I need some help with understanding Gasaraki. ***Spoilers***

[EvaXephon]

Yep, this is the same problem I had with Eva, Berserk, and Millennium Actress. I liked watching the shows, but now I have been mindf***ed by them, and I'll need some help getting this giant dildo out of my ear, if you know what I'm saying.

I absolutely loved the first two volumes of Gasaraki. The first seven episodes blew me away with their greatness, especially the Belgistan story arc. But every episode after that seemed to suck. After a while I was asking myself "Why the hell am I still watching this crap? Why don't I just stop watching?" And the only answer was the amount of money I'd spent on the box set. (No comments on that, please.)

The main thing that I didn't like about Gasaraki was the main character. He was so boring and dull. He almost never showed any emotion. He barely ever responded to anything. He was like Rei from Evangelion.

I would have been fine with this as a character, as the emotionless character can be a cool element if done right, like Rei from Evangelion, but HE IS THE MAIN CHARACTER. I want to be able to relate to the main character. He never did anything that I would have done. I don't think there was anyone who would have actually handled a situation the same way he did. He was just stupid.

Wanna know the worst? There was another character JUST LIKE HIM. Miharu was another emotionless soulless boring dull unresponsive doll. They never spoke to one another, they never asked each other questions, when they spent so much time together, and both wanted to know answers that only the other knew. IDIOTS.

So, my first question is - Why is the main character (I'm sorry, I never decided to remember his name, other than Captain Gowa) so emotionless? I understand that the real him died eight years ago.
So, why is he still around?
Was he cloned?
Why was he brought back to life, or whatever?
Why did the first one die?
Why is the first one being kept in that weird tube?
Why is the old dude's son being kept in a tube?
Who are all of the others in those weird tubes?
Does the main character remember anything from before he died?
What has he been doing for the past eight years?

And my second inquiry concerns Miharu. Why does she have no emotion, either?
Where did she come from?
I mean, was she born or manufactured or what?
Who are her parents?
Why is she working for Symbol?
How did Symbol get her?
How did Symbol find her?

And I'd also like to know what was up with that trip to the past, one thousand years ago. Very cool story arc, but why were the two main characters there?
Are they thousands of years old?
Time travelers?
Reincarnations?
And, just how the hell is the viewer supposed to figure this all out on their own?!

In the second to last episode, there is a battle between TAs. At one point, two TAs fuse. WHAT THE HELL WAS UP WITH THAT? There was never even any hint of them being biological. That was just plain stupid in my opinion.

Throughout the entire anime, the Gowa family is mentioned, and several characters refer to each other as brother, sister, mother, father, etc. These characters all act so estranged to one another. Are they really all related by blood? Or adopted, or in-laws, or what?

Last, I wanna know about Gasaraki itself.
What is Gasaraki?
What is Gasara?
What is the difference between Gasaraki and Gasara?
Is Gasaraki a person, a place, or a thing? (Stupid ambiguous anime)
Why did they want to summon Gasaraki?
Is Gasaraki good or bad?
And what the hell happened in the last episode inside of Gasaraki?

This whole ordeal has got me so fired up that I think that I'm just going to stop asking questions for now, even though I've got some more.

Thanks to all who help.

[Tsunami Jones]

I haven't seen the show in a while, but I can attempt to answer at least a few of these.

Why is the main character (I'm sorry, I never decided to remember his name, other than Captain Gowa) so emotionless? I understand that the real him died eight years ago.

He's probably so emotionless because he more than likely doesn't have many of his early childhood memories, and for the length of time that he's been alive, his family has treated him as just a tool, and nothing else.

Was he cloned?

Yes, he was.

Why was he brought back to life, or whatever?

So he could perform the dance of summoning or whatever it was called.

Why did the first one die?

The first one died in an accident. If I remember correctly (which I probably don't), he died during the dance.

Why is the first one being kept in that weird tube?
Why is the old dude's son being kept in a tube?
Who are all of the others in those weird tubes?

No idea. I simply can't remember.

Does the main character remember anything from before he died?

I think he remembers only minor bits and pieces.

What has he been doing for the past eight years?

Training for the dance, learning how to use the TA's, and probably school.

And my second inquiry concerns Miharu. Why does she have no emotion, either?
Where did she come from?
I mean, was she born or manufactured or what?
Who are her parents?
Why is she working for Symbol?
How did Symbol get her?
How did Symbol find her?

I don't think any of that is ever really answered. But again, I haven't seen the show in over a year, and I can't remember.

Reincarnations?

Yes, they appear to be reincarnations of their former selves.

In the second to last episode, there is a battle between TAs. At one point, two TAs fuse. WHAT THE HELL WAS UP WITH THAT? There was never even any hint of them being biological

While they're not entirely biological, there are biological components in them. To help in their movement, they use an organic compound that they call Mile One. This compound was actually extracted from the ancient "mecha" that their past selves piloted.

Throughout the entire anime, the Gowa family is mentioned, and several characters refer to each other as brother, sister, mother, father, etc. These characters all act so estranged to one another. Are they really all related by blood? Or adopted, or in-laws, or what?

They're all related, they're just not very close. This probably extends from how their family is run. As they're so heavily engrained in business, it seems that they're family is run in a very similar manner. Everything is done in a rather business like fashion. And because of this, they've probably all been so busy that there hasn't been time for them to get "close" to each other.

Last, I wanna know about Gasaraki itself.
What is Gasaraki?
What is Gasara?
What is the difference between Gasaraki and Gasara?
Is Gasaraki a person, a place, or a thing? (Stupid ambiguous anime)
Why did they want to summon Gasaraki?
Is Gasaraki good or bad?
And what the hell happened in the last episode inside of Gasaraki?

Hopefully someone else can answer this, as I can't remember.

Anyway, I hope that I was at least of some help.

[EvaXephon]

Heh, you were always the first to post in my "I didn't understand" topics, even though your posts weren't always as helpful as this one was.

Seeing your laid back responses makes me regret being so fired up in my initial post.

Well, thanks a lot for what you could help with. I wonder if there is a novelized version of Gasaraki that has more answers than the series provided.

[badmartialarts]

Horrendous spoilers for Gasaraki. And this is all from memory, so if I get something wrong...go ahead and correct me.


Parts of this are from the last episode, parts are my own speculation.

The Gasaraki is a race of ancient demon-like intelligences that were banished to some sort of interdimensional prison in some ancient war (think the Phantom Zone from the Superman comics). Through some method they figured out how to affect the evolution of humanity, placing the proper DNA codes into the human genome to create kai, people who could contact their realm and allow them to send pieces of themselves (the kugai) into our realm. When a true kai, with all the right genes, appears (this is Yushiro in both of his incarnations), he will be able to summon the full force of the Gasaraki into our realm, likely destroying the planet as the Gasaraki return to this reality. But Yushiro's basic humanity prevents this, both times, by locking away the Gasaraki again.

That's at least the sense I made out of it.

[Tsunami Jones]

Heh, you were always the first to post in my "I didn't understand" topics, even though your posts weren't always as helpful as this one was.

Seeing your laid back responses makes me regret being so fired up in my initial post.

That was only once, and I wasn't the first to post. And it was about Millenium Actress . . . but anyway, I'm glad that I could be of some help. And don't worry about being fired up. This series is pretty strange.

[EvaXephon]

Woah, Sousaphonist, that was some amazing information. Did you deduct that on your own? If so, then I was wrong about the answers not being given in the series. And if not, I wonder if there is a Gasaraki manga floating around somewhere.

That was so informative, thanks!