Gall Force

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Gall Force


caption = "Gall Force" DVD Cover
ja_name = ガルフォース
ja_name_trans =
genre = Adventure, Science fictionInfobox animanga/Movie
title = Eternal Story
director = Katsuhito Akiyama
studio = AIC, ARTMIC
released = July 26, 1986 [http://www.anime-int.com/works/index.html?years=1985-1989]
runtime = 86 minInfobox animanga/Movie
title = Destruction
director = Katsuhito Akiyama
studio = AIC, ARTMIC
runtime = 50 min
released = November 21, 1987Infobox animanga/Movie
title = Stardust War
director = Katsuhito Akiyama
studio = AIC, ARTMIC
runtime = 60 min
released = November 2, 1988Infobox animanga/OVA
title = Ten Little Gall Force
director =
studio = AIC, ARTMIC
episodes = 1
released = July 3, 1988Infobox animanga/Movie
title = Rhea Gall Force
director = Katsuhito Akiyama
studio = AIC, ARTMIC
released = March 21, 1989
runtime = 60 minInfobox animanga/OVA
title = Earth Chapter
director = Katsuhito Akiyama
studio = AIC, ARTMIC
episodes = 3
released = December 25, 1989Infobox animanga/OVA
title = New Era
director = Katsuhito Akiyama
studio = AIC, ARTMIC
episodes = 2
released = December 1, 1991Infobox animanga/OVA
title = The Revolution
director = Hiroshi Fukishima
studio = AIC, ARTMIC
episodes = 4
released = March 15, 1996

nihongo|"Gall Force"|ガルフォース is a group of science fiction anime OAV series by the studio Artmic, with production by Youmex and AIC. The original character designs were by Kenichi Sonoda, though these were dropped for the "Gall Force Revolution" remake (which, as of 2005, is also the only series not to have been released in North America). [http://www.gearsonline.net/gallforce GF GEARS Online]

Unofficial prequel

*"Star Front Gall Force"This was the precursor to the Gall Force story. Originally appearing in the monthly 'Model Graphix' magazine in Japan as a 3D photo story using detailed models, this later set the stage for the animated films. Rabby, Patty, and Rumy were the only main Solnoid characters featured, and they were equipped with different uniforms, weapons, and vehicles than those shown in the regular Gall Force OVAs. Although a prequel to the Gall Force mythos proper, Star Front's place in the official continuity is questionable due to contradictions between it and Eternal Story.

Mainstream Series

First story arc

*"Gall Force: Eternal Story":An all-out, prehistoric galactic war rages between the all-female Solnoids and the amorphous Paranoids for too long. In the midst of battle, a plan which was secretly hatched by the leaders of both sides comes into fruition, and an unsuspecting crew of seven Solnoid soldiers aboard the Kulanis-class Cruiser named the Star Leaf is caught up in the middle.
*"Gall Force 2: Destruction":Ten years later, one of the two survivors of the Star Leaf, Lufy, is recovered from space by Solnoid forces. There, she is confronted with the secret plan which had become reality in the previous episode: to genetically unite both races, codenamed the "Species Unification Plan". Wracked by self-doubt, Lufy is forced to make a decision as Solnoids and Paranoids face each other in battle in the very solar system in which the new life form and the last Star Leaf survivor have established an existence — and the Solnoid army, who are unaware of the plan, intend to deploy a weapon of mass destruction to wipe out the enemy once and for all.
* "Gall Force 3: Stardust War":The destruction of the new future for Terra is averted, but Lufy and her friends find themselves in another twist: in a desolate solar system named "Sigma Narse", the Solnoids and Paranoids intend to finish the war by fighting to the last by using their Planet Destroyers - which will result in the destruction of both sides, leaving them nothing but stardust in its wake (hence the title "Stardust War"). An encounter with the Solnoid instigator of the secret plan convinces the crew to try and walk a different path: To attempt both sides to stop the senseless fighting by reminding them what they have already lost...

* "Ten Little Gall Force" (a super deformed parody which depicts the "making of " "Eternal Story" and "Destruction"):A very humorous behind-the-scenes look (if Gall Force were a live-action series instead of being animated). Cast and crew members run into severe and embarrassing difficulties as things do not turn out as they should; for example, Lufy totally drowns in embarrassment as she is object of a whole crowd of spectators while in the nude; the director's obsession with realistic filming causes some real high-voltage friction with Catty; and in the end, after the premiere, the girls end up in an ongoing on-stage tussle about which one is the most popular character.

*"Scramble Wars (Get Going! Race of Genom Trophy Rally)":In their super-deformed forms, the Gall Force Solnoid girls participate in a race for the Genom Trophy, which is worth 60 billion dollars! Of course, each party wants to be the one to get it, and all bonds of friendship and honor are off as they resort to using VERY dirty tricks to get to the goal — including hidden power features, mine fields and orbital super beam-weapons. Also included are super-deformed characters from "Bubblegum Crisis", "Genesis Survivor Gaiarth", and "Riding Bean".

Rhea/Earth Chapter arc

*"Rhea Gall Force"
*"Earth Chapter" 1–3

The Rhea Earth Chpters takes place thousands of years later with a different cast of characters, and the story continues from "Stardust Wars". In the 21st century the Earthen discovery of derelict alien technology on the Moon — which are in fact the remnants of the events in "Eternal Story" — ignited an arms race as the "Western" and "Eastern" blocs rushed to deploy the technology as weapons, including a form of artificial life based on the Paranoids which both sides use BioTech to grow and implant weapons and control systems in. Now, after the resulting nuclear holocaust, what little of humanity left on Earth fights for survival against the resurrected Paranoids, now known as the NME, the psudeonym for "The Enemy". The female characters in this series are all apparent Earthen reincarnations of the old Solonoid soldiers from Gall Force except for one character who is actually a Solnoid survivor from that war millions of years in the past.

New Era arc

*"Gall Force New Era" 1–2

:Centuries after the Rhea/Earth Chapter, Earthen humanity is suddenly and mercilessly wiped out entirely by the resurrected NME/Paranoids except for another set of reincarnations who are rescued to flee into space... and beyond.

Alternate Series

Gall Force — The Revolution

* "Gall Force — The Revolution" 1–4:This 1996 OVA was a reimagining of the series, which replaced the amorphous Paranoids with a seemingly endless Civil war between the "Western" and "Eastern" Solnoid armies. The main characters, alternate versions of the original cast, find themselves drawn into a Solnoid rebellion that's attempting to end the Solnoid Civil War once and for all.

Characters

Rabby: The central character and next in line after Eluza in the chain of command, Rabby is loyal to her shipmates above all other things, and it is that loyalty which causes her to spare the first example of the "third race" (because it looks so much like Patty). When she finally understands the way her shipmates have been used and discarded, her disillusionment causes her to make a choice which determines the fate of all intelligent life. Her "Rhea/Earth Chapter" reincarnation "Sandy Newman" is still the central character, driven by a desire to make up for her father's role in creating the NME.

Eluza (spelled "Elza"): The eldest and highest ranking of the major characters. With the captain of the Star Leaf in a meeting on the fleet flagship, Eluza is the next highest officer and in temporary command when the Paranoids attack the fleet. Her will is very strong and it is her inflexibility which leads to her final fate. Her "Rhea/Earth Chapter" reincarnation, "Fortin" demonstrates a similar difficulty in letting go of old enmities, even when the alternative is death.

Patty: A follower, not a leader, Patty's distinguishing characteristic is her tendency to go into trance-like moments of distraction. This trait may be related to why she does not reject the experiment the way Eluza did.

Rumy: The youngest of the shipmates, she is the least capable and hardened of the soldiers and fills in the anime mascot cliché role. Rabby acts as a big sister to her, scolding and shielding her. She dislikes Lufy. Her "R/EC" reincarnation "Mitty" is even younger, but has street-urchin survival instincts that let her survive in an apocalyptic wasteland even before Soundy comes along to protect her.

Lufy: Technically not even a member of the Star Leaf crew, Lufy crash-lands in a crippled Bain-class fighter just before the "Star Leaf" jumps into hyperspace. She is a cocky ace fighter pilot who pretends not to take dangerous situations seriously and does not follow orders very well. Lufy has a reputation for being the sole survivor from her flight groups and becomes the main character in "Destruction" and "Stardust War". If she is aware that Rumy does not like her, she does not seem to care. Her "R/EC" reincarnation has the same reckless daring.

Pony: The shy and easily frightened computer expert of the crew, Pony gets along much better with artificial intelligences than she does with any of the organic crew members. Her closest friends are Catty and the ship's computer, OX-11.

Catty: A soft-seeming and idealistic crew member, she is really an android copy created by the Solnoid intelligence chief, Catty Nebulart, to monitor the development of the "third race" - the Terrans. She is determined to see the plan come to fruition, and is the only character who survived from the Solnoid-Paranoid War into the human age.

Alternate releases

"Ten Little Gall Force" and "Scramble Wars" were originally released together on VHS video titled "Super-Deformed Double Feature". Strangely, as of this time, these were not released on DVD in par as the other "Gall Force" titles and are (in their VHS release) much-sought rare collector's items.

Video Game

In 1986 (the same year as when Eternal Story was released) Hal Laboratory, creator of the popular Kirby series put out their first game for the Nintendo Famicom system. The game, itself was a top down shooter and follows a different story than that of the OAVs. It features Rabby flying across Terra in one level and space in another to rescue each of her crew members one at a time.

In other media

*The very distinctive "bending" lasers/missiles seen in the opening sequence were used in the final "Bonus" episode of "Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure" also directed by Katsuhito Akiyama possibly as an homage to his earlier work.
*The character of Catty appears in a military advertisement briefly in the OVA series "Detonator Orgun" which was written by Hideki Kakinuma, the writer/creator of "Gall Force". She also appears as a minor character in "Pretty Sammy - The Series".
*Kenichi Sonoda re-used Lufy's character design for a character in his series "Gunsmith Cats" - the pro driver, Riff Raff.
*In "Gall Force 2: Destruction" there's a quick promotional shot for Bubblegum Crisis in the form of a poster on a soldier's wall, with Priss in her rock star get-up. The word 'Crisis' can be seen written in Solanoid on the poster.
*In a scene in "Scramble Wars", Nene tickets a cyclist for speeding. This is a retaliative spoof of a scene in the Bubblegum Crisis episode "Blow Up", where a Tokyo Highway Patrol motorcyclist berates Nene for allowing a speeding Priss past a police barrier.

References

External links

* [http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Gall_Force_-_Eternal_Story Gall Force NES Game]
* [http://www.aicanime.com/products/gallforce/index.html AIC's official Gall Force homepage]
* [http://members.aol.com/kahuchan/gall_force/ Gall Force Eternal]
* [http://www.gearsonline.net/gallforce/ Gall Force at Gears Online]
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~tsunami/gallforce/ The Gall Force HomePage]
* [http://www15.brinkster.com/gallforce/ Akon Kaguya: A Gall Force Site]
*
* [http://www.hallab.co.jp/works_list.html Hal Lab's Official Site with Gall Force Game]