Ga-rei Zero was a surprisingly good show. Instead of focusing on the exageration of its manga, the short TV series tried to be a darker tale of friendship bathed in supernatural beings hungry for chaos and cruelty. Tokyo ESP announces itself as a tale in the same setting as Ga-rei, an alternative modern-day Japan overwhelmed by ghosts, spirits and weird powers. What it truly is, however, is not exactly that.
Tokyo ESP presents us to Rinka, a normal girl touched by a glowing spirit fish and granted the power to shift through solid material. She, however, was not the only one in Tokyo gifted in a similar way. The "espers", people who have been granted special powers, are everywhere, and some of them are ready to overthrown any who oppose their existence.
- Ga-rei? Seriously?
Nope. Not Ga-rei. Not Ga-rei Zero. If a tenth of the events in Tokyo ESP happened in the same setting as Ga-rei, the other show would have to be changed COMPLETELY. They just don't fit at all. Both tales happen in the same place, similar time frame, and they both have some ABSURDLY IMPORTANT events happening in Tokyo that couldn't exist without one intefering with the other. They wanted to lure Ga-rei fans so they threw some cameos and that's it.Still... it's a good X-men-like show
Humans gaining super powers, society rejecting them, good espers versus bad espers. We all know that. It's X-men all over again. Yet, Tokyo ESP does a decent job in creating such a setting. The powers are interesting, the characters mostly don't become uberly powerful the instant they get them, there is a good transition from normal humans to mutan... ahem... espers, and the plot itself holds on decently.Absurdly Underrated
Tokyo ESP is far from being a great show. I mean, it is basic shounen all around, the cast is just an excuse for some awesome power the author wanted to try, the evil versus good is plain as day, etc. However, the western reception simply hammered the show, as if others they glorify were anything different. Tokyo ESP's cast is fun with their basic templates, the pace is surprisingly good for this kind of show, and the resolution of most of it incidents are reasonably well made. You can't say a show like Mahouka is great and Tokyo ESP is not when the later achieves far more with its simplistic cast than the former.A decent production
Studio Xebec did a great job here. Although animation is not top-notch, the action parts are boosted by a decent coloring, the art is sharp and consistent and there is only a feel that something is amiss in the later episodes where combat is evidently skipped to shorten the show so they could meet the "end" after 12 episodes. Sound-wise there is also nothing to worry about, with a good sound direction, solid voice-acting and an average background music selection to aid the exciting moments.Rinka's development
Rinka is your average girl granted super powers. Of course she already has some knack for fighting, but she is no master at that by the start. What the show does, however, is put you through Rinka's development as both a girl and as a fighter. There are many episodes with large parts dedicated to this so she won't just magically kick ass when meeting foes that defeated her easily in their first encounter. While this is a great service for character development, it goes against the short amount of episodes the show has. In the end, only Rinka truly gets this kind of treatment and as a result the remaining cast remains a bunch of excuses for nice superpowers with little to none depth.No drama
Also, if you watch it thinking you would see the drama and darkness from Ga-rei Zero, be warned: Tokyo ESP has nothing of the sort. This is shounen of the most classic style, where power beats evil guys and the one with greater will is most likely to win. There is no tension, sense of despair, or similar thing that Ga-rei Zero emanated in its tale of Kagura and Yomi.
Tokyo ESP is a safe shounen. It meets the standards of Tokyo Ravens, is not as crappy as Strike the Blood and not as annoying as Mahouka, yet it surprised me to see how badly people received it. Disappointed for not being a true relative to Ga-rei? It doesn't look the case.
Anyway, if you are looking for a decent shounen with a good pace and nice super powers, you found it. It is short and could benefit from having twice the number of episodes to explore its cast, but even this unfinished work manage to achieve things even long-running shounens struggle to do. Not anything to break new grounds, but a safe show nonetheless.