Studio Gonzo has a habit of making shows that are over the top. Take a look at some of their recent releases, like Gate Keepers or Full Metal Panic!, and you'll see what I mean. When I first heard the storyline behind My Girlfriend, The Ultimate Weapon, I'll admit, I rolled my eyes. What could be more typical from Gonzo than cute girls and military machinery? Thankfully, I was proven wrong. My Girlfriend, The Ultimate Weapon is an emotionally valid, heart-wrenching show that breaks the Gonzo mold in more ways than one.

The storyline seems fairly basic; guy meets girl, girl falls in love with guy, guy starts to fall in love with girl, they get together, and it turns out the girl is a weapon of mass destruction. Gonzo could have really dropped the ball on this one, but instead, we're treated to something completely different. From the top down, this show is unlike anything Gonzo has ever done. The art style is very different from their typical fare; gone are the thick lines, panty shots, lascivious curves and gigantic eyes. The characters in My Girlfriend, The Ultimate Weapon are rendered in a simpler style, closer to a sketchy manga style than anything else. Backgrounds are lovingly rendered in simple watercolors and the entire show has a very shoujo look to it. There's a bit of a clash once the action starts; the heavy use of CG during action scenes is reminiscent of other Gonzo productions, but there are only so many ways to render a fighter jet dropping bombs on civilians. Overall, it's a good mix.

Where this series really shines is, of course, the character development. I was expecting two-dimensional characters with little to no background or emotional depth. What I got were characters that genuinely changed and adapted to their situations and reacted with a behavioral pattern that changed appropriately over time. This almost never happens in an action show, and it really sets My Girlfriend, The Ultimate Weapon apart. By the second episode, I was completely wrapped up in the developing relationship between Shuji and Chise, and found it captivating. Many of the developments in the series strike me as very realistic depictions of what effect crises can have on a struggling relationship. The show is so emotionally authentic that several of the scenes later on in the series are actually somewhat difficult to watch. Shuji has to come to grips with the cruel things the military has done to his girlfriend, and has to decide what he's going to do about it, even though in the back of his mind he knows he can't do anything at all. He makes bad decisions and scrambles to do something, anything to protect her, even though he can't. Shuji is a very deep, convincing character and I bought him straight away. Bravo, Gonzo.

The series isn't without its flaws, however, although there are surprisingly few. Chise has a tendency to fall in to the stereotypical “weak-willed high school girl” role that so many of these shows portray, but not for long. She is clearly bottling up her emotions about what's happening to her, and as the series chugs along her character develops as solidly as Shuji's. The music is somewhat unremarkable, and the opening and closing themes bring to mind old character image songs from long-dead Shonen romance titles. Other than that, Gonzo has a solid, challenging and emotionally wrenching series on their hands. This could have been another over-produced, insultingly clichéd, sophomoric, action-comedy series. Instead, it's genius. Here's hoping we see more of this sort of thing from Gonzo in the future.