[gashatfreak]

So I went back to reflect on Gaim a bit and, after having been through literary courses in university and am now critically analysing every media I see, it just really hit me how DARK this series is.

Don't get me wrong, with something written by the Urobutcher it was bound to be dark. But back then I had a 'consume and move on' mentality without really appreciating the details. All I thought of Gaim back then was 'fruit samurais backstabbing each other vs alien forest trying to take over the planet'.

But now I see it for what it really is; a cosmic horror story wrapped underneath betrayals and power plays, all packaged under a seemingly-innocent merchandising ploy. People die left and right (and those are the lucky ones), friends are backstabbed, all the monsters all have tragic backstories. Conspiracy under conspiracy under conspiracy. And the worse part is the idea that, if you really think about the hints dropped throughout the show, this horrific cycle of events is to be repeated over and over and over for who knows how long throughout the universe. I can only imagine how other civilisations will deal with this.

I'm still not amused by the biblical parallels and inversions in the show but I finally get why people call Gaim one of the darkest Heisei shows made. Once I finally thought about it, it really did make me appreciate Gaim a bit more.

Also, I'm never going to look at fruit the same way again.