The premise and the mystery surrounding the so called "Special Realm" are the strongest points of the show by far, however the execution felt a little lacking in the story department. The battle scenes show how ridiculously one sided this war is between the two realms, which detracts from the suspense of the story as the outcome of any battle is never in doubt. Coupled by the fact that one of the protagonist is literary invincible make the SDF and their friends virtually unbeatable.
Despite this, the moments showcasing the might of the SDF still manage to be engaging as it really made me think of the morality of the war, or rather, the slaughter that takes place. Also the rampant nationalism gets old real quick in this show, as Japan is the best at everything, everything they make is amazing, basically all I can picture is Japanese Big Brother nodding in approval after seeing how the might of Japan is mentioned once again. Another point of annoyance for myself were the constant mentioning to otaku, and how it felt at times that moments had been crafted to fulfill some otaku fantasy checklist rather than advance the plot. At times it felt like the creator was thinking more along these lines: I know you like cat girls, so here's one and a bunch of fanservice to go with it, and just to sweeten the deal, here's a bath scene, you can thank me later, you otaku you.
The plot isn't really anything to call home about, but gets the job done and sets up some questions about the realm from both sides, and kind of surprisingly focuses on the political aspect of the situation from both sides. As I mentioned before at times it certainly heads down the path of the cliche , but at the same time does manage to patch in some engaging actions scenes at the same time, as well as humor from time to time. Nice guy Itami is the typical male lead who only works to supplement his otaku tendencies, and at times it feels like his character and his skill are just a little too convenient for someone of his background. Most of the other characters are pretty much husks, besides Rory who provides some of the more interesting moments, but also hinders some moments due to her immense power. I found that one character introduced later in the series really added a lot of depth to Itami and his character, but unfortunately she only stuck around for a short time.
I found the music to fit in well with the action scenes and the series, and think that the OP of the series really stands out. The art is visually pleasing as well, I can't even complain about the CGI, which is used minimally and fits in without being too intrusive.
Overall, Gate has a strong concept that will initially get you hooked, but the pieces of the story aren't nearly as strong as its premise, and I felt that at times the narrative fell into some of the usual anime cliches. The constant mentioning of the Japan's might and otaku culture also result in some weird alienating moments from the narrative, taking me out of the immersive world. I would say that Gate is definitely worth checking out, but if the world itself is not able to keep you occupied than you may find yourself tuning out earlier than expected.
