Galactik Football Series Review
Galactik Football is a French animated television series, co-produced by Gaumont, France 2, Jetix Europe
and Welkin-Animation.
Its third 26-episode season aired in Europe in June 2010.
In the
universe of Galactik Football, the inhabited
worlds of the Zaelion Galaxy compete in Galactik Football, a sport analogous to
football, but played seven to a side. The game is complicated by the addition
of Flux, which enhances a player's attributes such as speed, strength, and
agility, or grants special powers such as teleportation. The story follows the
fate of an inexperienced Galactik Football team, the Snow Kids, as they aim to
compete in the Galactik Football Cup. I will be gving my review of the 3
seasons that I have watched until now:
Plot:
Season 1:
The story
begins during a football match between the home team of planet Akillian and the
Shadows. As Aarch, captain of the Akillians, takes a direct free
kick, an explosion is heard and an avalanche sweeps over the
stadium, marking the beginning of the Akillian Ice Age and the loss of The Breath, Akillian's Flux.
The storyline
jumps forward 15 years. Aarch and his friend Clamp, a robotic technician,
arrive back on Akillian for the first time since the game. Aarch aims to create
a new Akillian Galactik Football team capable of winning the Cup, and selects a
group of talented teenagers for his team: D'Jok, Sinedd, Micro-Ice, Mei, Thran,
Ahito, Rocket, and Tia. However, Rocket's father and Aarch's brother does not
want him on the team, and agree only to let him play on the condition that the
newly-named Snow Kids win a match against the incumbent Akillian team, the Red
Tigers, who are coached by Aarch's estranged old friend and team-mate, Artegor
Nexus. During her tryout, Tia reveals that she still has the power of the
long-lost Breath.
The Snow Kids
beat the Red Tigers, becoming the new Akillian team. However, an embittered
Artegor lures Sinedd away from the Snow Kids and recruits him to the Shadows,
whom he has agreed to coach.
As the Snow
Kids progress through the competition, each develops the Breath of Akillian.
There are some intra-team tensions caused by Tia and Rocket's burgeoning
relationship and Micro-Ice's unrequited crush on Mei. Unknown to any of them is
that all seven of the players have been affected by the Meta-Flux, a synthetic undetectable Flux,
inadvertently created by Clamp and pirate Sonny Blackbones that was the true
origin of the Akillian Ice Age. This Flux is now coveted by the ruthless
General Bleylock, who happily endangers the Snow Kids to get his hands on it.
With the help
of Clamp and his old partner, the pirate Sonny Blackbones, the Snow Kids escape
General Bleylock's machinations and win the Galactik Football Cup.
Season 2:
Four years
after their victory, the Snow Kids return to Genesis Stadium to win the
Galactik Football Cup again. But all is not well for the team. Ahito is having
a strange illness, due to which a new goalkeeper Yuki, Ahito’s cousin sister is
appointed after a training session. Also due an incident, where Rocket had to
use his “Breath” to save Tia’s life and was interpreted as them trying to have
fun using the flux power by the Galactik Football administrators; leads to his
suspension which then leads to Mark being recruited in the team in his stead. Thus
a new Snow Kids team has to play in the tournament and win it with their best
efforts. Also Rocket plays a new kind of football known as “Netherball” where
there are no rules and you have to play one – on – one with a player and score
a goal on a through a tiny hole in the wall. Rocket slowly becomes addicted to
it and does not know that Bleylock is actually using “Netherball” to collect
the fluxes of the players and make a powerful mixed flux! So how do the Snow
Kids win the Galactik football Cup this time? How do the Pirates save the world
from Bleylock?
Season 3:
A year after their second Galactic Football Cup
victory in succession, the mysterious Lord Phoenix invites everyone in the
galaxy to a special mixed-flux tournament on the planet Paradisia. After a bad friendly match against
the Shadows, D'Jok and Mei have an argument. Mei dumps D'Jok and joins the
Shadows. Yuki leaves the Snow Kids temporarily to join the Elektras, and D'Jok
leaves the team after being recruited by Team Paradisia. A Wamba named Lun-Zia
joins the Snow Kids for the mixed-flux tournament. Due to the injection of flux
in the core of the Planet Paradisia, Paradisia explodes but luckily everyone
was evacuated from the planets with the help of the Galactik Football Players.
Immediately, Galactik Football Cup matches are announced and the Snow Kids have
to prepare themselves for it. In the end Sinedd returns to the Snow Kids and we
also come to know why this tournament is held every 4 years. The climax of the
last episode shows how the kids training with the Snow Kids disappear and
thereby leaves us with a clue as to how the next season might begin!
The Art and Design:
This series is a mix of 2-D and 3-D animation. The football matches
are all shown in 3-D and the normal storyline in 2-D.
What do I like about it:
Football! Any football fan would love to watch a show or series
that promotes the game. Also I like the story concept of each series. The
animation is good and the matches are worth watching. You might also get to
learn a few football tricks that can be used in an actual game. Rest is all
amazing to watch how you can score a goal if you’re given an extra boost
(flux).
What I didn’t like about it:
The 3rd season is disappointing compared to the 1st
and 2nd season. Although the storyline was good and many aspects of
the series is explained, in terms of direction, animation and editing it is disappointing.
If you watch it in English dub, Micro-Ice voice has been changed which is
terrible. Only the final match of this season is worth watching. Also I wonder
why don’t they show the whole episode in 3-D, they surely have gained enough
money by now. Advertisements! Yes they show unnecessary advertisements within
the show when they are not relevant in reality. I miss the way they used to
show the entry of each team before the kick- off of the matches. 3rd
season also has bad sound editing. You don’t get to see good character developments.
The only development they have come up with is the way they use the flux power.
Strategies that are normally used in a football match are missing. Also if you
observe the game, the defense always looks empty. 3rd season also
makes sure that the goalkeepers don’t use the flux power at a good extent. Most
of the animations are also repeated in the episodes. (Cost cutting I guess)
Overall:
Overall, if you’re a football fan then you may love this show. But
do not expect it to be the ultimate show which teaches you every aspect of
football. I have seen better anime series that have been catered in this field.
But this show has a different element and is fun to watch.
Rating:
3.5/5
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