History Awesome / Gate

** Special props in a meta way- so many times in fiction, there's something of a "Technology is inferior to magic," theme- look at how many anime have super-advanced technology fall to "Spirits," or people with guns falling to a single man with a sword. Here? SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome happens, modern technology reigns supreme on the battlefield.
** With additional awesome from the subtle way it is shown: yes, there is magic in this world, and it is quite powerful, but it is also ''[[AwesomeButImpractical rare]]'', and ''[[DifficultButAwesome difficult]]''. Myuute is a case in point: she's basically the ''only'' combat mage in the bandit army, and after being released from custody she becomes an OfficerOHara because police work is so much more convenient. Modern armies, on the other hand, are but huge masses of men and materiel, and even one man with a gun is already quite a problem for a wizard.

* Kuribayashi is ordered to make prince Zorzal (already established as an all-around egocentric asshole and rapist) more willing to talk. Five pages of him getting the ever-loving ''shit'' beaten out of him (and this is after she's bayonetted and gunned down the PraetorianGuard that showed up, by herself), each more glorious than the last. Even better, the anime lets the audience see Kuri-chan knock a few molars loose as well as hearing the once snide arrogant tone of the prince be reduced to crying and whimpering like a little girl after suffering the beatdown.
** In the anime, when Zorzal sics his men on the JDSF contingent, ominously building violins start playing as Itami [[DramaticGunCock cocks his pistol]] and, with an [[TranquilFury ice cold look on his face, calmly orders]] Tomita and Kuribayashi to "fire at will."
*** This is followed by Kuribayashi taking out four very big men in close combat with just her [[BayonetYa bayonet]] and rifle butt. When the PraetorianGuard finally lines up for an organized attack, we are treated to a [[FirstPersonShooter first person perspective]] of her gunning down the guard complete with ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' style reload sequence.

** Preceding that one is Itami punching Zorzal in the face for enslaving Noriko. That punch would make Tyrion Lannister proud. In the anime version, the punch launches Zorzal into his men and knocks them down.

** The 4th combat team rides off to Italica and decides to play "Ride of the Valkyrie", [[ShoutOut with a complete replication of the helicopter scene from]] Film/ApocalypseNow. If you can't imagine it in the manga, the anime will give you a good idea.

* Itami's actions during the Ginza Incident. When he sees the things he likes threatened (The Comiket), he immediately orders local police officers to help organize an evacuation, where there he also organizes the defense of the imperial palace and the evacuation by providing the quickest route to evacuate and stationing officers at critical fortifications. He manages to hold off the Imperial army until the JSDF arrives and still continues to command the forces until the attackers are apprehended. He definitely deserved that field promotion to 1st Lieutenant.

** The Battle of Alnus Hill in particular, featuring ten thousand men from the JSDF versus ten times their numbers in veterans from the Empire's allied kingdoms. The first wave of the allied kingdoms is ten thousand men... And is wiped out in ''seconds'' by an artillery barrage. The second wave suffers 40,000 losses, and all they have to show for it is getting close enough to be shot at by the tanks and one of their dragons being shot down over the Japanese trenches. Finally the allied kingdoms attack with all their remaining forces during the night, confiding in the new moon and thus the poor light to hide them long enough to fight back, and in a sense they're successful: their commander gets close enough to shoot a single arrow while the dozen men who had arrived that close were taken down by machine guns and mortars. In the end the Allied Kingdoms' Army suffered nearly 100% dead, with only a few hundreds escaping and becoming bandits and some others being captured, while the Japanese suffered ''at most'' one casualty, depending on that single arrow hitting anyone.

** With additional awesome from the subtle way it is shown: yes, there is magic in this world, and it is quite powerful, but it is also ''[[AwesomeButImpractical rare]]'', and ''[[DifficultButAwesome difficult]]''. Myuute is a case in point: she's basically the ''only'' combat mage in the bandit army, and after being released from custody she becomes an OfficerOHara, because police work is so much more convenient. Modern armies, on the other hand, are but huge masses of men and materiel, and even one man with a gun is already quite a problem for a wizard.

** The JSDF organize the 4th Combat Team Airborne fitted with attack and transport helicopters to fend off a force of 600 marauders from Italica. The JSDF NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on the maraunders definitely showed the locals of the Gate World just how powerful they are compared to the Empire or anyone else in the world.

** Prior to the arrival of the JSDF, Piña cautions the mayor against surrender, as the men would be killed and the women raped. The old maid then cautions Piña against eating too much rich food before the battle to come. Piña notes the maid's experience and asks if she's seen battle before. She informs Piña, yes, she has. Her village was one attacked by Piña's empire some time ago. Nothing is said outright, but the implication is she's seen firsthand the very horrors Piña describes, and was a victim of Piña's family, however direct or indirect that might be. She then casually tells Piña that to wake her, she'll douse her with buckets of cold water. She does just that, later.
* During the hearing at the Diet, one politician is constantly trying to trip up the JSDF with her questions, hoping to make them look bad to score political points. None of her questioning are going the way she wants, but she keeps trying. Rory Mercury is the one to finally stomp her arguments flat.
-->'''Rory Mercury''': (suddenly speaking Japanese) Itami and his team did something that no one has has done before. One fourth died? '''Wrong.''' Three fourths ''were saved.'' The soldiers of this country must have a hard time with senators who can't even understand that.

* The shoot-out at Hakone. The Japanese Special Force Group does so well that the American, Chinese, and Russian special forces can't even compete with them. They had to use politics in order to make the Japanese [=SFGs=] stand down.
** That said, they were actually PMCs from each respective country, with former special ops guys, but still props for the Japanese Special Forces showing them just what "Home Field Advantage" can do.
* After the attack at Hakone, Risa scores a non-combat moment of awesome by coming up with a way to get everyone to the Gate safely: manipulating the message boards in order to use the otaku as witness should US, Russia, and China tried to attack them when they're heading to the Gate. It works extremely well...[[GoneHorriblyRight maybe a bit too well]] when they finally arrive at Ginza to see MASSIVE number of people gathering there.

** And then, to show the Emperor that Japan means business about getting back ALL of their captured citizens, they call in an air strike of the Senate building. Which the manga makes even more awesome than all the others. The Phantoms are ordered to go low, just over the rooftops, blasting their afterburners to give the Empire a "wake up call" and then they drop a laser-guided bomb (target being marked by "Sabre") through the window of the Senate, ''right on Emperor Molto's throne''. For an added bonus, this all occurred after an earthquake, so the denizens, seeing giant swords flying in the sky of the capital, were convinced that Molto was being punished by the gods.
* Yanagida earns a spotlight when he sees a threatening figure with what appears a knife pointed at a seated person (Delilah and Noriko respectively), his first response is to pull out his pistol and shoot at the aggressor. Said aggressor happens to be a highly-skilled warrior with great agility and Yanagida is able to get a few hits on her with a few grazes as well. He then gets stabbed, but not before unloading whats left of his pistol into the aggressor. For a 1st lieutenant who we had known up to this point to be simply [[ArmchairMilitary sitting at HQ while the whole story is laid out]] by Third Recon, this is his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.

** The Dragon's (eventual) demise. First Itami and his team meet up with some dark elves and lay an ambush for the dragon, by hiding explosives under a bunch of swords to create the mother of all nail bombs. When the dragon sneaks up on them ([[FailedASpotCheck yes]]), Lelei saves the day by basically ''railgunning the swords into the dragon'' ([[http://www.mangachapter.me/13898/gate-thus-the-jsdf-fought-there/45-22.html and looking batshit insane while doing so]]). Then as Itami grabs her and Tuka to escape the still-alive and pissed-off dragon, Tuka snaps out of her BSOD and zaps the dragon, detonating the explosives.

** Earlier in episode 18, Sherry tells Sugawara the benefits of associating with her. While other Imperial nobles are polite and respectful to the Japanese ambassadors, they are still shown to be wary of them, and thus, does not initiate conversation. An Imperial noble like Sherry interacting with the Japanese would show that they are to be trusted while the Japanese ambassadors can expand their connections, thus greatly improving political relations for both sides. Clearly Sherry knows her way around politics and Sugawara even asks if she's as old as she claims to be.

** Special props in a meta way- so many times in fiction, there's something of a "Technology is inferior to magic," theme- look at how many anime have super-advanced technology fall to "Spirits," or people with guns falling to a single man with a sword. Here? RealityEnsues, modern technology reigns supreme on the battlefield.

* The JSDF fighting the Imperial army in the Gate World. Sure its a CurbStompBattle, but its still awesome to see modern technology fighting a medieval-era force.

* The Ancient Flame Dragon dealing with the two fighter who are measuring its capabilities. Here's a creature that has lived over a millennium and never even seen gun powder. But once it realizes that's its no longer the invincible top-dog, it takes them very seriously and almost roasts one.

* Kuribayashi is ordered to make prince Zorzal (already established as an all-around egocentric asshole and rapist) more willing to talk. Five pages of him getting the ever-loving ''shit'' beaten out of him (and this is after she's bayonetted and gunned down the PraetorianGuard that showed up, by herself), each more glorious than the last. Even better, the anime lets the audience see Kuri-chan knock a few molars loose.

* Itami's rescue of Pina. Unlike a full operation, he only has less than 10 operatives to work with, but he managed to sneak into the throne room without killing anyone. He only needed to kill a giant troll to make Zorzal admit defeat and freaked him out so much he developed a phobia of loud noises.

* After the attack at Hakone, Risa, despite being the only noncombatant in the group, managed to come up with a way to get everyone to the Gate safely: manipulating the message boards in order to use the otakus as witness should US, Russia, and China tried to attack them when they're heading to the Gate. It works extremely well...[[GoneHorriblyRight maybe a bit too well]] when they finally arrive at Ginza to see MASSIVE number of people gathering there.

* During the hearing at the Diet, one politician is constantly trying to trip of the JSDF with her questions, hoping to make them look bad to score political points. None of her questioning is going the way she wants, but she keeps trying. Rory Mercury is the one to finally stomp her arguments flat.

* The Battle of Italica. The JSDF organize the 4th Combat Team Airborne fitted with attack and transport helicopters to fend off a force of 600 marauders from Italica. The JSDF NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on the maraunders definitely showed the locals of the Gate World just how powerful they are compared to the Empire or anyone else in the world.
** Before the battle, as the 4th combat team rides off to Italica, they decide to play "Ride of the Valkyrie", [[ShoutOut with a complete replication of the helicopter scene from]] Film/ApocalypseNow. If you can't imagine it in the manga, the anime will give you a good idea.
** Rory and Kuribayashi doing a BackToBackBadasses as they fought the brigands at the East Gate.

* The Rose Knights being able to defend the Jade Palace, where the Japanese Embassy in the Special Area was, from Zorzal's army deserves mention. At that time the units residing in the Jade Palace were 300 people, composed mostly of women and old knights, and they manage to keep an army of 1000 men at bay long enough until the JSDF arrive.

* The JSDF fighting the Imperial army in the Gate World. Sure its a {{curb stomp battle}}, but its still awesome to see modern technology fighting a medieval-era force.

* Yanagida earns a spotlight when he sees a threatening figure with what appears a knife pointed at a seated person (Delilah and Noriko respectively), his first response is to pull out his pistol and shoot at the aggressor. Said aggressor happens to be a highly-skilled warrior with great agility and Yanagida is able to get a few hits on her with a few grazes as well. He then gets stabbed, but not before unloading whats left of his pistol into the aggressor. For a 1st lieutenant who we had known up to this point to be simply [[ArmchairMilitary sitting at HQ while the whole story is laid out]] by Third Recon, this is his CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

*** This is followed by Kuribayashi taking out four very big men in close combat with just her [[BayonetYa bayonet]] and rifle butt. When the PraetorianGuard finally lines up for an organized attack, we are treated to a [[FirstPersonShooter first person perspective]] of her gunning down the guard complete with ''Franchise/CallOfDuty'' style reload sequence.

* Modern army (JSDF) versus an ANCIENT FLAME DRAGON [[spoiler: and WINNING]].

* The shoot-out at Hakone. [[spoiler: The Japanese Special Force Group does so well that the American, Chinese, and Russian special forces can't even compete with them. They had to use politics in order to make the Japanese [=SFGs=] stand down.]]

* Yanagida earns a spotlight when he sees a threatening figure with what appears a knife pointed at a seated person ([[spoiler:Delilah and Noriko respectively]]), his first response is to pull out his pistol and shoot at the aggressor. Said aggressor happens to be a highly-skilled warrior with great agility and Yanagida is able to get a few hits on her with a few grazes as well. He then gets stabbed, but not before unloading whats left of his pistol into the aggressor. For a 1st lieutenant who we had known up to this point to be simply [[ArmchairMilitary sitting at HQ while the whole story is laid out]] by Third Recon, this is his CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

** The Dragon's (eventual) demise. [[spoiler: First Itami and his team meet up with some dark elves and lay an ambush for the dragon, by hiding explosives under a bunch of swords to create the mother of all nail bombs. When the dragon sneaks up on them ([[FailedASpotCheck yes]]), Lelei saves the day by basically ''railgunning the swords into the dragon'' ([[http://www.mangachapter.me/13898/gate-thus-the-jsdf-fought-there/45-22.html and looking batshit insane while doing so]]). Then as Itami grabs her and Tuka to escape the still-alive and pissed-off dragon, Tuka snaps out of her BSOD and zaps the dragon, detonating the explosives.]]
* Chapter 46 (still Episode 17), we see the JSDF plan against the Flame Dragon devised since Chapter 28 go into action, [[spoiler: except that there are two of them now]]. [[spoiler: It works out flawlessly and takes out the dragons with little effort. This is due to the dragons being juveniles and lacking the durability of their elder]].

** And after the duel, [[spoiler:an assassin comes up and tries to kill Leilei. Then [[BigDamnHeroes out of nowhere]], Grey Co Aldo jumps out and runs the assassin through his sword]].

** It's a lot less impressive when you consider that the three aggressor forces were shooting at each other as well as the Japanese, the Japanese were on defense, and since the fight took place in Japan they had access to both more (and heavier) weaponry and more ammunition than whatever the foreigners were able to smuggle in.

** With additional awesome from the subtle way it is shown: yes, there is magic in this world, and it is quite powerful, but it is also ''[[AwesomeButImpractical rare]]'', and ''[[DifficultButAwesome difficult]]''. Myuute is a case in point: she's basically an ''only'' combat mage in the bandit army, and after being released from custody she becomes an OfficerOHara, because police work is so much more convenient. Modern armies, on the other hand, is but huge masses of men and materiel, and even one man with a gun is already quite a trouble for a wizard.

* The Battle of Italica, the JSDF organize the 4th Combat Team Airborne fitted with attack and transport helicopters to fend off a force of 600 marauders from Italica. The JSDF NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on the maraunders definitely showed the locals of the Gate World just how powerful they are compared to the Empire or anyone else in the world.

** Before the battle, as the 4th combat team rides off to Italica, they decide to play "Ride of the Valkyrie", [[ShoutOut with a complete replication of the helicopter scene from]] ApocalypseNow. If you can't imagine it in the manga, the anime will give you a good idea.

** Later, at a Wizard conference, another assassin tries to kill Leilei, only to find herself on the receiving end of a mystical BeamSpam, being hit with at least a dozen attack spells. The entire congregation had been warned that someone was out to kill Leilei, and were ready and waiting for the attempt.

*** This is followed by Kuribayashi taking out four very big men in close combat with just her [[BayonetYa bayonet]] and rifle butt. When the PraetorianGuard finally lines up for an organized attack, we are treated to a [[FirstPersonShooter first person perspective]] of her gunning down the guard complete with CallOfDuty style reload sequence

** In the manga, Sherry's parents retreat to a storage room as the Oprichnina approach to arrest them and their daughter. Remaining perfectly calm, they offer the soldiers some drinks. As the soldiers advance, they pelt them with large jars of high-proof alcohol... and them toss a lit candle at them. And then the attackers notice the room's full of oil jars. Sure, both perish, but they took down the entire platoon and allowed their daughter to escape. Furthermore, both die happy in their convictions and with their beloved by their side.

** In the manga, Sherry's parents retreat to a storage room as the Oprichnina approach to arrest them. Remaining perfectly calm, they offer the soldiers some drinks. As the soldiers advance, they pelt them with large jars of high-proof alcohol... and them toss a lit candle at them. And then the attackers notice the room's oil jars. Sure, they both perish, but they took down the entire platoon and allowed their daughter to escape. Furthermore, both die happy in their convictions and with their beloved by their side.

** In the manga, Sherry's parents retreat to a storage room as the Oprichnina approach to arrest them. Remaining perfectly calm, they offer the soldiers some drinks. As the soldiers advance, they pelt them with large jars of high-proof alcohol... and them toss a lit candle at them. Only then they realize the room's full of oil jars. Sure, they both perish, but they took down the entire platoon and allowed their daughter to escape. Furthermore, both die happy in their convictions and with their beloved by their side.

** In the anime, when Zorzal sics his men on the JDSF contingent, ominously building violons start playing as Itami [[DramaticGunCock cocks his pistol]] and, with an [[TranquilFury ice cold look on his face, calmly orders]] Tomita and Kuribayashi to "fire at will."