Kiddy Grade
Entry updated 22 September 2025. Tagged: TV.
Japanese animated tv series (2002-2003). Gonzo. Directed by Keiji Gotoh. Written by Hidefumi Kimura. Character designs by Megumi Kadonosono. Voice cast includes Ayako Kawasumi, Aya Hisakawa, Junichi Suwabe. 24 25-minute episodes. Colour.
Set in a distant future where humanity is unified under a Galactic Union, this Space Opera follows two operatives (de facto Superheroes) of the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs (GOTT): Éclair, impulsive and super-strong, and her genteel Telepathic hacker partner Lumière. As members of the covert ES Force they undertake missions to suppress piracy, corporate crime, and corrupt officials, flying between planets on their AI-driven Starship. Early episodes present lighthearted, action-packed "girls-with-guns" adventures resembling Dirty Pair (1985), with glamorous heroines tackling episodic threats, with sf tropes like Terraforming and Space Elevators in the background. Midway through the tone shifts: as the pair tackles a case involving a planetary-scale mind control Dystopian system, Éclair learns that she has been alive for many centuries, but her memories and personality have been periodically erased and rewritten. The heroines uncover a conspiracy by the Nouvlesse, a hereditary aristocracy who control entire planets (see Secret Masters). This revelation pivots the tone from bubbly adventure to conspiratorial rebellion, as the Éclair and Lumière go rogue and rebel against the system. The closing arc pits the show's heroines against former comrades and entrenched elites.
Though at first resembling a glossy action comedy, the series becomes darker and more ambitious, exploring themes of Identity, longevity, Memory and inequality. Its mixture of stylish Space Opera battles and conspiratorial melodrama was typical of Gonzo at its early-2000s peak. Critics noted the uneven structure – the main plot emerges late – and the heavy use of Fan Service (gratuitous sexualization of female characters; in particular, Éclair), but praised the inventive twists and energetic climax. Licensed by Funimation during the DVD boom, it acquired a modest overseas cult following. Three compilation films – Ignition, Maelstrom and Truth Dawn (2007, each at 90 minutes) – condensed the tv series with minor new animation.
A sequel tv series, Kiddy Girl-and (2009–2010; Satelight; directed by Keiji Gotoh), was set fifty years later. Its heroines Ascœur and Q-feuille (voiced by Aya Uchida and Aya Gōda) are ES trainees under the reconstituted Galactic Trade Organization. Early episodes lean heavily into slapstick and moe comedy– alienating many fans of the original; the new heroines, despite having superpowers, spend many episodes as little more than bumbling café waitresses. In later episodes, the tone darkens, with terrorist Villains, the return of Éclair and Lumière, and a climactic battle more in line with the original's epic style. Reception remained mixed at best, as it was, in essence, a poorly executed clone of the original series.
The publishing history of Kiddy Grade began one year before the Anime debuted, with the Kiddy Grade Pr. (2001-2002) light novel series, set 10 years before the anime and following a different pair of characters (a different author, Aoki Tomohiko, penned that first instalment, although it was illustrated by Kimura, who subsequently took over the series as the writer). Several other Manga and light novel tie-ins were published. Manga releases included the side stories Kiddy Grade Reverse (2002-2003) and Kiddy Grade Versus (2002-2003; vt Kiddy Grade VS), and Kiddy Girl-and Pure (2009-2010), a prequel to the second anime series. Light novels include Kiddy Grade (2001-2003), adapting and expanding the first anime series; the side-stories collection Kiddy Grade Secret Affair (coll 2004); Kiddy Grade Word Layer Continued And/Now (2009), connecting the original and sequel anime series; and Kiddy Girl-and (2010); a retelling of the second anime series from the perspective of a different character. The Radio/CD drama Kiddy Grade Sound Layer was released in 2002-2003, and the web radio drama Kiddy Girl-and GTO Cafe "Touch & Go!" was released in 2009-2010. These works often emphasized character appeal and relationship comedy, often leaning further into ecchi and moe elements than the animated originals.
Kiddy Grade exemplifies early-2000s Japanese Space Opera anime: glamorous heroines, flashy visuals, corporate conspiracies, and tonal instability between comedy and melodrama. The original series remains the most respected and well-known instalment; later continuations illustrate how Japanese sf franchises of the era often softened into parody and moe tropes when trying (not very successfully) to attract new audiences. [PKo]
links
- Internet Movie Database
- Wikipedia episode list
- Internet Movie Database – Kiddy Girl-and
- Wikipedia episode list
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