ravion opens at a top-drawer formal party, where the leaders of Earth are praising the hospitality of their mysterious host, reclusive billionaire Klein Sandman. But the praise turns to fury when Sandman appears and reveals that all the Earth Federation Alliance's offworld bases have been attacked and destroyed by an alien threat. The EFA brass are hostile and disbelieving, until the calls start coming in, alerting them to what Sandman somehow already knows.
Meanwhile, a boy named Eiji Shigure has infiltrated the party in disguise, and he begins exploring Sandman's massive castle, to the apparent amusement of the maid staff, a colorful bunch in wildly varying but generally fetishy costumes. They watch his progress via the castle security system, referring to him by name, though it's clear they've never met him. Suddenly, their entertainment is cut short by a warning that an alien attack is imminent. Before Eiji knows what's going on, he's run into a creepily friendly, gentle blue-haired boy named Toga, fallen into a pit, attempted to escape on what he thinks is an airbike, and then found himself in a fighter ship, in the middle of a battle with the alien fleet.
As is revealed over the first five episodes of Gravion, Sandman not only anticipated Eiji's arrival, he secretly arranged it in order to recruit Eiji to a fighting force he calls the Gran Knights. Toga is the pilot of a giant humanoid robot called the Gran Kaiser; Eiji and three of Sandman's maids pilot smaller, specialized ships called the Gran Diva. All five units can merge into a bigger robot called the Gravion, which is Sandman's ultimate weapon against the living machines of the alien collective known as Zeravire. A sixth ship, the G-Shadow, also enters the fray on its own, though the question of who pilots it haunts the first few episodes. Briefly, Eiji is angry at Sandman's tricks, and at the cavalier and contemptuous treatment he gets from Sandman's maids. But while he initially refuses to pilot his ship and fight the alien force, he consistently proves easy to manipulate into just about anything.
Tongue in cheek—or maybe not
Gravion plays almost like a parody of giant-robot series from Voltron to Neon Genesis Evangelion. Gravion does seem to specifically acknowledge and address the flaws of Voltron-esque shows—much is made of the fact that the Zeravire evolve new defenses before each new attack, so that each episode's battle-ending superweapon (including a giant glowing sword) works only once, and never becomes the stock attack that ends every battle. Other elements of the series simply seem ridiculously silly; for instance, during the de rigueur once-per-episode Gravion combination sequence, a grim-sounding rock song plays, complete with lyrics like "Those who drown this blue, shining planet in sorrow / Such sinister beings will taste lightning bolts!" and, at the emphatic conclusion, "All most danger!" Then there's the Gran Diva pilot Mizuki, whose barely covered breasts are significantly bigger than her head, and generally in violent independent motion, and there are the elaborate, frilly costumes that all of Sandman's maids wear, even when piloting super-mecha.
But in spite of the goofiness, Gravion seems to have been intended as a relatively serious show. The story goes in a few too many directions at once—the opening episode in particular is deeply confusing, with its random welter of unfamiliar names, concepts and terms—but most of the storylines are dramatic rather than comedic. Eiji's mission in Sandman's castle, the question of the G-Shadow, and the conflict between Sandman and the EFA over who will lead the Zeravire resistance all seem deadly grave, when they aren't being interrupted by shrieking and flailing.
Gravion's animation and designs vary as much as its tone. Sometimes, the action is spectacular; at other times, it looks stiff and pieced-together. The severe designs of the male characters look odd next to the bright, lacy, neon-haired women. Sometimes the drama works, and sometimes it all just seems goofy. Mixed bags like this are common enough in anime; this one is lively and intriguing enough. But it's the kind of inconsistent roller coaster that's just as likely to disappoint action fans and comedy fans alike as it is to satisfy both groups.
This is yet another show that owes a significant debt to Neon Genesis Evangelion. From the ever-evolving, inorganic-looking, mysterious single attackers from space to the political dynamics to the relationship between Sandman and his secret-weapon pilot, much of this seems familiar, though Gravion does a decent job of making it fresh.
— Tasha
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