Gatekeepers (TV) DVD

1969. Stranger invaders threaten Japan’s recovery from the devastation of World War II with a shocking form of guerilla warfare. Fortunately, a new type of hero has been discovered among the teenage population of Japan - the Gatekeepers! Able to channel "gates" to other dimensions, this new generation of heroes are the only thing standing between Earth and total annihilation! 

A.E.G.I.S. — a secret organization that recruits and deploys Gate Keepers: rare individuals who can open dimensional Gates, each one unique to its user, to unleash extraordinary powers in combat. Ukiya Shun is a high school student who just wants to not repeat his late father's mistakes. On the way to school one morning he stumbles into a battle, discovers he has the Gate of Gales, and is immediately recruited. His childhood friend Ruriko Ikusawa — already a Gate Keeper, already on the team, already quietly hoping the answer to everything is no — is not thrilled. The rest of the team assembles episode by episode: big-hearted brawler Bancho with the Gate of Solid Crush, sharp-tongued track star Kaoru Konoe, reticent Megumi Kurogane with the Gate of Walls, and others. Together they are chaotic, occasionally competent, and defending the future of a nation that doesn't know they exist. 

Gate Keepers is a 24-episode television series produced by Gonzo and directed by Koichi Chigira, adapted from the original PlayStation tactical RPG and the manga by Hiroshi Yamaguchi and artist Keiji Gotoh. It aired on WOWOW from April through September 2000 and represents one of Gonzo's most accomplished early productions — a loving homage to the super sentai and team-based tokusatsu aesthetic of late 1960s Japan, built with genuine retro visual craft and escalating dramatic stakes beneath its cheerful surface. The series is set against the real-world backdrop of Japan's postwar growth era with nostalgic detail, and its themes — of what empty optimism costs, of what gets left behind in a rush toward prosperity — give it more depth than its episodic recruitment-arc structure initially suggests.

Originally released in North America by Geneon/Pioneer across eight DVD volumes in 2001–2002, then reissued under the Geneon Signature Series label in 2004. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Koichi Chigira (Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, Last Exile)
Original Game / Manga: Hiroshi Yamaguchi / Keiji Gotoh (Nadesico character designer)
Studio: Gonzo

Cast:
- Tomokazu Seki as Ukiya Shun (Chobits, Arjuna, Vandread)
- Yukari Tamura as Ruriko Ikusawa (A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, Vandread)
- Kikuko Inoue as Reiko Asagiri (Tenchi Universe, El-Hazard, Battle Skipper)
- Takehito Koyasu as Reiji Kageyama (Slayers, Escaflowne, Weiß Kreuz)
- Yuri Amano as Kaoru Konoe (El-Hazard, Burn Up W, Tenchi Universe)
- Tomoko Kawakami as Megumi Kurogane (Battle Athletes, A Little Snow Fairy Sugar)

DVD Features

- Geneon / Pioneer Previews
- Art Gallery (various volumes)

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: ゲートキーパーズ (Gēto Kīpāzu)
Runtime: ~600 Minutes (Complete Series, 24 Episodes)
Director: Koichi Chigira
DVD Release Year: 2001–2002 (U.S. Release); Signature Series Rerelease 2004
Original Broadcast Date (Japan): April 3 – September 8, 2000 (WOWOW)
Publisher: Geneon Entertainment / Pioneer
Rating: 13+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy, Retro Sentai
Themes: 1969 Japan, Invader Infiltration, Gate Powers, Team Building, Postwar Optimism

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.