Gad Guard is a TV Anime from studio GONZO directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori. With an original run between April and September 2003, the series culminates in 26 episodes. A Light Novel was adapted from the anime with illustrations by Izuna Yoshitsune and published by Media Factory in 4 volumes.
The story takes place several hundred years in the future, the resources of the Earth having run out, the progression of the human race stagnated, and the world divided into "Units". Hajiki Sanada lives with his mother and sister in Unit Blue, in a place called "Night Town", where all electricity is shut down at midnight. Haijiki often skips school to work as a courier earning money for his struggling family. One day he has a chance encounter with a GAD, a device with the ability to reconstruct materials while reacting to feelings of an organic lifeform, which transforms into a giant robot. Together Hajiki and his new Techode set off on a journey of personal discovery to locate the other GADs and their owners, who may be friend or foe alike.
This anime provides examples of:
- After the End: A relatively tame example. Civilization's in a major slump, but hasn't descended into complete insolvency.
- Artifact Collection Agency: Collecting Gads is Serious Business among the wealthy. The more Gads one has, the richer they are. Aiko's father is one of these, and says he wants to gather more and more to ensure her future.
- Badass Longcoat: Katana is a cool anti-hero who wears a black longcoat.
- Black-and-White Insanity: Takumi doesn't believe in the existence of grey morality. This stems from his parents abandoning him; they ran away because they stole Night Town's budget. His viewpoint eventually improves over time.
- Body Horror: The hitman in episode 13 has the power to fuse machines and other metal things with people. One of the results is a guy fused to his car, vomiting cables.
- Cool Mask: The Techode wielders, minus Katana, wear these when riding their Techodes.
- Crapsack World: Things aren't too bad living in good parts of the city like Gold Town, but poorer areas and those outside the cities just get grimmer and grimmer.
- Disappeared Dad: Hajiki's dad was an astronaut test pilot who died when Hajiki was young.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Katana pulls this off with blue hair.
- Empathic Weapon: The Techodes are able to move and react according to their masters' emotions and personal wishes, as well as their innermost characters. This explains why it seems that Thunderbolt goes berserk on Messerschmidt; although Takumi has nothing against Aiko, it seems he harbors a somewhat wrathful spirit along with his rather black-and-white desire for justice
- The scarred man seems to have an attachment to Lightning, as his movements are also it's own. It is revealed that the nature of the Techode was split, and when they become one again, Lightning seems to get the ability to talk and sentience, as it seems.
- Enemy Mine: Katana pulls this during the fight with the train A-Techode.
- For Great Justice: Takumi wants to use his Techode to punish criminal activity.
- Gaia's Lament
- Giant Robot Hands Save Lives: Many many times.
- Goggles Do Nothing: Hajiki puts on goggles when he's using Lightning. But oddly they stay on his forehead, making them pointless.
- Happily Adopted: Aiko. Her father truly loves her.
- The Heart: Aiko. Throughout the series, she tries to convince all the Techode wielders to work together and thinks they should all be friends.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Aiko and Messa. Technically, all the Techodes are huge, but most are lanky, while Messa is quite stout. Compare with Ilya and Berserker from Fate/stay night.
- Humongous Mecha: Notably, of the retro Gigantor mold, as opposed the much more popular piloted type.
- I Work Alone: What Hajiki says in retort to Aiko saying that Techode wielders should work together.
- Knight Templar: Takumi. He mellows out towards the end though.
- MacGuffin: The GADs.
- Magic Skirt: Arashi, considering it's tiny and she fights with kicks. Also Aiko has a habit of running around in one that looks more like a belt.
- Morality Pet: Sayuri, to Katana. She existed only because he needed her after all.
- Mr. Fanservice: Katana, the cool, brooding, handsome guy in the Badass Longcoat who also kicks ass, has a Hidden Heart of Gold and is voiced by Jun'ichi Suwabe.
- My Hero, Zero: Katana names his Techode Zero.
- Non-Idle Rich: Takumi's parents left him with an amount of wealth that ensures he never has to work for the rest of his life. He chooses to fight crime with his Techode.
- Not Distracted by the Sexy: Katana couldn't care less about Wanda's attempts to seduce him.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Hajiki and Katana, mainly about how they both use their Techoid for violence. Hajiki is not very happy when being reminded by people around him (Katana included) about that.
- Oddly Visible Eyebrows
- Official Couple: Hajiki and Arashi. Takumi and Aiko may be the Beta Couple.
- Older Than They Look: Because of the art-style, most of the Techode wielders, who're at least 16, look around 10.
- Ojou: Aiko, though she doesn't have the haughty personality.
- Only the Pure of Heart: Can have Techodes.
- Parental Abandonment: Takumi's parents stole an out-of-this-world sum of money and bolted, leaving Takumi behind with an equally out-of-this-world sum of money, though it's unclear if it's part of what they stole. He reveals that the money stolen was Night Town's reconstruction budget, and is one of the reasons the place is so run-down.
- Primary-Color Champion: Lightning is mostly blue, with red and yellow parts. He's the main character's Techode.
- Reunion Kiss: Arashi and Hajiki shared one of these in the last episode.
- Revenge: Katana would like to pummel Hajiki for having Lightning destroy his very cherished Heavy Metal, Seven.
- The Rival: Katana. He later graduates to being an Aloof Ally.
- Super Robot Genre: Techodes are sentient and arise from Gads if the person that has them is made of Incorruptible Pure Pureness. Because of this, it's said that it's a miracle when a Gad can become a Techode, because the vast majority of the time they turn into malignant A-Techodes.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Hajiki, Katana and Takumi have wildly different views in life which frequently clash, but they'll work together if it's absolutely needed (episode 6 with the run-away train A-Techode, for example).
- Token Mini-Moe: Sayuri of course. She's the youngest character in the show, positively tiny and made of cute.
- Tsundere: Arashi to Hajiki in the beginning, before she comes to terms with her feelings.
- Scarf Of Ass Kicking: Hajiki's Technode has two exaust pipes that look (and move) like one.
- Theme Naming: The main characters' Techodes are all named after World War II fighter planes.
- Hajiki and Katana are named after weapons, the gun and the sword respectively.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Katana towards Hajiki, after Hajiki destroyed the mecha Katana had built himself.
- Tomboyish Name: Arashi. She was named so by her father because he expected a boy and only prepared boy names. Another option he had thought up was Hayate, which is the name Arashi gives her Techode.
- Waif-Fu: Arashi
- World-Healing Wave: During the finale, the Techodes orbiting the earth use their powers to revitalize the planet and return Hajiki safely to earth.
