Manga Review: Gate Keepers Volume 1 by Keiji Goto (Original story by Hiroshi Yamaguchi)
It is 1969, and Japan’s prosperity is increasing. Rapid industrialization and technological advancements have brought economic good times but also rapid social change and then unrest. More pressingly for our story, mysterious aliens known only as “the Invaders” are secretly striking at Earth in an attempt to take it over. Opposing them is the Alien Extermination Global Intercept System (AEGIS), an international secret agency. Making their task more difficult is that only humans with superpowers, known as Gate Keepers, can battle the aliens with any chance of success…and the ability to open a Gate only triggers during adolescence.
Our story proper begins with Shun Ukiya rushing to his first day at a new school. He’s interrupted by the appearance of a mysterious black-hatted humanoid with a briefcase that turns into a gun. Shun is saved by a masked figure, but has to return the favor when her mask is shot off, and he somehow summons a gale-force wind. The girl happens to work for AEGIS, the local commander of which already knows Shun’s name and somehow was aware of Shun’s powers even before the boy was!
Shun doesn’t notice how suspicious that is, and AEGIS Far East Branch’s headquarters turns out to be located directly under Tategami High School. The other team members are also students there: Ruriko Ikusawa (Gate of Life), Kaoru Konoe (Gate of Close Combat), Misao Sakimori (Gate of Iron Wall) and Reiko Asagiri (Gate of Bedazzlement). Shun Ukiya (Gate of Violent Wind) is immediately promoted to team captain of the Gate Keepers because he’s male because the Commander says he’s the only one who can do it.
Shun starts learning more about the individual girls, but soon learns that not all Gate Keepers are on his side. Reiji Kageyama (Gate of Shadow) claims to work for the Invaders “because they let me be myself.” He’s a bit older than the members of the team and far more experienced at using his powers, getting away after demonstrating that.
The team picks up another member, twelve-year-old Fei Lin Fen (Gate of Wild Beast), who’s a collection of Japanese stereotypes of Chinese people, up to and including having a “pet” panda.
Reiji returns and easily defeats Shun one on one, but wants to toy with his prey. By the time he’s ready to kill Shun, Reiji’s old teammate Jun Sanders shows up to team up with Shun. Reiji’s then recalled in favor of Commandant Seigfried, a Japanese World War Two general turned into a cyborg by the Invaders…for reasons.
Seigfried, aka Hell’s Panther, is especially tough, and even the addition of walking French stereotype Francine Allumage, Jun’s current teammate, isn’t quite enough to win. Good thing the rest of the Gate Keepers show up with a giant robot for Shun to pilot!
This manga was an adaptation of a video game of the same name, which may explain a few things about the plot structure.
The art is okay, but the female characters do tend to suffer from “same face”, a problem when the cast is so heavily tilted towards them.
Overall, I’d rate this first volume as “adequate.” It suffers considerably from Shun being a generic protagonist who is special because the story says he’s special. Outside of having a strong combat Gate, he’s a lazy but reasonably good-hearted fellow who spends a lot of time being blindsided by new developments. Why is he the designated leader? Why are the Invaders after him in specific? Why are all the girls attracted to him in some manner? Because the story says so, that’s why.
This volume does very little with the late Sixties setting, either, beyond a quick scene of the Vietnam War. (The Invaders want America to withdraw from Vietnam…for reasons.)
There’s a bit of mild fanservice (Kaoru strips down to her gym uniform for battles) but nothing a junior high reader couldn’t handle.
It’s possible the rest of the manga picks up, but this is not an encouraging beginning. I’m instead going to recommend the anime adaptation of the game, which switches some of the characters around, makes the Invaders way more creepy, and generally does a better job of characterization.
Have a video of the game opening!
