GABRIEL AND THE GUARDIANS: Episode 1.1

Name: GABRIEL AND THE GUARDIANS: Episode 1.1
Item: GABRIEL AND THE GUARDIANS: Episode 1.1
Author: Review

"“A Light that Pierces the Darkness”"

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

GABRIEL AND THE GUARDIANS is an epic fantasy anime series produced by Angel Studios. In episode one, Gabriel (Johnny Yong Bosch), a guardian of the heavens, is reluctant to combat the forces of chaos plaguing the mortal world. Soon, a monstrous thief enters Gabriel’s realm, searching for a powerful artifact. Meanwhile, a resurrected giant wreaks havoc on a mortal city. Will Gabriel answer the call?

The first episode of GABRIEL AND THE GUARDIANS leaves a positive first impression. It’s jam-packed with a pleasing art style and ambitious action scenes. The lead hero values friendship, loyalty, and using his magic powers for good. However, the limited animation and rushed exposition dump become a major hindrance. Lastly, the show contains stylized fantasy violence, including human sword combat. The monster enemies come off as "generic fantasy baddies" rather than a foreboding presence. In addition, the B plot set in the mortal world feels like an accessory. The show is loosely based on the stories about the Angel Gabriel in the Old Testament, perhaps influenced by unbiblical aberrations. Therefore, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and families.

Content:

(BB, CC, VV, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

A strong traditional worldview set in a world of magic and fantastical creatures, the backstory emphasizes the conflict between “light and darkness,” the hero is a young celestial guardian “angel” who embodies the values of justice, bravery, and protecting his friends, two characters choose to warn their enemies to leave and only use combat as a last resort, a prisoner rescues his captor from a collapsing boulder, the hero uses his “creation magic” to heal the broken trees of his garden, and the show is loosely based on the stories about the Angel Gabriel in the Old Testament, perhaps influenced by unbiblical aberrations.;

Foul Language:

None;

Violence:

Moderate fantasy violence throughout, but no blood or gore, a man throws a hammer at a prisoner’s head, a giant ogre destroys several city buildings, a woman stabs her knife into a man’s shoulder blade, a woman shoots exploding arrows at her aggressors, a man and a woman engage in sword combat, a celestial boy and a monster engage in a tense magic battle inside a tree, a monster punches a boy in the face, a boy uses his magic baton to slice off a monster’s arm, and a monster knocks out a celestial fox;

Sex:

No sex;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol use;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

None; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

A bounty hunter is taken captive by a corrupt prison guard, a woman uses alchemy to resurrect a giant ogre (whom she mistakes as a pagan god), and a necromancer creates a monster from purple liquid.

More Detail:

In episode one, “Palizha’ah! (invasion!),” Gabriel is reluctant to join his celestial brethren on the mortal battlefields of Ara, a planet plagued with dark wizards and monsters. As a celestial guardian, Gabriel is content with upholding the sky garden of Parah’dem. However, a monstrous thief breaks through his defenses and plots to steal his realm’s life seed. Meanwhile, a rogue human princess uses alchemy to achieve divine intervention in the mortal world. The spell goes awry, and she resurrects a giant monster that proceeds to wreck a mortal city. Will Gabriel be able to fulfill his true destiny?

Regarding production design, GABRIEL AND THE GUARDIANS is a mixed bag. GABRIEL is an American production, but it uses a Japanese “shonen anime” art style akin to DRAGON BALL Z. The backgrounds and magic particle effects are well done. The character designs are intricate but suffer from questionable color choices. Gabriel’s “busy” armor clashes with his “pink” halo outline around his body. His color design comes off as “garish.”

Another downside is the limited animation. The pilot episode incorporates ambitious fight scenes that you would see in DRAGON BALL DAIMA. Characters use swords, shoot exploding arrows, and throw magic attacks at one another. In the sky garden, Gabriel and his opponent fly immense distances past trees and mountains. The multi-dimensional storyboarding and expert use of camera movement are commendable. However, the characters suffer from limited frames of animation, and some shots feel stilted. A saving grace is Gabriel’s moral code.

In terms of moral content, GABRIEL offers a strong Christian-adjacent worldview. The show opts for Tolkien-esque worldbuilding: a high fantasy world where magic users, monsters, and angelic beings exist. There is no explicit mention of God or Jesus, but the series is heavily based on Angel Gabriel’s stories in the Bible. Gabriel uses his “creation magic” to repair the “scars” of his realm, protects his pet sidekick, and has a strong duty to fight the forces of darkness. He seeks advice from an elder angel and openly prays to the god of Ara for strength during combat. The show embodies a strong Christian message without talking down to its viewers. However, there are a few objectionable bits.

Regarding content warning, GABRIEL features moderate fantasy action violence and brief dark magic. Gabriel fights a chaos monster that was created by an evil necromancer. The two celestial beings push each other against trees, throw magic punches, and engage in hand-to-hand combat. The monster manages to injure Gabriel’s animal sidekick seriously. In the mortal world, a woman stabs her knife into a man’s shoulder blade and proceeds to shoot explosive arrows at him. A man is thrown into prison and spits a piece of blood out of his mouth. There is no other blood or gore, but the violence has a similar intensity to DRAGON BALL DAIMA.

The last downside to GABRIEL is the half-hazard use of exposition. The pilot episode does an excellent job of setting up Gabriel’s personality quirks and the backstory of the mortal world. However, the evil faction has almost no setup aside from “they are pure chaos.” The monster enemies come off as “generic fantasy baddies” rather than a foreboding presence.

In addition, the B plot set in the mortal world feels like an accessory. In essence, there are two conflicted human warriors who will befriend Gabriel later. These two characters are prominent in the marketing material. However, their introduction is underdeveloped and should have been saved for episode two.

The first episode of GABRIEL AND THE GUARDIANS leaves a positive first impression. It’s jam-packed with a pleasing art style, ambitious action scenes, and a laser-sharp Christian worldview. The lead hero values friendship, loyalty, and using his magic powers for good. However, the limited animation and rushed exposition dump become a major hindrance. Lastly, the show contains stylized fantasy violence and human sword combat. Therefore, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for children and families.