Review of Gestalt

Introduction

I like the occasional foray into Dungeons and Dragons. Not the movie mind, and certainly not the dice rolling antics of role-playing gamers. Once, in the depths of winter, and seeing an opportunity to escape the cold of the playground, I joined a lunchtime D&D club at school. It didn`t last long. Apparently when a short freckly ginger kid with sellotaped glasses pretends to be a muscle-bound barbarian, one isn`t supposed to smirk… But I have fond memories of the children`s cartoon of the eighties, and I find the stories and novels that have sprung forth from the game fascinating, in their way revisiting ancient myths of gods and heroes, beasts and magic, and putting a modern spin on them. The names may be different, the language more accessible, but the epic saga is certainly alive and well. Where multi-sided dice, convoluted rules and labyrinthine boards may have had a niche fanbase, the proliferation of the computer opened the genre up to the world, and it was the Japanese console game manufacturers that placed an RPG in every home. Where once, it was just the kids who didn`t get picked at all for team sports who gathered around boards and rattled their dice, now everyone was taking on the role of Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII, and where Japanese game manufacturers excelled, spin-offs were inevitable.

Super-Legend Gestalt was a manga from Yun Kouga that stretched to 8 volumes. Set in an alternate world of gods and sorcery, it took the D&D conventions and subverted them somewhat, producing a story that was more humorous than not. This manga itself spawned the 2 episode OVA that is presented here on this DVD.

Father Olivier has left the Vasaria order, plagued by doubts about his faith. It isn`t seemly for a highly placed cleric to abandon his flock, so the order hires dark elf Suzu to retrieve him. Olivier is heading for G, the land of the god whose name must not be spoken, but adorns the DVD cover, to learn the truth about his faith. On the way he stops off at an inn, and in payment for a miracle he receives a pink-haired slave girl named Ohri. But Ohri is no simple servant. She`s actually a powerful sorceress, who hides a secret agenda. Their travels take them to the kingdom of Bilmol, where corruption is taking hold, innocents are being victimised, and the monarchy destabilized. Olivier and Ohri get caught up in the middle. And behind the scenes Soushi, one of Ohri`s compatriots is playing his own game.

Video

Made in 1997, Gestalt is something of a curiosity. The 4:3 transfer is clear and colourful, although consistently soft. The animation style is distinctly older, and the character designs are wackier and freer flowing than contemporary series. However, rather than cel animation, this is actually CG shaded in the same way as modern anime, although the images are usually flatter and rougher looking. It takes a little getting used to, but doesn`t really hinder the appreciation of the show.

Audio

You get a choice of DD 2.0 Japanese and English, with optional English subtitles. It`s one of the older English dubs, and the age shows. Still, it`s easy to listen to, although as usual I did prefer the original language. The show`s theme is what can best be described as Flute Rock, otherwise the music is fairly generic. I noticed one spelling mistake in the subtitles, but they were perfectly legible throughout.

Features

This disc boasts an animated menu, an art gallery with 5 images, and a screenshot gallery with 15 images (in case your pause button is broken). There were also trailers on this review disc for Chobits, Full Metal Alchemist and Fruits Basket.

Conclusion

Gestalt is fun. It takes the RPG conventions and infuses them with a tongue-in cheek sense of humour, refusing to take anything seriously. That immediately becomes apparent when Ohri is introduced, unable to speak as she is under a spell of silence. However she can communicate, and does so with a blue text box that appears in front of her. It`s a convention that anyone familiar with Final Fantasy can recognise. When the priest Olivier dispels her, and we learn that she is a sorceress, it turns out that she has to recharge her magical batteries by kissing Olivier. And so it continues, with characters wisecracking, challenging conventions, and generally having a heap of fun as they head south to the land of G. An evil Queen gets her comeuppance, dragons battle in the skies, and magic spells are cast aplenty.

But in the end, Gestalt just doesn`t satisfy. The runtime is one issue, although there are anime movies that aren`t much longer that can still present good value. Gestalt on the other hand fails because we are presented with just one piece of the puzzle. Not only is their no beginning or end to the story, it feels as if we are presented with just the middle of the first act. Like the recently reviewed Twin Signal, this Gestalt OVA is either a pilot for a greater series, or a bonus for fans of the manga. However, this OVA is like those kids who never get picked to play sports, never getting the chance to prove itself with a lengthy series, and the two episodes here is all she wrote.

We are introduced to the characters, get dropped some tantalising hints as to their backgrounds, and there is substantial work done in terms of world building. By the end of the disc, I was interested in finding out more, and wishing to see the further adventures of Olivier and Ohri. Unfortunately the only way to do that is through the manga. Gestalt is entertaining and funny, but a R.R.P of £19.99 is just too extravagant a price to pay for a pilot episode to a series that never materialised. I`ve already seen it discounted online at just over half that, but even that is pretty steep for what you get. Fans of the manga will no doubt buy it regardless, but if you were in the mood for a little comedy RPG action, then it would be better to rent first. Besides, there is anime for RPG fans out there, and Hack//Sign and variants thereof would be the best place to begin.