Gall Force: Eternal Story Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2006-08-10 (updated 2012-07-16)
• 2.5 stars out of 5 (?)

Gall Force is either an epic space opera gone horribly wrong, or a babes in space flick gone horribly right. Either way it's painfully derivative and spread thick with classic anime cheese, but there's something memorable about the package, and when you add in the half-dozen sequels, it becomes the first installment in a sort of low-rent space opera epic. Its strength comes partly from that it rips off so many Hollywood and anime sci-fi standbys that it's almost original; it opens with a sort of Star Wars, the middle section is ripped straight from Alien, and the end is a desperate planet-side battle. A couple of the characters are also memorable, particularly Lufy--memorably voiced by Hiromi Tsuru, her jaded devotion to the cause ends up giving her the most poignant scene in the film. The look is dated, but holds up reasonably well given its age.

In all, Gall Force isn't high art, and is rather dated in a lot of ways, but it does have enough action and variety to keep it interesting. It's a little heavy for a simple babes in space flick, but if you're a fan of classic sci-fi adventure and are willing to overlook a lot of cheese to get caught up in it, you may well love it.

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2006-08-10 (updated 2012-07-16)
• 2.5 stars out of 5 (?)

Gall Force is either an epic space opera gone horribly wrong, or a babes in space flick gone horribly right. Either way it's painfully derivative and spread thick with cheese, but there's something memorable about the package, and when you add in the half-dozen sequels, it becomes the first installment in a sort of low-rent space opera epic.

On the surface, Gall Force is standard babes in outer space fare. The action borrows heavily from an array of classic Hollywood and anime sci-fi--the middle section in particular is ripped straight out of Alien, except with no men and an alien H. R. Giger wouldn't have used for toilet paper. The title pretty much says it all, and the often-silly dialogue is about on the same level.

However, despite every indication of being a simple skin/action flick, there is a sort of epic quality to Gall Force that makes it more interesting that the sum of its largely re-used parts. It rips off so many different things that the story almost comes across as mildly original. More than just space opera, it's about one third Star Wars, one third Alien, and one third sci-fi "last stand at the Alamo," with a bit of Robotech/Gundam-style mecha action thrown in for good measure. Original, no, but it certainly hits all the genres.

The progression is at least mildly interesting, in particular a couple of passably dramatic moments and a decent twist of an end. It also has no qualms at all about killing off main characters, giving it a bit more edge than you might expect. When you take the sequels into account, I could almost be convinced that there was intended to be more to it from the beginning.

That's where the confusion comes in. If Gall Force was actually somehow intended to be straight space opera, something went terribly wrong--it's far too cheesy (I can't even call it loveably campy) to take seriously. Yet if it was never supposed to be more than babes on a spaceship, there's an awful lot of semi-functional drama ruining the mood, a moderately dark overtone to the story, and a notable lack of skin through most of it.

Either way, some of the archetypal characters have bite to them--Lufy in particular fills the angry, honorable warrior role well. She's also the most interesting character of the lot, and ends up with by far the most poignant scene in the film.¹ Rabby--the main character--is passably competent, which is a pleasant change from the norm for a lot of similar flicks. On the down side, the least-interesting members of the crew--the sort that have no business being in the military, and seem even more silly when put next to the more competent folks--are the longest-lived.

Visually, Gall Force is somewhat dated, but the animation is reasonably good (particularly for the era), and there's quite a variety of action--everything from massive space battles to planet-side gunfights. The character art is a bit inconsistent, but at least there's variety in Kenichi Sonoda's character designs (if you're a fan, you've probably already met all the main characters--originality is not one of his strong points).

I can't speak for the dub, but the Japanese acting is a big part of what makes it work as more than just a skin flick. Were this a live action film, it would've starred a lot of semi-skilled actresses picked for their appearances, but the Japanese voice actors are talented veterans. Although some of the cast is rather childlike considering the characters' situation (not the actress' fault--the characters are written that way), Maria Kawamura turns in a solid performance as the ship's commander, and Naoko Matsui holds up her end as the serious, solid center of the cast. Consummate veteran Hiromi Tsuru, however, is the real standout as jaded fighter pilot Lufy, elevating the parts she's involved in above their cheesy foundation.

In all, Gall Force isn't high art, and is rather dated in a lot of ways, but it does have enough action and variety to keep it interesting. It's a little heavy for a simple babes in space flick, but if you're a fan of classic sci-fi adventure and are willing to overlook a lot of cheese to get caught up in it, you may well love it.

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Related Recommendations

Aside from all the series it borrows from and its own sequels (of which Gall Force 2 and 3 are the most similar thematically), it bears some similarity to Outlanders, and in other ways perhaps the original Macross. Other classic, not-so-high-quality anime sci-fi series include Garaga, The Humanoid, the vaguely Alien-like Roots Search, and the camp-loaded Space Adventure Cobra.