Gilgamesh (ギルガメッシュ, Girugamesshu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was serialized in the Shōnen Gahōsha magazine Weekly Shōnen King from 1976 to 1978. In 2003, an anime series based on the original story was produced by Ishimori Entertainment and animated by Group TAC and Japan Vistec. Gilgamesh is set in the near future and the plot revolves around characters who can be divided into four groups: The Countess and the Orga-Superior, the Mitleid Corporation, the siblings, and the Gilgamesh. With the development of the plot, the past and motives of the characters and their relationships with one another are exposed. The 26-episode anime television series was the first directed by Masahiko Murata, with music by Kaoru Wada. It was created by Group TAC, and it aired on Kansai TV from October 2, 2003 to March 18, 2004. The series received generally positive reviews and was subsequently translated, released on DVD and aired in several other countries, including the United States. Music, mystery, intrigues and darkness are central elements of Gilgamesh's plot. The series shows clear influences from the story known as the Epic of Gilgamesh, and from different scientific and archaeological influences as well.
Plot
Background The backdrop of Gilgamesh is the fight between two opposing forces. One, 'the Gilgamesh,' is led by Terumichi Madoka, who is also called Enkidu, and the other is the Countess of Werdenberg and the three Orga-Superior children who live with her. In appearance, the Orga-Superior are indistinguishable from humans, however they are able to use psychic energy and control objects using their minds, a power referred to as "Dynamis" (a variation of the Greek "Dunamus" meaning "strength" "power" especially "miraculous power"). The overarching theme of Gilgamesh is one of choosing sides.
Central The tomb of Gilgamesh in Uruk from the story 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' is discovered by a young genius-scientist named Terumichi Madoka, who is drawn to the energy called Dynamis, a word meaning 'power', resonating from the site. He reports his findings, and all of the world's best scientists gather there. When an unknown life form called Tear materializes in Delphys (a pit that seems to have no dimensions and that surrounds the tomb of Gilgamesh) and begins to contaminate embryos that surround it, the scientists stop all of the experiments. Dr. Madoka goes down to Delphys, breaches all of the guards around it and comes into direct contact with Tear, causing an immense explosion that blocks out the sky with a mirror-like layer. This is considered an act of terrorism, as after the explosion, computers and wireless communications stop working, and the planet falls into war and famine. The human population is nearly wiped out. This occurs on October 10, so the incident is called "Twin X" (after the Roman numeral symbol for the number 10). Of the people who worked at Heaven's Gate, which is left in ruins, only Dr. Madoka and a woman introduced as the Countess of Werdenberg survive. Dr. Madoka flees, taking with him ten test subjects contaminated by the life form Tear from the rubble of Heaven's Gate, who grow up to become the ten Gilgamesh. The Countess of Werdenberg leads a team of three children (the Orga-Superior) who can use the Dynamis to battle the Gilgamesh that work for Dr. Madoka. The present Dr. Madoka (who calls himself Enkidu and that the Gilgamesh refer to as the Professor) does not appear until the very last episode of the series. It is learned through the Gilgamesh that he wants to wipe out the human race in a 'Cleansing Flood' and give rise to a new, more powerful human race. Later in the series, a company known as the Mitleid Corporation throw themselves into the fray. The charismatic son of the Mitleid Chairman, Hayato Kazmatsuri, is a hardline anti-Gilgamesh military contractor who has made it his goal to wipe out the Gilgamesh through whatever means possible. However, Kazmatsuri cannot stand The Countess of Werdenberg because she refuses to tell the Orga-Superior and the siblings the truth about Twin X and their father's connection to it. As well, the siblings want to know the truth about how they were born. Enkidu needs his two children, Tatsuya and Kiyoko to help him achieve his goal, but they want nothing to do with their terrorist father. The story starts out with them on the run from the Yakuza, because of their dead mother's debt. The story follows the repeated clashing of the four groups as the siblings, who can be called the main characters, try to figure out whom to trust (the Gilgamesh who appear to want a better world, the Countess and the Orga-Superior, who are fighting the Gilgamesh and trying to prevent what they believe is the end of humanity, or the Mitleid Corporation who are the only ones trying to tell the children the truth). In the end of the series, The Countess of Werdenberg finds out that her heart itself was Tear and that the embryos were contaminated because of her hatred and jealousy towards Terumichi's wife. In the ensuing battle practically everyone dies, including all the Gilgamesh, Tatsuya, Kiyoko, the Orga-Superior, Reiko, and even Kazmatsuri — the final death, after being shot twice by the Countess. After the battle, the Countess surrenders her one-woman war against the sheltering sky, allowing Tear to enter her body and bring the Cleansing Flood. The sky descends, and the human world comes to an end. In the last scene, Tear's goal of creating a new world has been realised but the "new" human it has given birth to reacts violently to its presence, since it has taken on the form of the young Countess. Consequently, the first act committed by the new human race is murder, suggesting that even Tear's attempts to restructure human nature were doomed from the beginning. After the final credits show, a gloomy scene depicting blood around the new human's face accompanied with a gleeful smile is shown.
Characters
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