For centuries, Heaven has required its young angels to live and study among humans in order to become full-fledged angels. This is no different for top-of-her-class Gabriel White Tenma, who believes it is her mission to be a great angel who will bring happiness to mankind. However, Gabriel grows addicted to video games on Earth and eventually becomes a hikikomori. Proclaiming herself a "Fallen Angel," she is apathetic to everything else—much to the annoyance of Vignette April Tsukinose, a demon whom Gabriel befriended in her angelic early days on Earth.
Vignette's attempts to revert Gabriel back to her previous self are in vain, as Gabriel shoots down any attempt to change her precious lifestyle. As they spend their time on Earth, they meet two eccentric personalities: the angel Raphiel Ainsworth Shiraha, Gabriel's classmate with a penchant for sadism, and the demon Satanichia McDowell Kurumizawa, a clumsy self-proclaimed future ruler of the Underworld.
Gabriel DropOut follows these four friends' comedic lives as they utterly fail to understand what it truly means to be a demon or an angel.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Nenhum episódio encontrado.
Comentários
MetaThPr4h
If I learned something from watching Gabriel DropOut, is that going to hell is definitely the superior option. Get ready for this hilarious comedy that reverses the roles of angels and demons! The story is simple but interesting due to the comedic setting it creates: our protagonist, Gabriel, was a kind, top tier angel who always helped others. However, after coming to Earth she developed an addiction to online videogames and became incredibly lazy. From there we meet other angels and demon with personalities that don't fit the standards we give to them, creating lots of great comedic situations playing around that. Going back to Gabriel,I love how much of an asshole she can be to the others, it's a fun twist to the happy and kind main protagonist we usually have in these type of stories.
Playing that role instead, we have Vignette, an “angelic demon” if that makes sense. Being completely different to Gabriel, she is a very responsible and kind-hearted girl who is always there to help and bring happiness to everyone around her. How can a demon be this pure? No idea, but I can already tell you that she has some of the most heart-melting smiles that anime can provide. Next we have Satania, the cutest, most “evil” demon that exists. In order to conquer the Earth, she will do things as terrifying as refusing to do her homework or recycling a water bottle with the cap still on. I'm genuinely scared, I swear! As scary and powerful as she wants to be, she still miserably fails at everything and is the constant subject of bullying from Gabriel, and especially from Raphiel, that completes the main cast. Don't let her angelical looks fool you, she's a sadist that has teasing Satania as her favorite pastime. I have no idea what's going on in heaven to have girls like this as the most promising angels.
Gabriel DropOut has the biggest concentration of best girls I have seen in quite a good time, all of them are great and likeable, and the interactions between them are so fun to watch. It doesn’t matter who you choose as your favorite, secondary characters like Tapris, an adorable angel that surprisingly behaves like an angel included, you are picking a great and lovable character.
The character design, backgrounds, and overall art style of this anime is well executed but nothing mindblowing. I felt that compared to other Doga Kobo works it didn't have as many impressively animated scenes as usual, however, the story itself doesn't really have that many moments for them to happen, and when there is the chance, they are done and look great, so I have no objections. In the sound department is mostly what I expected from a comedy anime, with songs that fit well with the tone, but aren't really that memorable. The same can't be said for both the opening (Gabriel Drop Kick) and the ending (Hallelujah☆Essaim) two great songs sung by the voice actors of our four main characters that are two personal favorites of this season. From the opening I especially love the part where the tone of the music adapts to whichever character is singing, using a calmer tone for the angels and a more intense one for the demons. The ending theme is mostly made by nice looking still shots together with the really catchy song.
In conclusion, Gabriel DropOut is a very entertaining comedy anime that plays with the interesting idea of angels and demons and subverts your expectations of what their personalities should be like. I personally had a blast watching it, really enjoying each episode and getting so attached to the characters over the course of the series. I can't see how an anime that made me look forward for the Mondays doesn't deserve to be a favorite of mine heh, I highly recommend this anime to anyone looking for a nice comedy series to watch!
Fircoal
There are two ways I look at Gabriel DropOut. One is as a CGDCT anime and the other is as a comedy. While the two usually go very well together I separate the two of them for a reason. As a CGDCT anime Gabriel DropOut is alright. Vinge and Satania are cute, and at least Gabriel has a cute design, even if her personality is annoying. However, as a comedy anime it is painful. The biggest issue I have with Gabriel DropOut is that it's not funny. Many of the jokes all boil down to the same thing: "The angels act like demons and the demonsact like angels." That's actually an interesting idea but the problem is it's not very funny. And it's certainly not funny enough to fill up 12 episodes. However, still the show likes to repeat this joke over and over and over and over again. That and Satania bullying (having funny mean things happen to Satania) is the bread and butter that this show has. Both of which got boring pretty quickly. They do sometimes mix in other jokes but even those jokes fall flat most of the time because it's predictable how they end up. Some of them are jokes I've seen from other shows in the past. The execution of these shows as well tends to be lackluster. There isn't enough variation in the setup or the punchline of the joke so it only adds to that samey feeling. Comedy is subjective but I have a hard time understanding what's so funny about this show. Rather it's attempts at humor usually annoy me more than anything.
The characters range from good to incredibly grating. As it turns out the demons fall into the former camp while the angels fall into the latter camp. Satania is dumb but can be pleasant to watch due to her attitude and the life she brings to the show. Vigne is basically a normal girl as a demon so like a normal girl, she's cute as well. I wouldn't consider either of the characters very well developed as the show never really pulls them apart from their normal behaviour or gets them into situations where they have to grow. There was a moment with Vigne where she showed some more depth but for the most part, the show lacks in that department. That said the two demons are fine characters and at least are likeable. The issue with these two is that it depends on who they're paired up with for how enjoyable each segment is. They're usually paired with the angels which sadly doesn't help them out.
Gabriel is a whole mess of issues. First off she's basically an okatu character played straight. She's never more interesting than that, and her cynicism and her lack of caring get really annoying to watch. It's even more so annoying when they make up this backstory of her being a perfect little angel before getting tainted by the modern world and video games. That actually could have been an interesting story if Gabriel cared about retaining her angelic nature and if it happened slowly through time. Instead, it takes one night, throwing out all illusion of having character development or depth in exchange for a cheap laugh that isn't even funny. What's worse than her bland and uninteresting personality is that there's nothing that makes her likeable. She usually ends up acting pretty mean to her friends, which only serves to make her character less likeable. Thusly. I have no reason to want to see her on the screen nor care about her well-being. It even hurts her cuteness because she has a great design yet it's hard to really adorable or enjoy the looks of someone who I don't like. The ruins part of the magic that could be there.
Raphael is a sadist, and if she had any redeemable traits that'd be ok. But she doesn't. Rather she's pretty much a sadist and nothing else. Her target of prey is poor Satania. Sometimes this works well and is funny but most of the time it doesn't. Satania bullying only really works when Satania is being played due to her own faults. Otherwise, it's cruel and seems unfair for poor Satania. What did she do to deserve being bullied? She has her flaws but not enough to justify the amount of bullying she receives in the show. I personally have a problem with characters getting mistreated whether by the world or by other characters and since it ends up happening so often it only adds to the annoyance that this show can provide. But going back to Raphael, that is the main point of interest with her, and probably the only notable one. And like Gabriel, she gives no reason to like her, and thusly she's annoying to have to watch, as well as again being a bland character.
Unlikeable characters are fine when there is a purpose behind them. Say if they are villains, or if they're used well for comedy. However, the comedy gotten from these characters are stale and not worth while. Furthermore, they clash against the notion of caring about the girls which hurts the CGDCT aspect of the show. The show doesn't work that well all together, and the root of the cause is its failed comedy. Thusly, I imagine how one feels about Gabriel DropOut depends on how funny one finds it. If one finds it funny then it's some of these problems feel like less of an issue. But personally I didn't, and thusly I relied on the characters to win me over. While Vinge and Satania worked, the angels did not, at least for me.
Despite Gabriel DropOut's poor attempts at humor there were a couple of episodes that did shine. These episodes proved that the show can throw in some good material when it wants to. There is a later character that appears named Tapris who is proof of this. However, the show spends more time mulling around the same jokes to really go anywhere and that's it's loss.
The art and animation were solid throughout but never seemed notable enough to give it praise. The music was ok, although I don't really care for the OP very much.
Overall the show is inconsistent and has issues with its humor and its characters, however, it is pretty cute and does have some merits. This is a show that you can probably tell whether you'll like it or not from the first couple of episodes. They never really move on from that type of material. Personally, I don't recommend it but there are worse shows to watch.
An unimportant note: The CR subs for this show were absolute trash. They kept on inserting random jokes instead of translating the actual line. Although that's CR's fault not Gabriel DropOut's fault.
Stark700
Every now and then, I often go through a bucket list of things when deciding to pick up a new anime. Make no mistake, Gabriel Dropout’s list consists of some of the most generic tropes you’ll discover in anime. Does that automatically make the show unwatchable? Absolutely not. I mean, the show is like a soup with all sort of generic ingredients in it to bring out the flavor. However, it’s a show that can also be a delight for fans who wants to see some colorful entertainment. On the surface, the series doesn’t really stand out much. It’s essentially about angels and demons who havedescended to Earth to learn about humans and their life style. Main female protagonist Gabriel “Gab” graduated at the top of her class but upon landing on Earth, she becomes a lazy hikikomori who is more interested in video games than anything else. It doesn’t take long for viewers to understand what her character is like as the first episode establishes her role as pretty straightforward. The other characters also take little time to make their way into the story as well.
As a slice of life story, there’s not much linear storyline or complex plot going on. Every episode consists of segments that makes up for its storytelling. In fact, most episodes can consist of multiple storytelling segments with little relations to another. However, what makes this show special is the character cast. It’s a small yet effective character cast that consists of Gab, Vigne, Satania, and Raphiel. Gab and Raphiel are the angels while Satania and Vigne are the demons. Contrary to what viewers may expect, these characters are more like antithesis of their archetype. Gab hardly has an angelic personality but is instead portrayed with a lazy and spoiled attitude. Satania is pretty much a harmless villain as her devious behavior is often overshadowed by her own idiocy. The idea is that these characters all came to Earth to adapt with society. Yet, they have their own motives that is satirized by comedy.
Speaking of which, the humor of this show plays a big role to fulfill enjoyment. Like most comedy/slice of life stories, it tries to sell its humor and does it quite well. The most effective way it does so is with the character chemistry. With such a small cast of characters, we can easily see how their relationships are without overthinking it. Take Satania and Raphiel for instance. Raphiel often teases Satania while the latter tries to cause mischief with hilarious results. On the other hand, Satania always tries to “compete” with Gab but somehow falls short for whatever reason that comes up. Vigne stands at the middle ground as she a more mature character yet also has her own outrageous moments. That being said, the show also introduces some lesser impactful characters that spice up the character chemistry. One of the more noticeable characters though is Tap, an angel that adds her own bits of magic into this show. In retrospect, the key success to these characters isn’t how their roles are portrayed but rather how they bring the show’s humor to life.
As a manga reader, the adaptation is faithful but doesn’t follow every chapter in a linear order. I can also say with disappointment that there were some chapters that should have been adapted. As a standard 1-cour show of 12 episodes, it’s not all too surprising. In the meantime, the humor can be a hit or miss for some fans. Its attempt to sell comedy will not meet everyone’s standards and from the first episode, it can be the deciding factor of keep or drop. Finally, I have to admit that Gabriel Dropout lacks character development. There’s not much change to any of the main characters while we don’t learn much background story about them either. While some could say that slice of life stories like this doesn’t need them, it can still be disheartening for fans who are more interested in those elements.
Adapted by Doga Kobo, the show is quite colorful. Literally, every character stands out in some way from their different hair colors and their extra accessories. (Gab’s halo, Satania’s devil-like hair piece, Raphiel’s crosses, etc) Production quality is also simple yet effective to bring out the gimmicks. There’s not much fan service (although there’s a beach episode) so expect more or less comedy as the series’ main way of servicing the fans. The character expressions also works quite well to supplement with the show’s humor.
Soundtrack isn’t all too impressive although it gets down the idea right for its OP and ED theme songs. What should feel impressive is the character voice mannerisms. They fit them so well. Gab’s voice really makes her sound like a lazy sloth while Satania’s devilish laughs gives her the impressions of a devil. By the time I finished watching Gabriel Dropout, I felt like the character voices really outdid themselves.
Should you watch Gabriel Dropout? It sounds like a tough question but really has a simple answer. If you fancy comedy without relevancy with its storytelling, then this is the show for you. It has humorous gags and characters shine with their personalities. However, if you’re more into something serious or development in storytelling, then look elsewhere. For me, this series has the virtue of being funnier than what it looks like. Now that’s a certain kind of fun.
HaXXspetten
Doga Kobo might not be the absolute biggest name in the anime industry but if there is one thing they have truly made a name for themselves for, then it is their aptitude at making moe comedies. With an repertoire including the likes of Himouto Umaru-chan, New Game and of course the legendary Yuru Yuri among others, this is truly the studio's specialty. Adding to this lineup, this season we now have Gabriel DropOut, which once again showcases just how to make this genre shine at its very brightest. Gabriel DropOut can briefly be described as role-reversed angels and demons turned moe. The story mainly followstwo angels and two demons, who all end up moving from Heaven and Hell respectively to the human world upon starting high school. The catch is that the angels in question are a lot less admirable than you might expect, whereas the demons are not particularly evil. It is a simple twist on paper, but it ends up working to great comedic effect more often than not in this rather mean-spirited comedy show.
Given the nature of the anime, it is unsurprisingly largely character-driven. First of all there is the show's supposed main character Gabriel, named after the archangel. She is someone who used to be a picture-perfect angel with the most pristine, beautiful smile whose sole intention was to spread as much happiness as possible in the human world. That is until she one day randomly ends up playing an MMO as a healer in order to help the other players (how the game ended up on her laptop in the first place is never explained but whatever), only to find that people were dying when she ran out of mana, causing her to purchase an exclusive premium healing staff for real money in desperation. And this turns to be the starting point of Gabriel quickly going down a slippery slope until she eventually becomes a self-centered game addict and a hikikomori. In other words, basically a lost cause and in this case a fallen angel. She is rather reminiscent of Doma Umaru from Himouto Umaru-chan in this sense, but Gabriel is even more hopeless since unlike Umaru she 1) does not put in any effort in school or try to keep up appearances either, and 2) fully embraces the NEET lifestyle and does not even try to improve herself whatsoever, much to the dismay of her friends.
Speaking of which, her best friend is Vigne (who I think is supposed to represent the demon Vine but I am not sure), a very diligent and kind-hearted demon who only wants to help people. Her devotion manages to get Gabriel to at least get out of her room and attend school sometimes, but unfortunately that is not the way demons are supposed to behave, and thus she sometimes finds herself in just as much trouble as Gabriel regarding lack of financial support from back home. The poor girl just cannot find it in herself to be evil as much as it is expected from someone in her position.
Someone who most definitely wants to be as evil as possible though is the so-called "future queen of hell" Satanichia—more commonly known as Satania—which is quite obviously a feminized version of Satan. She is perhaps the real star of this show as most of its funniest gags revolve around her... or rather her misfortune. Put simply, Satania is an idiot, and her attempts at being evil always end in complete failure. Also, the other girls are generally pretty mean to her in return for all the nuisances she creates. This is undoubtedly the most mean-spirited part of the show as Satania is most often treated as the butt of everyone else's jokes, but it works out surprisingly well because of the light-hearted nature of it all (and let us be honest here, quite a lot of the abuse she is given is well deserved).
Although pretty much everyone has a piece of Satania every now and then, the main culprit behind Satania's torment however is the fourth and final of our main characters: Raphiel (named after the archangel Raphael). She is a former classmate of Gabriel's from their days up in Heaven, and whilst she may look like a model honor student at a glance, she is actually both a sadist and a huge troll whose favorite pastime is manipulating and toying with Satania in various ways. As she already proved in Prison School, HanaKana is surprisingly adept at voice acting sadistic girls, and the case with Raphiel's character is no different.
There is not much in the way of actual plot progression throughout the show. There are a couple backstory segments showcasing how Gabriel and Vigne first met, and in some of the latter episodes we also get to see some more glimpses of what Heaven and Hell look like when the girls temporarily go back home on vacation, which also lets us meet their families. Beyond that though, the show mostly consists of standalone skits (usually like four segments per episode or so), however that is totally fine because this is purely a comedy show at heart, and quite a lot of the time it is actually legitimately hilarious. I cannot actually label it as the comedy of the season for the simple reason that KonoSuba 2 happened to be airing simultaneously, but during any normal circumstances it certainly would be. Granted, humour is very subjective so I cannot promise anything, but at the very least I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed every single episode of the series.
Gabriel DropOut is not a complicated series, but it executes its own premise excellently and delivers a consistently enjoyable and momentarily hilarious experience. Combined with Doga Kobo's typical clean and shiny moe art style (and a fantastic ED I might add), it all amounts to one of the best moe comedies I have seen in quite some time.
PS: For whatever reason, Crunchyroll's subtitles for this anime are absolutely cringeworthy. In what universe does "Itadakimasu~" translate to "Through the Dark Lord Amen" if I may ask? Keep your 4chan memes away from my subs please, because if you think you are being funny I am sorry to disappoint you. Hopefully some fansub group will pick this show up and retranslate it from scratch sometime in the near future so that it might actually be bearable to read.
moe_sama
Gabriel DropOut is a series you will hear praises sung for due to its take on comedy and unabashedly moe characters as the angels and demons enter the human world and interact with each other with their role reversed personalities. It starts out fun but once it settles into a rhythm it refuses to let up to show even the slightest development in either story nor character. Story: 5/10 Gabriel is an angel that graduated at the top of her class in heaven and she and her classmates enter the human world to learn more about humans, while there she discovers MMO games and quickly becomes a lazyshut in that refuses to do her duties as an angel. She's accompanied by the role reversed cast of angels and demons and the series follows them around in their exploits.
Art: 8/10
I really love Doga Kobo's work, and in terms of moe character designs it seems as if KyoAni and Doga Kobo will always pop up in the same sentence. They use bright distinct colors throughout giving the series its light tone, animation is always on point but not quite to the level of LoveLab despite airing several years after it, and the backgrounds are all nicely done. If you like anime simply for the art, Gabriel DropOut will never disappoint in that regard.
Sound: 7/10
The VAs in Gabriel DropOut all do fine jobs delivering their lines to fit the moods and personalities of the characters, it never feels off and works throughout the series. The OP and ED are both well done and similarly entertaining.
Character: 4/10
The characters are the largest problem I have with Gabriel DropOut and are what make it suffer the most. The main cast consist of Gabriel, the game obsessed, lazy protagonist. She's accompanied by her polar opposite Vingette, a demon who's defining character traits are her upstanding morality and kindness. Raphiel, an angel that has become so bored with the human world that she's developed a craving for sadism. And Satanichia, best described as the devil may care punching bag of the series.
Once you're introduced to these characters most of what you'll have to look forward to is Gabriel being lazy, Vingette being responsible, Raphiel finding ways to beat up on Satanichia, and Satanichia being cocky and being the punchline for most of the slapstick humor. The characters never develop or move beyond these defining traits so each episode will repeatedly play out these scenes. This gets tiresome and even though the characters are likable, they're entirely one dimensional and their interactions aren't enough to carry the series.
Enjoyment: 6/10
Overall: 5/10
As someone who loved Doga Kobo's work on Yuru Yuri and LoveLab, Gabriel DropOut comes off feeling as if the effort and care put into the latter two titles was missing from it. While it was mildly entertaining, I had a hard time enjoying it due to how stagnant it started to feel even before the halfway point of the series.
LIQfilms
Gabriel Dropout was genuninly a nice surprise for me. Coming into this show with hardly any expectations whatsoever, I left feeling satisfied with a fun show with good comedy and a cast of characters that I actually liked by the end. This show doesn't do anything remarkable in terms of its narrative or characters but it remains a fun ride throughout, and the characters are both enjoyable enough, and their chemistry between each other feels natural enough to carry the weight of the show. Gabriel Dropout is about a fallen angel named Gabriel, who visits Earth originally as a means of learning more about Earth culture(but only visits Japan to achieve this, ignoring all of the other hundreds of cultures but, hey whatever), but, as she becomes addicted to the world of online gaming, she falls into depravity, changing from a sweet, kind "butter wouldn't melt" type character to the lazy, self-centred lie about. During the duration of the show, she meets new demons and reunites with old angel friends who have yet fallen and have come to Earth to learn more about its culture and customs. And that's pretty much it for the narrative. The rest of the show involves the characters in random situations and scenarios, that gets funnier as the show goes along. It took a little while for me to warm up to the show, I think the first three episodes, while still being fine, were not as interesting overall as the latter. When the characters had all been introduced, I was having much more fun with the show overall, mainly due to how fun all of the characters are in this series. While the individual archetypes for the characters had been done before, each one bounces off of each other rather effectively and there is a good enough variety in jokes (for the most part that is) to carry the comedy. There were a few moments in which the comedy was a little TOO stupid for my taste, such as when Satania takes the dog and travels all the way to a far off land; my main problem is that the joke went on for too long. Similarly, there were also some jokes that I felt were either unfunny or kind of fell flat on their face, but these moments didn't take too much away from the show to the point where it ruined it for me and these moments were few and far between.
What is also interesting as a dynamic is that two of the character's archetypes, that being an angel and a demon, are switched around, and while I wouldn't go as far as to call this a subversion of themes or anything, this addition still adds another layer onto the comedy of the show. In terms of characters, there are four central ones; two demons and two angels. Gabriel, as previously mentioned, is the fallen angel who spends the majority of her time playing games and just generally being a worthless member of society. She has her share of funny lines and personality traits, but most jokes with her are just about her lifestyle. Granted, as the series went on, the comedy with her became more funnier, as a result of the more expressive reactions the voice actress and the animators could muster. Vignette, was also a fun character who plays the straight man, or straight woman in this case and despite being a demon, she is perhaps one of the kindest and sweetest people ever. We have Raphiel, another angel who spends most of the time laughing at the expense of the other characters or laughing at Satania, who, in my eyes is the best character in the show.
Satania is essentially a wannabe arch demon who thinks she is evil as all hell, but her attempts at being evil come down to her announcing that she hasn't done her homework boldly in class or starting a fight over a dog who keeps stealing her melon bread. She is delightful and fun to watch, as she attempts all of these various "evil" plots and schemes which always amount to her getting the short end of the stick in the end. There are other characters, such as Gabriel's older sister who makes an appearance in the final episode and is charming in her own way but for the main crust of the show, it focuses on these four, which isn't so bad considering how fun they all are. The show just needed a little more variety in order to bump the score up a little more higher. In terms of animation, the show has a very bright colour pallet and the animation, particularly in the final episode is great. It was produced by the same people who made New Game last year, which also had very attractive looking character designs and animation. The soundtrack was also pretty good, and held together pretty well, but is pretty forgettable aside from the opening and ending tracks which are fun and fit the theme of the show.
In conclusion, Gabriel Dropout is a fun show with fun characters and I do recommend it to anyone looking for something easy and fun to each whilst delivering entertainment.
DMZMarshall
Gabriel DropOut has an interesting premise and does an ok job to compete on the moe comedy genre. However the noteworth good observations stops there. Story 4/10 The peak of the comedic value is around ep.4, while the first 3 will either infuriate you or just be boring, and the rest of the series continues in a spiral of increasing levels of boring. Characters 3/10 Opening plot introduces Gabriel, a once righteous angel who turns into a lazy slob after discovering video games on Earth where she is attending high school. Then we are slowly introduced to the rest of the cast. Oh the rest of the cast... probablythe most stereotypical characters (except for 1, which has a few more interesting qualities)
To sum up, we have an angel bully who picks on a thickhead demon loner, a demon who is more angelic than all the other angels combined, an angel that does absolutely nothing useful, and a bunch of side characters that are not really developed.
Art 7/10
You can't really go wrong with the moe art style, especially with an experienced studio
Sound 6/10
OP and ED songs were good, arguably better than the contents in-between
Enjoyment 3/10
Peaked around the 4th episode, then it was just boring, boring, boring.
Overall 4/10
The premise was good, the execution was terrible and the comedy was tolerable at best.
Valenthyne
What happens when you mix Himouto! Umaru-chan with angels and demons? Tenshi! Gabriel-chan. Witness main character Gabriel Tenma White’s fall from grace towards the clutches of one of humanity’s greatest evils: massively multiplayer online games! Gabriel DropOut is a fun, charming Slice of Life that follows the lives of two angels and two demons as they engage themselves in the bizarre world of mortal delights. Will you like it? You may enjoy series title if you… -- generally enjoy Slice of Life anime with a medium sized group of main characters -- consider yourself interested by the implementation of “angels” and “demons” -- enjoyed the concept and progression of itscousin in Himouto! Umaru-chan
You may not enjoy series title if you…
-- often stray from the particular genres with which the series is assocaited
-- seek a plot with deeper thematic substance
Story
All of Heaven’s upcoming angels must take a period of study on Earth to live and learn among their mortal inferiors as requirement for advancement. Gabriel Tenma White, valedictorian of her graduating class, proves one of the most promising angels of the time, that is, until she became corrupted by human living. Thanks to the addicting nature of MMOs, she found herself drawn to lifestyle of a hikikomori, becoming what she proudly refers to as a ‘faillen angel’. Her friend, kindly demon Vignette Tsukinose April, does what she can to help Gabriel get on the right track, yet to no avail. With the sadistic Raphiel and delusional Satania along for the journey, these four supernatural teens come to learn the lines that separates angel, demon, and human are easily blurred.
As we follow the daily lives of the four, the main attention point is how contrary they act to how you’d expect. Gabriel, an angel formerly top of her class, has devolved into an unreliable, lazy shut-in. Vignette, a demon straight from Hell, manages to be a responsible, caring, and otherwise altruistic friend. Raphiel is devilish in her own right, developing all sorts of pranks and such for Satania, self-proclaimed “future archdemon” and the one character who at least tries to act like she should, though usually to her own dismay (and our enjoyment). Scenes generally concern themselves with character interactions, and with the great characters that we receive, most of them are fun and generally humorous.
Genre & Characteristics
While there’s a set lore in place, most of the series concerns itself with the daily events in the lives of the girls, effectively branding the anime a Slice of Life. Unfortunately, an issue that seems to place most in this genre is the very predictable episodic structure. As usual, yes there are holiday episodes, along with a beach journey earlier on. How badly (or positively?) the formulaic approach affects your experience will differ from person to person, and it’s not too big of a deal for me. There’s also a few fanservice-y scenes, though nothing too prevalent. Enough to please those who enjoy it and respect those that don’t.
It’s a comedy anime, and I actually found it to be pretty hilarious at times. Comedy in Slice of Lives, particularly, are subjective, so not everyone is going to get the same enjoyment out of it. I can tell you that if you don’t think it’s funny, I wouldn’t bother watching, as that’s its primary selling point aside from character relationships. There are a few recurring gags that are generally funny and mostly revolve Satania getting screwed over, though at times they can get a bit repetitive.
Fortunately, it would have been very easy for the creators to just add the fact there are “angels” and “demons” as a selling point, but I have to say the fact they weren’t humans really did help give the series more substance. A lot of the actions and dialogue relied on the interrelationships between angels and demons or those beings and humans, which in turn also helped support the comedy. In the latter half of the series, there were a couple episodes that involved the four returning to their respective realms in Heaven or Hell, presenting some really fun scenes from both zones.
Worth mentioning too is that, perhaps as a complement to the rising trend of hikikomori in Japan, the main character exhibits many traits usually absent from a protagonist in her laziness, social withdrawal, and general apathy. With other protagonists similar to this in Kazuma Satou of Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! and Umaru Doma of Himouto! Umaru-chan, it’s becoming more prevalent that Japan is attracting this particular audience in their future creative works. If this is a sort of archetype you enjoy, you’ll find yourself pleased with Gabriel overall, but take note that she does take it a bit further and act like a bit of an asshole at times, explained better later on.
Animation
If you’re familiar with Himouto! Umaru-chan, you’ll come to find out the animation is strikingly similar, especially in terms of facial representation, background animation, and scenery. Both were animated by studio Doga Kobo, which I can say does a satisfactory job overall. Slice of Life anime rarely go above and beyond in terms of visual technique, but Gabriel DropOut performs well by enacting bright, exciting visuals with lively characters, however there are often cases of “resting same face” that don’t detract too heavily from its overall aesthetic. That being said, I always have a soft spot for when characters have striking color palettes, and each of the four girls have one, so good job.
Sound
Unfortunately, I can’t say I was too impressed with the music. This is by no means saying it wasn’t acceptable, rather it’s that standard, generic Slice of Life soundtrack you’d expect to hear on almost any series within the genre. A few episodes had some good moments, notably those involving the coffee shop, but otherwise you won’t be looking to buy the discs.
The seiyuu performed their roles very well, with no complaints with any performance. Two VAs did stand out well, particularly with Miyu Tomita nailing Gabriel’s monotone, even bored attitude and Naomi Oozora really seeming to understand the character of Satania, with her air of self-importance captured in detail.
Despite the otherwise underwhelming soundtrack, I did enjoy both the opening and ending themes, both of which were performed by the characters themselves (always a welcome benefit).
Characters
As any good Slice of Life anime will require, the characters within Gabriel DropOut are unique, entertaining, and otherwise lovable. While Gabriel serves as the primary character, Vignette, Satania, and Raphiel receive ample amounts of attention, allowing fans of either or all to be pleased.
Gabriel Tenma White, our titular “faillen angel”, has made radical changes since her visit to the human world. Thanks to the intoxicating nature of video games, she has forsaken any sort of altruistic goals her previous self may have set, focusing only on living her life as a hikikomori. Due to her apathetic nature, she often comes off as a bit of an asshole, though she does have her moments where she lets her true feelings for her friends pour out.
Vignette Tsukinose April is perhaps the strongest character in her stability and attitude. She functions quite strongly as Gabriel’s foil, always trying to help her friend get focused back on her duties as an angel, though she herself seems to act the most angelic of the four. Despite this, she tries her hardest to prove she can be a true demon, but no one is really convinced.
Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell is easily the most enjoyable character of the series, and the one from whom much of the comedy originates. Though dim-witted and unintimidating, she has delusions of grandeur in that she will become the future archdemon of Hell. Originally the self-proclaimed rival of Gabriel, she comes to befriend the angel as she had no friends otherwise. There’s also a little doggo that comes and steals her melon bread at every opportunity, what a dick!
Raphiel Ainsworth Shiraha is a sneaky little devil, no pun intended, and thrives in the misfortune of her companion, Satania. Large-busted and sadistic, a lot of the comedy also comes from Raphiel, as her pranks, not only on Satania but Vignette too.
There are a few other characters introduced, including Tapris (Gabriel’s easily fooled kohai), Machiko (class president), and the unnamed coffee shop owner (Gabriel’s boss and coffee lover), though none of them have particularly large roles outside of being relevant to a given episode’s plot (or subplot).
Conclusion
Gabriel DropOut is best described as one of those series that doesn’t quite earn the sticking power of a great one but leaves you feeling satisfied and content with your time spent following its conclusion. Much of this is attributed to the fact that it felt very formulaic in its Slice of Life plot progression, though it performs well in offering four lovable characters whose interactions entertain you from episode to episode. These types of anime are not for everyone, and you can pretty much tell whether or not you’d enjoy it from a quick glance, but those that do will find themselves pleased with what’s offered.
“Like, humanity can just go to Hell and die for all I care.” – Gabriel
Hazamelis
First, let me say that this anime is not good. That’s right, it’s not good. Yes, it features one of the best characters in all anime, Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell, a genius archdemon who controls the show every time she’s on screen with her absolutely demonic deeds and nefarious exploits. But then you have the other characters. While Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell excels in every scene she’s in, you also have Raphiel, one of the absolute worst characters I have ever seen. What is her trait? That she’s a sadist? That’s it? Yes, that’s it. She likes to see others suffering, including Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell. She neverdoes anything amusing, heartwarming, or cute. She just disrespects Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell, forces her way into her home, or tries to trick her as if she were a plush toy. We all might want to be entertained by Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell, but we are on this side of the screen; she is not. If you are going to be in the show, try to earn your place and do something actually fun for once. For every scene where the genius Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell shines, there is a scene where Raphiel ruins the show. She is incredibly annoying, disgusting, and boring to watch. I hate her, hate her, hate, hate, hate. Sure, you might have characters you like and dislike in a show, but her presence serves absolutely no purpose other than being a passive watcher of Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell’s genius, which she always disrespects.
The other two characters, the most passive ones, barely have any effect on the show at all. Vignette is a good girl, so she doesn’t do bad things, cause any shenanigans, and is reliable. While she would be great to have as a friend, watching her life is dreadfully boring. Gabriel is the same but in the opposite direction. She is a slacker, so she doesn’t do good deeds. She is lazy and always stays at home. While she would be terrible to have as a friend, she could theoretically be a good protagonist in a comedy. You’ve seen other anime with listless characters that only want to be left alone, right? Saiki K, for example? These shows make great use of the listless protagonist since they are always met with energetic and cheerful people who want them to live life and do silly things. This can be great for comedy when the protagonist’s cynical perspective deconstructs the silly traditions and realities they live in. Here? They don’t do that. Gabriel is never really punished for anything, and even Vignette helps with her homework, albeit reluctantly. Gabriel might get bored by having her friends around, but no jokes ever come from it—nothing, zero.
There is barely any comedy here. The jokes are very scarce and might rely on some occasional slapstick or the fact that the angels act like demons and the demons like angels. Still, nobody ever suffers any consequences, leaving you with tasteless comedy without misery. Overall, despite having a character like Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell, who is sheer genius, the others don’t help the show at all. Vignette is the most blank slate for a good girl character, Gabriel is useless as a protagonist since she never makes anything happen, and Raphiel is one of the most despicable and awful characters in anime. She isn’t a horrifying villain that incarnates evil, an ambiguous scientist with a goal that sacrifices means for an end, an underdog, or anything interesting. She is just a spoiled brat bored with her life, only interested in schadenfreude. I still ask myself: How? How did this even happen? Having an anti-hero as a protagonist is a great idea. Making the feminine angel unfeminine, unkempt, and uncool—just a slacker like any other—can bring a lot of comedy with all the silly stuff you can do in animation. But she never ever does anything like that!
If you watch this as a comedy, it’s barren. If you watch this as a CGDCT anime, it’s still pretty bad, considering we only have one truly good character. One is as average as they come Vignette, one makes you bitter from how boring they are to watch, Gabriel, and one fills your soul with absolute hate, raising your anger to the max and making you wish you could punch her until all her teeth fall out, Raphael. Seriously, what a disgusting creature.
If one can hope, is that Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell one day gets her own spin off, away of all the mess her friends are, she was the true start of the show after all, and the only you should really pay attention too if you even decide to go through this mess. Megumin got her own spinoff, so why not her as well?
LegendAqua
Angels and Demons living together...MASS HYSTERIA!...hysteria indeed. For a concept of angels being utter hellion demons to demons being the most angelic (or chunni) beings, put both of them together and see how they interact is a great premise and sure this comedy anime has it's share of problems but what makes this comedy anime stand out is it's characters...especially one that makes this anime all worth while. With Gabriel DropOut characters, we have...Gabriel Tenma White the titular character voiced by Miyu Tomita who was the best angel in heaven until MMORPG's corrupted her and she became a lazy NEET angel. Next is Vignette Tsukinose April voicedby Saori Oonishi, a strict yet orderly demon and is the tsukommi to Gabriel's boke, but mostly tries to keep everyone in line. Raphiel Shiraha Ainsworth voiced by Kana Hanazawa is a caring angel but deep down is a masochist BUT towards Satania, she's an absolute sadist towards her, teasing to even putting Satania into paranoia levels whenever she's around. Lastly we have the aforementioned Sataniachia Kurumizawa McDowell voiced by Naomi Oozora...she's the BEST character in the series, not only for the aforementioned stuff she gets with Raphiel, but that she's one, a chunni demon who thinks she's a great demon by doing evil and horrible things...only for those acts she does to be absolutely petty and extremely minor cases of her chunni personality (as well as Raphiel misguidance) to make her an absolute riot the majority of the time.
LA will say the obvious that this kind of setup is subjected to a huge case of running gag syndrome and yes LA will admit it does have it at times, Gabriel DropOut still uses it's running gags to it's advantage at times and thinks outside the box a la playing against the type even under different settings (with certain characters being put together alone etc.) A brilliant example is when Vignette tries to be more demonic, as a result she ends up like Satania instead. Other minor characters does come into the mix like Tapris voiced by Inori Minase and her being new to anything in the human world, Master voiced by Hideyui Umezu who misunderstands things from the main cast and Machiko the class president voiced by Mai Fuchigami being used by Gabriel for Gabriel's own benefits all used sparingly just to spice things up, mostly from Master and Iinchou who gets the most screentime, minor character wise. But even with it's running gags in place as well as playing against the type and adding characters here and there to spice things up, there is one unpredictability factor to Gabriel DropOut that makes this anime's comedy golden and that is Satania without a doubt, sure her running gag of always being the butt monkey of the group is a fact but it's her zany personality coupled with reactants of Gabriel, Vignette and Raphiel and her own misguidance makes the comedy unpredictable at times.
If there were flaws LA would state to Gabriel DropOut is that for an anime called GABRIEL dropout, Gabriel herself isn't the driving factor to all this as Satania essentially stole the show from her and coupled with Gabriel lazy demeanor makes her more of an active spectator than a catalyst, though to LA's defence against this flaw, she does inadvertently gets into the action of certain skits as long as it benefits her like wanting food or money or wanting to see Satania suffer to the final arc concerning Gabriel's older sister Zelel voiced by MIYUKI SAWASHIRO with some varying degrees of success comedy wise. For LA, Gabriel's involvement with Satania's suffering to the final arc were decently to hilariously handled well albeit some few running gags that didn't annoy LA too much.
In terms of animation by Doga Kobo, who is by now known for making cute moe comedies, makes another one expected of their moe prowess and the animation is overall decent and moe as usual. Best yet is how well they do their character expressions and isn't limited to make some outrageously funny expressions (be it evil lazy intent or chunni hubris). Backgrounding isn't the most notable thing in this anime as it is a character-centered comedy and all. Overall expected Doga Kobo animation, not that that's a bad thing.
In terms of voice acting, the voice acting is excellent with some varying. Saori Oonishi is above average to say the least and she does have great timing and all, Miyu Tomita is great as well even if she is voicing a lazy character though with this role, LA can say that Miyu HAS RANGE, but on speaking of range, Naomi Oozora is LA's favourite voice actor in Gabriel DropOut, all due to her chunni vocal range and the fact that Naomi Oozora could be as hammy as she wanted to, likely allowing Naomi to have LOTS of fun with this character and in a ways Naomi Oozora's role as Satania kinda brought Naomi into LA's radar all because of Satania because of this. Now, as much as this isn't Kana Hanazawa's fault but LA thought that Kana Hanazawa wasn't just doing enough, she didn't do horrible or anything as she was just voicing another Kana Hanazawa character with a sadist streak. LA is merely saying this because Miyu Tomita, Saori Oonishi and Naomi Oozora seemed to do much better and put in more effort than Kana Hanazawa did and it's Kana Hanazawa!!!.
Gabriel DropOut may have the same problems of having the running gags syndrome as well as main titular character who's less a catalyst to the comedy and more a reactant all due to her personality and everything, but Gabriel DropOut does have a silver demonic lining to all this, that being that Satania is such a saving grace (HA HA HA) and that the comedy has lots of unpredictability factors from it's settings to mixing characters together or just playing against the type from their running gags. Gabriel DropOut does have varying degrees of success but for LA, LA found the anime fun throughout and the comedy does tend to dip at times due to getting to cozy with it's running gags but with Satania REALLY being the saving grace and some genuinely unpredictability makes this anime's comedy great.
Gabriel DropOut is a great comedy anime with angels and demons who are quite the opposite to say the least. Gabriel DropOut is probably LA's 3rd favourite anime comedy for Winter 2017 and with such great comedies coming out from Winter 2017, Gabriel DropOut had a strong competition to contend with, but nonetheless Gabriel DropOut DIDN'T "DROP" away from one of LA's favourite comedies for Winter 2017, that's for sure.
Soapy2k
This review is just my input. It's not full fledged or anything, you already got the other ones going in depth and such. Now I'm not a very good reviewer so... This is the type of anime that was focused on entertainment more than the story. If you're the more of the story guy, well uh, this might not be for you. Gabriel DropOut got me laughing and put a smile on face throughout each episode. I've finished this anime in about 4 days, and I would've finished it sooner but roadblocks, so you can tell how interested in Gabriel DropOut I was. The characters wereall cute, and just enjoyable. The art style was great, but nothing out of the ordinary. Same thing with the soundtrack, but the intro and the outro were really good. They were catchy and fit the anime well.
It may not be interesting at first glance, but do watch this anime. You'll be laughing 'till you feel the pain in your tummy.
shirahane
While I was looking for anime to binge watch for my summer break, I stumbled upon this show. When I first read the synopsis, I didn't expect much at all. It only looked like a comedy anime that revolved around cute girls doing cute things. However, I ended up watching Gabriel Dropout anyway since I had nothing else to do. That was a decision I don't regret making. Story - 6 Well, the thing is, there is no actual story. In the first episode, we are to introduced to the main character, Gabriel, who is graduating to become a full-fledged angel, and is apparently the top angelin their class. As a final test for all the future angels, they are to attend high school in the human world to closely observe humans. Many people placed their hopes and trust in Gabriel, telling her that they knew that she was going to go far and achieve a lot of heavenly things.
Eventually, Gabriel arrives at Earth as an angel in disguise, but when she gets exposed to the human entertainment that is video games, her personality does a full 180° turn. Instead of helping people out, she now spends her time locked up in her apartment playing video games. Instead of calling herself an angel, she now calls herself a "faillen" angel.
The anime tells the story of the wacky things that happens to Gabriel and her just as wacky companions in their everyday lives.
Art - 7
There's nothing special or unique about the art and animation in this anime, in my opinion. I mean, I haven't really seen anything amazing from Doga Kobo, the animation studio for this, yet. We've seen something like this before, so there really isn't anything to gush about. Although, it does successfully manage to set the tone for the show and deliver the message, "this is a comedy anime!" to the viewers loud and clear. The art and animation does its job, and that's most important.
Sound - 8
To be honest with you all, the only music I really paid attention to was the OP. I thought it was extremely charming in its own way. Go on and give the OP song a listen. What do you think about it? Yes, it's energetic. Yes, it's loud. But more importantly than that, it sounds like everyone singing is just having tons of fun. Heck, the lyrics make it seem like they aren't even singing at all! Read the English translation, it sounds like the four main characters are just having a normal conversation with each other. Honestly, I think this is genius and amazing. Sure, this may not be the first anime song to do this, but I really liked how did it in this OP.
The voice acting is great, really. A huge part of why the comedy works is the excellent voice acting. If it weren't for that, then I think that the comedy wouldn't have such a strong effect.
Characters - 9
The four main characters: Gabriel,Vigne, Raphiel, and Satania, are extremely lovable and really naturally funny.
You have Gabriel, the shut-in angel turned into "faillen" angel. Vigne, the demon in training that is more angelic than demonic. Raphiel, the angel who makes questionable decisions when it comes to having fun (most of which involve a certain "archdemon"). And Satania, the archdemon who is just a total airhead.
There isn't a single dull moment when these 4 are at the same place at the same time. The way they interact with each other is really entertaining, and, of course, funny. Call me immature if you don't appreciate this kind of humor, but I found everything really funny. I would constantly just smile and laugh like an idiot during every single episode.
Personal enjoyment - 10
I absolutely loved every single second I spent watching this show. All the jokes had me laughing out loud at every moment. I wish the anime never ended, sigh.
Overall - 9
If you're looking for a chill comedy anime to watch, then I recommend this show. You might like it, or you might not like it. It depends if the humor in this show is the kind of humor you actually like. It's a hit or miss kind of situation, really. I know people who thought the humor was too immature for their tastes. I just so happened to be the type who likes this kind of comedy. So, if you're anything like me, then you're sure to love this show just as much or even more than I do.
Fecal-Jesus
Gabriel Dropout was a fun anime to watch. I really liked this anime because of it's cute and funny characters. If you're looking for something cute, funny and fun to watch then I would recommend Gabriel Dropout. It focuses mostly on the 4 main characters (Gabriel, Raphie, Satania, Vigne) and the things they get into. Each episode is something different. This doesn't have much of a story it's just for laughs and something to enjoy. It also had a religious theme to it and there's some talk about demons, angles, the apocalypse. Overall Gabriel Dropout is a fun anime that has a few laughs andit's something I would recommend to someone if they're looking for something fun to watch.
felixlovesanime
Gabriel DropOut: a moe anime in which the supporting characters outshine (and outcute) the primary protagonist. The premise is exactly what one would expect from something titled "Gabriel DropOut": about an angel named Gabriel who decided to become a total bum on Earth thanks to serious addiction for MMORPG. Splashed with moe tones and lots of colors, the audience soon finds a hilarious setting where angels and demons being all cute and funny while at the same time, poking serious topics on morality and comformity. Nonetheless, it is still a moe anime which also means that being entertaining must be Gabriel DropOut's number one priority. Unfortunately,the Gabriel in question literally only possesses the cute face. Even with equipment such as angelic wings and sneaky wit, Gabriel can't help but come off as one-note-- which is a big No-No for a main heroine whose name even serves as the half of the series title. Making things 'worse', the cuteness factors are more bombastic when Satanichia and Vignette come into the picture.
As a foil for Gabriel, Satanichia mainly serves as a comic relief but thanks to such committed depiction, Satanichia never comes off as a clown and in fact, just the opposite: the episode gets easily tedious when Satanichia is nowhere to be found. Vignette --who is basically an Angel stuck in a Demon skin for some reason-- is more interesting in her quest of her "good girl being better". It is as if these two were there to give Gabriel and Raphiel something to do. However, the two angels would finally get the character depiction they deserved-- but only on the second OVA episode! And such 16-minute OVA episode happens to be the best of the entire saga! It truly is a divine travesty.
In conclusion, Gabriel DropOut is pretty amusing for all the wrong reasons. It is still a must-watch, but perhaps the creatives at Dogo Kobo had better off not considering a second season but instead, considering a spin-off for a certain character.
#felixlovesanime
BanjoTheBear
(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!) My mother and father always had to drag me to church every Sunday when I was a kid. I hated going. No video games. No running around. No talking. It was sit, stand, sit, and stand again for an hour or more. Singing songs that I never memorized and hearing yet another lady read an aside that I didn’t much care for. I loathed it all. I was angelic in other ways, like how I would go to catechism and say prayers every now and then. But, when it came to church, I was practically a demonin human form.
Gabriel DropOut (remember to capitalize that second “o”) features characters of a similarly mixed good-and-bad nature – and more than enough comedy to offer.
STORY
Having just graduated from heaven’s educational system, Gabriel, the angel all other angels aspire to be, heads to Earth to live on its soil and understand the humans who inhabit it. She’s as perfect as ever as she grows accustom to life there – until she plays an online video game. At that point, the angelic Gabriel becomes the slothful Gab, and Gabriel DropOut begins.
Designed almost purely as a comedy, this anime strikes at the heart of one the most fundamental aspects of hilarity: incongruity. Through subverted expectations, the show clearly understands how to get at laughs while also exploring its premise to a reasonable degree.
These expectations are easy to spot. Gab and Raphi are angels, so one expects them to act kind and thoughtful and lovely. Similarly, Vigne and Satania are demons, so one expects them to act evil and ruthless and unfair.
In true subverted fashion, though, they act in a complete opposite manner. Gab lazes about and threatens to blow up the whole world along with its filthy humans. Raphi schemes and plots to create amusing situations that she can enjoy. Vigne cares about her friends as well as maintaining a proper lifestyle. Satania commits “dastardly” deeds, but she isn’t always the smartest girl out there.
These demonic angels and angelic demons make it easy for Gabriel DropOut to get its audience laughing. In one scene, Satania squares off against Tap, making the naïve angel fight for Gab’s honor Old-Maid style. In another scene, Gab gets drunk off amazake, flying high into the sky with her wings to ring in the New Year with a “bang.” This constant flurry of incongruity may arguably get repetitive in the long run since there’s only so many ways Raphi can trick Satania or Vigne can be the responsible one in the group. Nevertheless, the quick pace and the high amount of interaction among the four girls keeps the comedy chugging right along.
By extension, the anime explores this angels-and-demons premise to a reasonable degree. Some episodes have them trying out the human traditions known as “Halloween” and “Christmas.” Some episodes use the premise against them, like when Raphi holds up a version of the bible whose majestic light harms Satania. Some episodes even feature a return to their worlds up high and down under to give a perspective relative to their respective origins.
Not every joke relies on expectations and the premise itself, though. Raphi dealing with a too-tight bra on physical-fitness day or Vigne trying to teach Gab the joys of sandcastle making focus more on their individual traits to get at character-based comedy. Doing so helps in varying up what’s presented and therefore introducing even more chances at laughter.
Indeed, the anime covers most types of comedy. It has running gags with the dog stealing Satania’s treasured melon bread. It has situational funnies like when Gab squeals loudly as Vigne applies topical ointment to heal her mosquito bites. It has wordplay such as when Gab says she will “half-ass” playing with her little sister but the horsey ride suggestion makes for the perfect response: “I’ll die, half-ass!”
Although, Gabriel DropOut finds itself in an unfortunate pitfall, for the anime relies way too much on the “say the opposite of what’s about to be said or going to happen” tactic. A prime example occurs in episode eight. As Vigne and Satania sit in front of their teacher to practice upcoming interviews, Vigne internally describes what Satania shouldn’t do and their teacher will do. Only for the oblivious girl and the stern man to not follow her train of thought.
If one gets very technical, it still counts as subverting expectations. But the difference lies in the delivery. Where the original angels-and-demons approach uses cleverness, this method foregoes subtlety, refusing to let these scenes play out naturally. The result makes it easier and easier to guess what joke the show has lined up next the further along one gets into the season, reducing its effectiveness as a comedy anime overall.
ART/ANIMATION
A lot of Gabriel DropOut’s comedy comes through in the vast amount of reaction faces Gab and the other girls regularly use. From Satania’s cheeky grin to Raphi’s bulging cheeks. From Vigne’s exuberant smile to Gab’s deadpan stare. The girls constantly shift between humorous faces befitting their characters and their situations, giving the anime extra laughs in nearly all its scenes.
Fluid animation also makes its way in for most of the series. Extra frames for Gab’s legs during a low shot of her walking or Vigne slamming her door while kicking both Satania and Raphi out of her apartment prove this statement well enough. Even all the way into episode eight, when Satania and Raphi race one another, the animation keeps up, their running motions and hair jostles reflecting how much the show gives movement its due.
The show also adopts a caricature-bubble overlay for a lot of its conversational scenes that keeps the focus on the event at hand while also bringing in more silliness. Some colorful, flavorful backgrounds also help with upping the anime’s visual variety as do the rare in-anime fourth-wall breaks.
To be fair, the setting doesn’t allow for much in the way of intrigue. Gab’s messy room, the school grounds, and the occasional visit to the classy café don’t have much to offer artistically. But the general quickness of the show and the emphasis on its jokes make this lack of background satisfaction a moot point.
As for the characters’ designs, they achieve different levels of success. Gab’s design sits on the higher end due to the contrast between her radiant and slothful selves. The former prim and proper, the latter frazzled and often in nothing more than a big zipped-up jacket.
Satania and Raphi are middle of the road. Satania’s red hair, bat hairclip, and upside-down cross symbol on her tie paint her as the archdemon she claims to be. Raphi’s very light purple hair, cross hairclips, and large chest give her an attractive design that hides her conniving ways.
Vigne’s design ends up at the end, for, while her short purple hair and flowering ponytail give her a cute look, she doesn’t stand out in any memorable fashion.
The anime does reuse a noticeable amount of its art and animation from the first episode within the last few minutes of last episode, but that’s not enough to take away from the fact that the show went out of its way to make the anime as visually comedic and fun as possible given its premise and genre.
CHARACTERS
As an almost purely comedic anime, Gabriel DropOut doesn’t have the most complex of characters. Gab, Raphi, Vigne, and Satania have their shticks that they almost never stray too far away from, leaving little room for nuance but inviting a ton of comedy as a result.
Gab was once a top-tier angel, a role model for both those in heaven and those on Earth. However, upon playing her first MMORPG, she got sucked into the lazy lifestyle of grinding experiencing and participating in timed events. She no longer cared about doing good by others but instead doing good for herself.
She’s the main protagonist of this tale, and a lot of her comedy comes through in her lackadaisical approach to nearly everything. She can’t work more than once a week for a couple of hours because (as she similarly puts it) she would die of exhaustion. She always wants to copy Vigne’s homework. She doesn’t like changing out of her clothes because it’s too much work. In short, the anime doesn’t use the word “dropout” in its title for nothing.
Gab isn’t all about laziness, though. She hates how many humans exist in the world. She likes to mess with Satania directly. She scarfs down food like nobody’s business. She can even trick everyone into thinking that she’s back to her former self.
Raphi is a bit different. Unlike Gab who thrives off doing next to nothing, Raphi gains pleasure in life by seeing her friends in silly situations. More specifically, she revels in toying with Satania, her “play thing.”
Whenever Raphi is on-screen, and especially when Satania is nearby, the audience can be sure that Raphi is up to something. Be it telling Satania to only wear her swimsuit beneath her clothes or hypnotizing her with a “Merry Christmas… Melon Breadmas…” chant, Raphi doesn’t let an opportunity to prank Satania go to waste. Going so far as to track the poor demon with GPS so she can instantly arrive at a moment’s notice to witness Satania’s next oddity.
Unfortunately, Raphi is a one-trick pony, for, after this obsessive trait of hers, she doesn’t have much of anything else. Save for one facet learned during the only time Satania “beat” Raphi at her own game: a fear of frogs. Granted, this scene is very small and not brought up again, but the show at least tried to give her more besides pestering Satania.
Vigne is not an angel like Gab and Raphi. Instead, she’s a demon. On paper, that is. For she, more so than her angelic friends, does what she can to be a diligent, wholesome person. She thinks about others, she attempts to learn more about humans and their culture, and she does her best at life’s daily happenings.
In essence, Vigne is the straight man of the group, acting as the normal one while the lazy bum, the schemer, and the weirdo continue to cause havoc. In fact, she’s arguably the only truly kindhearted person among them. This trait of hers even earns almost an entire episode all to herself; episode seven showcases her trying to be “demonic” by not following the school’s clothing standards and refusing to take notes during class.
Satania claims herself to be an archdemon and the next queen of the underworld. In reality, she’s a goofball whose skipping of homework and purchasing of “rare” telemarketing devil items only leads to her crying and in trouble on more than one occasion. Her taste buds don’t seem to exist, and that one dog always steals her precious melon bread. But she doesn’t let that stop her from trying to “conquer” the area and the people around her.
More so than anyone else, Satania is meant to be the brunt end of almost every joke. She’s picked on and almost never taken seriously, so it can sometimes feel a little unfair to watch. However, when she tries to make Gab serve her coffee in a demeaning way or acts all holier-than-thou when talking to Raphi, it becomes easier to understand why she’s pranked almost all the time.
She rarely receives any comeuppance herself – save for defeating Tap, Gab’s angel kouhai. And the show also reveals that her parents are the ones to blame for her inflated ego and overactive imagination. (At least their son has remained unaffected by their delusions.) Altogether, Satania is the jokester of the bunch (intentional or not), delivering laugh after laugh without doing anything else besides being herself.
While the anime doesn’t care to explore anything too deep with any of these characters, it does contain a sentiment that almost anyone can relate to.
As is regularly shown, Gab and Raphi are angels, and Vigne and Satania are demons. Per these monikers, they are expected to be good and bad respectively. But that’s not how people are; almost nobody is all good or all evil. They’re a mixture of the two. Sometimes they say something mean or do the wrong thing. Other times, they support in their own way or try to do what they can to help.
These girls demonstrate this idea all the time. Gab may hate going to school, but she offers Tap a place to lodge for her visit to Earth. Raphi may tease Satania constantly, but she befriends Vigne despite their differences in origin. Vigne may push Gab in the right direction, but she isn’t afraid to smack her upside the head when she’s being uncooperative. Satania may think she’s better than everyone, but she cares enough about that dog to give him the bigger half of her melon bread.
Again, that’s not a lot to go off of. And, indeed, many of these moments are either just after or followed immediately by a comedic routine, making this thoughtful comparison pointless. Still, it’s nice to see the anime go beyond the laughs and for something a bit more worthwhile.
MUSIC/SOUND
The cast of Gabriel DropOut receive many strong voice-acting performances from their respective actresses. Kana Hanazawa as Raphi uses her cute voice to hide her sinister schemes. Miyu Tomita as Gab, in one of her first major roles, can be both kind and nonchalant in her attitude. And Saori Oonishi as Vigne brings both maturity and goodness with ease.
Yet (perhaps obviously) it’s Naomi Oozora as Satania who steals the show. Her arrogant claims, the yelling, her “evil” laugh, and extremely silly behavior were only made possible by her impressive performance, breathing life into the character and elevating the comedy of the anime that much more.
The anime’s original soundtrack also has quite a few supportive songs. High-pitched notes and an ambient background effect combine to make those “tense” moments feel extra harrowing. Satania’s devilish music, with the backing choir and pronounced organ, fill the air with satanic sounds. A slow, everyday tune changes its composition frequently, often taking on a shaking beat, a few strings, and the occasional rising note (that’s fun to whistle along with) and providing a foundation for the anime’s slice-of-life feel.
Gabriel DropOut also includes a lot of different sound effects and variances in sound to further promote its comedy. For example, in episode eight, Satania starts to fall over because she tripped over her feet, and her voice goes into super-slow-motion. The caricature bubbles are a more general example; a tiny horn sounds off whenever they appear on screen. These may not be necessary additions, but they certainly add to the show’s overall execution.
Moving on, the opening track, “Gabriel Drop Kick,” has a lot to unpack because it does so much within its minute-and-a-half run. The warping of Gab’s opening lyric highlights her “faillen angel” status. The flurry of conversations that happen in the background immediately afterwards get at the craziness of the show itself. Then the song splits, using whimsical instrumentation for Gab and Raphi’s segments but harsh, metal instrumentation for Vigne and Satania’s segments to represent the dichotomy between the angels and the demons.
There’s also Satania’s meta lyrics, Gab’s sighing, and the fast-paced rhyming. Eventually, the track crescendos, leading to the cast singing together with lots of “Happy!” and “Yay!” shouts for more fun. It ends in a much more reserved manner compared to the fervent, techno, and rocking formation beforehand, but such an ending adds yet another layer to an already jampacked piece.
The ending track, “Hallelujah☆Essaim,” is nowhere near as involved as its OP counterpart, but it’s not without its own flair. It combines chimes, electric guitar, choppiness, some cowbell (always need more cowbell), and techno to create a semi-serious, pretty cool piece. Loftier segments fit the angel-and-demon motif, the vocals are nice on the ears, and the little stepwise singing section near the end makes for a catchy outro.
Yet the most interesting aspect of the ED is the dual prayer that these angels and demons simultaneously recite in singsong form. The lyrics’ almost-matching construction make for a clever moment in the track that, on their own, represent the contrasting nature of the piece quite handily.
Though it isn’t the voice acting, the OST, the OP, or even the ED that take the sound crown. Instead, a small little hymn from episode seven known as “Gabriel no Kazoeuta” earns the throne. The entrancing lullaby isn’t much, but Vigne’s soft singing and cute pronunciation of “Gabriel” turn the tiny track into a mini musical hit. Plus, it’s darn catchy, and an ED version of the song plays at the end of the episode. Complete with a sped-up section and Vigne snoozing off by the song’s end.
ENJOYMENT
I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t fully onboard with this one when I first checked it out as it aired. It seemed like an above-average comedy that didn’t try for anything too daring or too interesting for me to consider worthwhile.
I still hold that perspective to some degree. But I cannot deny how each and every episode had me laughing my butt off.
A lot of those laughs are thanks to those two too-cute demons: Satania and Vigne. They are no doubt the best, funniest characters in the show, and I was delighted whenever they appeared on screen. Satania crying out in nervous anguish as heaven’s security guards dragged her away was hysterical, and Vigne’s big smile after Tap said she looks forward to their tea time together had me smiling just as wide. They were a ton of fun, and they made for a lot of happiness again and again.
Raphi and Gab are not as delightful as their demonic friends, but the angels had me laughing as well. Raphi catching herself from saying something twisted, with cheeks bulging and her hand covering her mouth, was a small action that brought about many a chuckle. And Gab unable to perform well at any of the physical-fitness tests at school, practically dying in the process, made her yakiniku-driven attempts an entertaining set of moments indeed.
I was also a fan of the side characters. The coffee shop owner was a cool dude who simply loved coffee and looked out for Gab and the other girls whenever he could. Martiel, Raphi’s female butler, was also a hoot thanks to her depraved devotion to the young miss.
Tap, too. She isn’t around for very long, but she’s also one of my favorites in the show. Higher than Gab and Raphi even. She is darn cute and has silly relationships with the whole cast. Once she learned how to code in C and Java (and soon PHP), she shot up even higher in my books.
Although, what solidified my liking of the show wasn’t the fun characters or the jokes themselves. What really did it was Gab’s thoughtfulness in episode eleven. Despite how much she rags on Satania, Gab secretly helps her archdemon friend by asking the coffee shop owner to let pets stay at Satania’s complex so she could keep her “familiar.”
It was a sweet moment, and, while not emotional or defining, it made it that much easier to say with certainty that the anime was a happy time for me all around.
Gabriel DropOut answers a few prayers. A focus on subverted expectations, lots of reaction faces, and an impressive lineup in the sound department prove its penchant for comedy and quality. Setting up a lot of its jokes in the same way and a lack of intrigue in the main cast do work against the anime. But, unlike a kid who hates going to church, this one has no loathing in sight.
SUMMARY
Story: Fine, incongruity dominates this angel-and-demon comedy, backing itself with different types of jokes while falling prey to the “say the opposite of what’s about to be said or going to happen” pitfall
Art/Animation: Good, hilarious reaction faces, caricature bubbles, and nicely animated segments make up for the passable background art and average character designs
Characters: Fine, Gab, Raphi, Vigne, and Satania have varying roles and effectiveness, and a tiny theme on the good-and-bad mixture in people adds more to think about
Music/Sound: Great, an involved OP, a cool ED, a supportive OST, and strong VA performances already do more than enough, but Vigne’s special lullaby goes the extra mile
Enjoyment: Great, super funny the whole way through, and Satania, Vigne, and Tap outshine the others
Final Score: 7/10
EnZanity
Spoiler Free Review Pls send feedback if you have any The roles of order and chaos. I'm quite sure you know them. Angels are our saving grace, guiding us towards a life of selflessness and enlightenment. Demons wish to destroy any sign of ethics and morals, dragging us down to temptation and corruption. This knowledge has been passed down for generations, becoming a firm image of how we perceive heaven and hell... well, at least that was the case until Gabriel Dropout came out. After coming down to Earth to study humans, top-of-her-class heaven honour student/angel Gabriel Tenma White stumbles across an MMO (aka Massive Multiplayer Online) videogame in her room and get's utterly addicted. (How it got there is beyond me, it just kinda appeared) Once a dignified being of light, she has now crumbled into nothing but a NEET who cares little about others. We watch as Gabriel desperately tries to retain her newfound shut-in life, and along with a few friends that are also unable to properly act like their roles as angels and demons, their wacky mayhem provides us with a decent amount of entertainment, but ends up kinda lacklustre in the end.
Plot progression? Never heard of it. Gabriel Dropout is an episodic anime, with only the last few eps really having any signs of continuance. (but even then there's this random little timeskip between eps that really confused me for like a minute or two) The little story that is there is incredibly predictable, only really providing some cheap drama and a laugh. So the story isn't that important, most animes like this don't place focus on plot, so what does it have? Comedy!
Most of the comedy comes from the many faults of each character. In addition to our otaku angel, we have a fairly likable roster that consists of Vignette Tsukinose April, the nicest demon you'll ever meet, Raphiel Shiraha Ainsworth, an angel that enjoys the suffering of others, (don't worry she ain't a torturing/killing type, she just enjoys messing with people) and Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell, future queen of hell! (or at least that's what she tell everyone, she's actually quite the klutz) Each episode revolves around at least one of these four as they try and live a normal school life. It's incredibly hit and miss, some of the comedy making you burst out laughing while others just tend to not really leave a mark. It has a few jokes that are pretty clever, but in terms of comparisons, there are animes that have better humour. This is in no way saying Gabriel Dropout is bad, but it kinda sits in the shadow of other shows from this season like Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! 2, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid and even Interviews with Monster Girls.
There isn't really anything else to talk about when it comes to characters. Besides the main four, we get a few recurring people that are only really there to add to the comedy. Character development is non-existent, which is not that unusual for this kinda show, but when the anime revolves around how someone changed drastically for the worse, you kinda expect to see more talk about how heaven reacts to their top student's mighty fall. You see a glimpse of this happening, but it just ends up as another joke and become nothing more.
The angel/demon theme is only really explored in a few eps, most of the time it's only used to carry a joke. We get a glimpse into how heaven and hell works, but not enough to actually peak any interest. I understand its focus is on comedy but to leave what looked like such an important part of the anime untouched just indicates a show lacking in direction.
I'm unsure whether I really enjoyed this anime as a whole. The comedy was nice but the rest is just mediocre. If all you want is a laugh, then I would recommend this, but for those that want a little more, you should look elsewhere.
vitriolcocktail
Gabriel Dropout is a moe comedy that executes its jokes quite well. I'd say it's certainly earned its position as one of the best in this genre. The general premise is that demons and angels are sent to earth to go to school. This anime creates plenty of comedy by role reversing the characters. Gabriel starts out as one of the best angels but discovers MMOs and becomes a shut-in. Vigne is a devil but she is so well behaved and preppy that everyone's always commenting on how she's not a very good demon. And so-on. The characters are quite memorable. I liked Satania's gimmick of beinga tryhard demon that is always making mistakes and being the butt of jokes. This is a character-driven comedy and what it lacks in plot progression it makes up for in fleshing out the characters. It's more or less a slice of life comedy.
Art and sound is good. The voice acting is great. Doga Kobo has a signature art style that looks very 'clean' and I prefer it to many other studios' art styles.
For a moe anime it has some surprisingly mature themes and jokes, but don't let that scare you off.
I can't think of many things to criticize about this anime. If you want a cute comedy with some memorable, funny characters and good joke writing you can't go wrong with Gabriel Dropout. I give it a solid 9.
rma2002
I honestly have no clue why the rating for this anime is so low. Guess ratings really don't matter, I've seen an anime rated around 8.7 and I enjoyed Gabriel Dropout way more than said anime. I spent a lot of time deciding whether or not I would even watch this anime, and I'm glad I eventually decided to. One factor as to why I eventually watched was because I wanted to understand memes with Satania in it- later on that in the Character section of my review... Story: 8/10 This I would give an 8, simply because in a lot of these 12-episode series there isn'treally a plot. Its more so just a jumble of events which don't really lead to one another in any way. I'm not against that, I just think to deserve anything higher than an 8 there has to exist some kind of flowing plot line which Gabriel Dropout didn't have.
Art: 9/10
In my opinion the visuals were great. I like the way the expressions of Satania/Gabriel would change according to how they felt and in my opinion it added a lot in terms of humor. Also the characters are drawn very nicely and in a way it reflects their personality.
Sound: 9/10
Catchy OP and ED, memorable and fitting to the tone of the anime. Didn't find myself ever skipping them which is always a good sign.
Character: 10/10
To me, this was what made this anime so good. I initially watched this anime only because I saw lots of Satania memes and wondered, who the heck is this girl and why does everyone love her? Well I think I can now adequately answer that question. The characters in this anime are just so well made and they really drive the humor in the story. Similar to anime like Konosuba (which I recommend too), lots of the laughing comes from just seeing them be together, seeing their personalities clash and mesh together. You have Gabriel who is literally the best actor in the world, hiding her sloth-like lifestyle behind a smile whenever she needs to. You have the responsible Vignette who deep down really cares about everyone but at the same time puts on almost a mother-like scolding face towards the group. You have Raphiel who I thought was the most interesting because she didn't really have one defining characteristic- I thought she would be mean at first because of how she mocked Satania, but at the same time she doesn't have purely mean intentions, they're just for fun. Finally, Satania who is pretty much the main source of humor for this anime. She's so dumb but at the same time embraces it to make it a comedic experience for everyone watching her. And its cool to see how Gabriel at first seems to hate her, but eventually grows warm to her and builds a strong bond with her, the same going for all her other companions.
All in all, the characters were exceptional and made every episode enjoyable. There was never a moment where I found myself wishing for an episode to end. In fact, I'm kind of sad its over now, because I found it so entertaining.
OVERALL- 9/10
If you are on the edge about watching this anime, I really recommend it if you are looking to laugh. It's short anyways, so if you don't like the first few episodes simply drop it, because the rest of the anime doesn't really change. Yes, its a little cringey because there's literally no boys in this show and you are just watching a bunch of anime girls mess around, and I kept thinking to myself at first, "why the hell am i even watching this?" but in the end I don't regret it. Its a really unique kind of humor that I've never found watching any other show.
Thanks for reading!
PS: Truth be told, I'm quite proud of my house blend. To attain my flavor and fragrance, I use five different types of coffee beans.
SovietWeeb
This is a Anime that i really do enjoy and might be one of my favorite new shows of the year. But there is one thing that holds it back for me at least. Story: isn't anything special or great. It lacks in the fact that there isn't any overall story. It's mostly just a bunch of stories that you would find in a filler episode. With nothing big happening besides maybe the the cast going back home fro a little and Gabriel's sister visiting. The no big story arc or anything similar is kind of a let down and holds it back from givingit a higher review. 7/10
Art: While not anything new it is still pleasing to the eye and fits along with the story being told 7/10
Sound: Is what i'd expect from a good show. The opening is fitting and funny and the music even if it can sound generic at time. It knows when the right time to play. 7/10
Characters: This is honestly the thing that holds it back for me the most. All the characters are good and funny. Not a single character that is annoying in all honesty. But when we come to the main character ( Gabriel ) It is kind of sad is a way i'd put it. She goes from an overachieving Angel wanting to only do good. To a slob who is constantly asking for money from friends, Lazy and barely actually goes to school without her friend telling her to. For me i was constantly wanting her to at least go back to being a nice Angel. There was one point at the end where it seemed like her sister was gonna start helping her with rehabilitation. But then she gets scared of a dog that is the only thing close to annoying. The entire Gabriel being a slob and her kind of throwing her life away took away from my enjoyment. If it wasn't for this thing the anime probably would have been one of my favorite animes of the year. I'm still kind of annoyed with that bait and switch at the end and still wish she becomes a good angel again. 7/10.
Enjoyment: Even with my gripes about the story and characters. I still had a good amount of enjoyment out of this. It is funny and knows when its time to pull a joke. There are some times parts where you are enjoying something happening and then it just cuts into another story. That is kind of annoying. 8/10
Overall: I recommend watching this. It is a funny show with characters being funny and surprisingly few complaints about this. Still wish that the Gabriel character arc could have been left on a better note but oh well. Hopefully the manga ends on a better one or if there is a second season. 8/10
