Gilgamesh

Although the title refers to the epic of king of the same name, there is almost no connection the Gilgamesh itself except the references to his tomb and the retelling of the epic by the characters.

Siblings Madoka Tatsuya and Madoka Kiyoko have nowhere to run. Forever haunted by their father's reputation as the cause of Twin X that wiped out most of the human population, they were chased by an unknown group with unclear motives. Not only did Twin X caused widespread death but  the explosion caused a mirror-like layer to appear in the sky. Most of the people born after Twin X have never seen the blue sky. Tatsuya is a Dynamis user. Dynamis is a psychic energy that allows the user to control physical objects. 

Tatsuya and Kiyoko

While trying to escape the pursuers, the Madokas meet three men in an abandoned house. Apparently those men also have Dynamis just like Tatsuya. It seemed that the group that's chasing them is opposed to the three men with dynamis. The former is led by Countess of Werdenberg who is determined to acquire the Madokas. She claims that she has rescued three children who can use Dynamis and wants to do the same for the Madokas. However, Kiyoko thinks she has other motives. She also suspects that the Countess is involved in Twin X and their estranged father.

Adopted children of the countess. From left: Tsukioka Toru, Omuro Fuko, and Fujisaki Isamu

The mystery deepens as they learn about Gilgamesh, the name of the group the three men belonged to. Furthermore, they discover two other organizations called Orga and Mitleid, both anti-Gilgamesh factions. Orga is led by the Countess, while Mitleid's chairman is Yuki Toranosuke. Gilgamesh are led by Enkidu, whose goal is to destroy the tower created by Mitleid to restore the mirror-like sky. Enkidu wants a cleansing of the world to create better humans; something that is only possible by destroying the surviving populace.

Despite the siblings' efforts to run away from their past, their father's shadow still haunts them. Madoka Terumichi is more involved in their plight than they'd care to admit. Trapped between opposing factions, Tatsuya and Kiyoko must find out the secret in their identities before the pursuers catch up to them.

The Gilgamesh

The epic of Gilgamesh was retold twice by the characters, but the detailed part about Gilgamesh's search for immortality was left out. Meanwhile Gilgamesh and Enkidu's friendship was told in more detail. The part that was left out, the story of the flood, would have made the latter part of the series more sensible if it was not omitted. Not only that, the pace is slow for a series with a promising story. Set in an almost empty world, the viewer must plod through ineffective characterization, poor fighting scenes, and mediocre animation. Scientific jargon doesn't even make the series the least bit intellectually stimulating. Even the ending is poorly executed. The resolution is unclear and the final scene almost empty of meaning. For most of the series I was waiting for the turning point that would make it worth watching. It never came. What at first seems like a promising 26-episode series turns out to be just unfulfilled promise after all.

Rating: 5 out of 10