Line #53 Anime/GateKeepers21


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3	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gatekeeper21.jpg]]
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5	''Gate Keepers 21'' is a Japanese six-part sequel OVA series to the ''[[VideoGame/GateKeepers Gate Keepers]]'' series, possessing a [[DarkerAndEdgier darker and more serious plot]] than its predecessor. Some of the questions left unanswered in the TV series are answered in this sequel. Linking the two series are the characters Reiji Kageyama, Yukino Houjo, and the former Far Eastern AEGIS Headquarters setting, Tategami High School.
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7	31 years have passed since the Far Eastern Branch of AEGIS and the Invaders waged war in Japan. The heyday of growth and prosperity has passed, the crime rate has increased, environmental problems have worsened, and the international situation has become increasingly unstable. Coupled with the decline in the morals of the Japanese people comes the emergence of a new type of Invader -- one that can absorb ordinary humans into its ranks.
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9	Though they have been officially disbanded and discredited, the remnants of AEGIS have formed a clandestine network to hunt down the Invaders, led by the antisocial Ayane Isuzu, who collects the crystal remains of Invader in exchange for money doled out by the mysterious Reiji Kageyama.
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11	----
12	!!''Gate Keepers 21'' contains examples of:
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14	* AllThereInTheManual: Bad news: You have 31 years of catching up to do between ''[=GateKeepers=]'' and this. Good news: There are some novels and a video game bridging the gap. More bad news: [[NoExportForYou None of them are in English.]]
15	* BadassBookworm: Ayane Isuzu is quiet, ranked third in the second-year level of her high school, spends most of her time reading and sitting in front of her laptop. She is also the leading cause of Invader death by blunt cell phone trauma.
16	* BlowYouAway: Ayane wields the same Gate of Wind as her father Shun did.
17	* BodyHorror: Humans' transformation into Invaders varies: sometimes the human visibly mutates into one, and sometimes the Invader ''climbs right out of the unfortunate person's overstretched mouth,'' leaving a wrinkly husk of skin and clothes on the ground. [[spoiler:And ''then'' there's Chinami and Nao, who turn by having their normal human skin flake off ''while'' their bodies mutate into monstrous Invader proportions -- all while we get [[SarcasmMode slow, loving shots]] of the process.]]
18	* BountyHunter: AEGIS employs 'Invader Hunters', who may or may not be Gatekeepers (those who aren't use Imitation Gates) and pays them according to the number of invader crystals they collect.
19	* CerebusSyndrome: There are many fans of the original series that don't much care for the DarkerAndEdgier feel of the sequel series.
20	* ContinuityNod: When Ayane and Miyu launch the [[CoolCar UP-15]] from the [[SelfDestructMechanism self-destructing]] AEGIS base, Yukino does the "Ooh, intense!" thing that accompanied AEGIS vehicle launches in the original series. No panty shots, though.
21	* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to the prequel, things look a lot grimmer. Many of the previous cast is dead, some of them killed while fighting the Invaders, and the Invaders show no signs of letting up. It's also revealed that using the Gate powers carries a hefty toll on the body, as shown by the remaining Gate Keepers from the prequel.
22	* DarkIsNotEvil: Kageyama, though he also happens to have [[LightEmUp elemental light]] as a power, so...
23	* DemonicPossession: Any and all non-Gatekeeper humans who succumb to ''any'' dark emotion open themselves to possession by the Invaders.
24	* DisappearedDad: Shun doesn't make an appearance in this anime, [[spoiler:and the interquel novel reveals that he's died fighting the Invaders.]].
25	* DudeShesLikeInAComa: Ayane Isuzu is kissed while comatose by BigBad StalkerWithACrush Ghost Girl, while the former's boss and partner watch helplessly.
26	* EquivalentExchange:
27	** Gates run on this. Kageyama points out the fact that most Gatekeepers have suffered some kind of trauma earlier in life. Furthermore, [[spoiler:Kageyama's own Dark Gate has, over the years, eaten most of his insides, as well as a literal arm and leg, forcing him to take extensive medication and use ArtificialLimbs, the reason why Yukino never ages is because her Gate has consumed her 'time', and he also speculates that Ghost Girl's has already consumed her entire body.]]
28	** [[spoiler: Ayane is afraid of being consumed by her gate, and so uses ''false gates'' until told that they simply don't have the power needed.]]
29	* EverybodysDeadDave:
30	** Almost the entire cast from ''[=GateKeepers=]'' die ([[PutOnABus or are simply written out]]) in the backstory.
31	** [[spoiler:Episode 5 sees the Ghost Girl's plan come to fruition: turning ''every non-Gatekeeper in the city'' into an Invader.]]
32	* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: Miu's Gate of Leap gives off quite a lot of them.
33	* GratuitousEnglish:
34	** "This is your power. It's a miracle!"
35	** GAAAYY-TOOOOHH OHHH-PUUUNN!!!
36	* HeelFaceTurn: Reiji Kageyama, the BigBad of the original series, is now the head of A.E.G.I.S.
37	* HopelessWar: In contrast to the ending of ''VideoGame/GateKeepers'', the Invaders have continued to take over at least half of humanity, there's no way to actually win, and the very power used to fight the invaders will [[EquivalentExchange kill the users. Or worse.]] Ouch. [[spoiler:The ending, however, has the tables turn in humanity's favor, with most of the Invaders wiped out. Granted it required a ResetButton, and that the remaining ones are still in the open, but still...]]
38	* ImprobablyFemaleCast: The only male characters are a SupportingLeader, the two Dragons, and an InspectorJavert who doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than {{padding}}.
39	* InASingleBound: Miu's Gate Power is called Flight but is really more of this trope.
40	* InconsistentDub: The English dub of the original ''Gate Keepers'' refers to Akuma Hakushaku as "Baron Akuma." In this one, he is called "Count Akuma" instead.
41	* LamarckWasRight: [[spoiler:Ayane inherited her power from her father Shun, who in turn inherited it from his father.]]
42	* MagicalGirl: Played pretty straight with the Gatekeepers, but also parodied by a "film-in-film" Miu and her friends watch.
43	* MoodWhiplash: In contrast to the previous anime, don't expect much in the way of bright and happy. They ''really'' made sure that the days of the "original" Gatekeepers were long over.
44	* NonIndicativeTitle: Gatekeepers 21 does not take place 21 years after the original series; it takes place 31 years later in 2001, the start of the ''21st'' century.
45	* NumberOneDime: Ayane's bell. Depending on how her surname is spelled in Kanji, could veer into MeaningfulName territory, as one spelling of "Isuzu" means 'Dependable Bell'.
46	* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo
47	* OlderAndWiser: Several characters from the original ''[=GateKeepers=]'', now grown up, act as commanders, mentors, and parents to the new cast.
48	* OurHeroIsDead: At the end of episode 4 of ''[=GK21=],'' [[spoiler: Ayane [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim is shot from behind]] on the way home from killing Count Akuma.]]
49	* PowersAsPrograms: Advancements in technology have allowed members of AEGIS to emulate Gate power, encoding them into cell phones. This allows even non-Gatekeepers to have a fighting chance against the Invaders.
50	* PsychoLesbian: Ghost Girl, the BigBad, ''totally'' has it in for Ayane.
51	* RevengeByProxy: Count Akuma's goal since Shun is unavailable, he'll go for the next best thing: Shun's own daughter Ayane.
52	* ReversePolarity: Inverse Gates trigger in high emotional states, doing the opposite of what the user's original Gate does. [[spoiler:When the BigBad, whose normal Gate power is to erase things, gets pissed off when Ayane destroys her SoulJar, the last thing she does before fading away is use her Inverse Gate, which causes [[ResetButton everything to go back the way they were]]. Satoka points out the possibility that in her anger, she forgot that the Inverse Gate does the ''exact opposite'' of the regular gate.]]
53	* SailorFuku: Miu brings Yukino a ''seeraafuku'' for a school uniform. Why not get her ''an actual uniform'' of Miu's school? Well, [[RuleOfCute because]].
54	* ShoutOut: The crane game has characters from VideoGame/ParappaTheRapper, Manga/AzumangaDaioh, and Manga/SgtFrog, among others.
55	* SpiderSense: Kageyama uses his Gate of Foresight to make lots of money in the financial world, which he uses to fund AEGIS and pay Invader Hunters.
56	* StrongFamilyResemblance: Ayane bears a resemblance to her aunt Saemi, Shun's younger sister, except [[{{Meganekko}} she wears glasses]]. Saemi furthermore resembles her mother after growing up.
57	* UnknownRival: Tachikawa Satoka spends most of her free time talking to[=/=]critiquing[=/=]lecturing BadassBookworm Isuzu Ayane only to get ignored, or ditched when her back is turned, much to her chagrin.
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Context Anime / GateKeepers21