Kiddy Grade – The Complete Series (The Viridian Collection) — anime — dvd review
When Funimation sent me Kiddy Grade – The Complete Series, you might say I was less than thrilled at the prospect of writing a review. The characters on the box looked fairly cutesy, the rating was only a TVPG, and the title itself was “Kiddy Grade.” Suffice it to say, the combination conveyed to me hours and hours of torturous children’s fare. Thankfully, this turned out to be far from the case. In reality, Kiddy Grade is far from kiddy-grade entertainment. In fact, it’s a fairly intelligent sci-fi tale, with enough twists and intrigue (psychological and political) to keep even this jaded entertainment-elitist enthralled.
Note: At the current point in time, I am a little over halfway through Kiddy Grade. I will update this article with my final impressions of the series once I complete the last four discs. Also, screenshots will be added shortly.
The basic story of Kiddy Grade centers around Lumiere and Eclaire, two covert agents (codenamed ES) for the GOTT, the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tarriffs. Eclaire is the bubbly teenage cyborg equipped with super reflexes and a lipstick whip/force-field/strength-enhancer, and Lumiere
is a ‘tween with super-hacking skills and a penchant for etiquette. While young and relatively inexperienced, the two form an unbeatable duo, rounding up space smugglers, baddies and assorted criminals in the name of interstellar law — that is, until the two discover the very organization they work for is involved in black-market weapons trading and assorted human rights violations. Our heroes, being persons of a very strong integrity, object to these developments, and immediately find themselves ousted by the GOTT, set upon by the very people they called friends and colleagues. As the adventure moves on, Lumiere and Eclaire will discover hidden and surprising truths not only about their organization, but themselves as well.
As you can probably tell from the above synopsis, Kiddy Grade is far from a derivative children’s show. In fact, 
some of the content found in the show leads me to believe the television ratings board were asleep at the wheel (case in point: a surprising amount of bloodletting and a metaphysical nude scene in the first half of the show) . If you’re looking for a point of reference, you might say Kiddy Grade is kind of like Gunsmith Cats in space, by way of cyberpunk existentialism and spy drama twistiness. While episodes can be viewed in a stand-alone fashion, as most involve the two agents tackling individual cases, the greater story arc of mystery, organizational intrigue, and self discovery runs throughout. While at first these bits are spotty and a bit disorienting, they noticeably intensify in frequency and complexity about the third disc. There are loads of action sequences, the vast majority being of noteworthy status, and increasing in danger and scope as the series progresses. It’s all quite cool.
Which brings me to the subject of the show’s visuals. Animation is exceptionally smooth, and like the action, only increases in quality as the series moves forward. The character designs are a bit generic, featuring the usual array of saucer-eyed cuties, imposing females, feminine boys, 
and muscle men, but they still muster a sizable appeal. Every character is brightly colored, noticeably distinct, and sufficiently expressive.Oh, and best of all, there are no endlessly shrieking hyperactive children to be found in the entire roster. Another cool aspect is that midpoint/commercial title cards are different each episode. Each one of these provides a different take on the ES officers in assorted artistic styles, from super deformed to hyper detailed.
Before I close, I should make mention of a few reservations I have about the series. Straight off, the fanservice is a bit disconcerting, given the appearance and stated ages of the characters (16 and 10). I guess as the series starts it’s important to keep in mind that the legal age of consent in Japan is sixteen, so Eclaire, being a fictional character, could possibly have had her age revised to eighteen here by its American translation team. That stated, there is still no accounting for Lumiere’s short shorts and the casual butt shots thereof. Some issues explored toward the fourth disc might actually change this aspect a bit as the series progresses, but it makes for some 
uncomfortable viewing. But, I guess it’s just an animation.
In closing, Kiddy Grade caught me off guard. The series is well put together, with strong production values, and everything from the animation to the story itself increases in quality as the series progresses (maybe this is the “Grade” to which the title is referring?). Definitely not for kids, Kiddy Grade is worth a watch for adult sci-fi fans.
The DVD.
Essentially a repackaging of the individual Kiddy Grade discs, Kiddy Grade – The Complete Series includes all eight original DVDs of the series in an entirely paper case made from recycled materials. The set is nice and compact, and saves a lot of shelf space compared to eight individual amray cases. Each disc contains three episodes, presented in the the usual crisp Funimation transfer with optional English 5.1, stereo, or Japanese stereo language tracks. One surprising thing about these discs is that both the Japanese and English language tracks are equally good. I initially started off listening to the Japanese language track, figuring the English one might be grating, only to switch midway once I found out how nice the American voice acting sounded.
Extras on each disc include the usual Funimation trailer gallery, character bios, image galleries, and in the later discs, in depth dossiers on the individual ES teams, covering everything 
from their member histories to the technology, transportation, and skills they employ. While potentially containing spoiler material, I think it’s best to read these bios and dossiers at the start of each disc, as it will greatly improve your overall understanding and appreciation of the individual episodes. Also included are the usual textless opening and closing credit animations.
All in all, Kiddy Grade – The Complete Series is quite the nice set. Being part of their Viridian Collection the package is very affordably priced: just $49.99 MSRP for 8 discs — the price of two individual volumes when the series was first released! If you’re looking for something that will last you a while, provide a good deal of entertainment, and a quality storyline, you’d do well to pick this up.
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