade Techodes. It is implied that those with pure or good intent end up with Techodes, while those with darker, more twisted feelings getting a hold of a Gad leads to the creation of A-Techodes or Gadrians. The five main Techodes of the series;

Lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by Multiplication, multiplying digits to the left of 0 by th ...

, Thunderbolt,

Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in parti ...

and Hayate are all named after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

-era fighter planes.

A-Techodes

An A-Techode is a manifestation of one's darker feelings. Most Gads take the form of A-Techodes, Techodes being very rare. They generally take the shapes of chaotic-looking monsters and are formed in the same way Techodes are, by absorbing the materials around them. Unlike Techodes, A-Techodes are independent creations. An A-Techode's creation can also be the result of a Gad falling into the hands of someone without any kind of strong, impacting emotions or intentions, such as a young child; the result is a

sentient Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '' sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to ...

manifestation of whatever the child was thinking about at the time.

Gadrians

A Gadrian is what is formed when feelings of hate or greed completely consume the owner of a Gad, and likewise, the Gad itself. The Gad then absorbs these thoughts of greed and anger, usually killing the owner of the Gad and creating a monster,

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

in nature with technological modification. Unlike Techodes, Gadrians are made of both inorganic and organic matter. Gadrians can be considered a sub-class of A-Techodes.

Music

Opening theme: * "Boomerang Boogie ~Nanpudou no Ojisan~" by PE'Z Ending theme: * "Song for My Buffalo" by PE'Z

References

External links

*
Gonzo pageGeneon Entatainment siteFUNimation Entertainment Official SiteMadman Entertainment's official ''Gad Guard'' website
{{Amber Film Works 2003 anime television series debuts 2003 Japanese novels ADV Films Adventure anime and manga Funimation Geneon USA Gonzo (company) Light novels Mecha anime and manga MF Bunko J Anime with original screenplays Animax original programming Fuji TV original programming