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Gaddes is one of my favourite secondary characters in the wonderful shoujo anime series, Tenkuu no Escaflowne, or The Vision of Escaflowne as it's known in English. There isn't a lot of information about him available, because he plays such a small part in the series, but what the hell, he's a babe, so I thought I'd give him his own mini-shrine. And yes, the title is a horrible pun, isn't it?
Basic Stats (very basic, I'm afraid)
Name:
Gaddes (the variant spelling Gadeth is acceptable)
Age: Equivalent of 23 Earth years
Height: 190 cm*
Affiliation: Asturia
Debut: Episode 3
Voice: Tohru Ohkawa
(Information
from The
Vision of Escaflowne
Compendium)
* The Compendium says only 180 cm, but the Memory of
Gaea artbook says 190. I'm trusting the book. I think
confusion may stem from the fact that in character designer
Nobuteru Yuuki's handwriting, an 8 and a 9 look pretty
similar, but the character height charts put together for
the animators' benefit clearly show that Gaddes is a bit
taller than Allen, who's 185 cm in his socks.
Snazzy
Quote Justifying My Position (i.e. Fangirl)
'I personally like supporting roles, such as Gaddes. He
seems to be the most human among the characters on the
Crusade. Having a character like that around really adds
depth to the drama. There's something dependable about him.
Kind of like, when you have him around, even if things get
depressing around him, he knows how to liven things up.
There's something very human about the Crusade because of
what he brings to it. I like that.' - Kimitoshi Yamane,
Mechanical Animation Director, Tenkuu no
Escaflowne.
Observations
Gaddes is second-in-command to the dashing Asturian knight, and master of the airship Crusade, Allen Schezar. The two men seem to be close friends, and it is clear that Allen trusts and relies upon his sergeant absolutely. This trust is merited because Gaddes is loyal, efficient, courageous and practical to the core.
Although
the men of Crusade are, by and large, a
pretty raffish motley crew, Gaddes's personal
standards are a little higher than theirs. He at
least wears something approaching Asturian
military uniform (gotta love those puffy sleeves)
and maintains a pretty tight standard of discipline
on duty, mainly by yelling at the other guys a lot
and calling them dirtbags *^.^* Okay, he's a little
foul-mouthed - I seem to recall him exclaiming
'Shit!' a couple of times, and calling people
things like 'bastards,' but as a person who
thoroughly enjoys swearing, I admire him for
this.
Another reason for my favourable opinion of him is his kindness to Hitomi while she was in Allen's fort (before it got flamed back into the Stone Age by Dilandau and the Dragonslayers). He didn't tease her as the rest of the crew did; he didn't patronise her as Allen did (though, to be fair to Allen, he only meant to be chivalrous). He was simply nice to her, behaving like the normal sensible person he is, which must have been a heck of a relief to Hitomi after what she'd just been through.
That's
the thing about Gaddes - he's a nice, normal guy,
in amidst all the gorgeous knights and disgruntled
princes and lunatic prettyboys who abound in
Escaflowne. I like them very much
too, but he's a breath of fresh air by comparison.
He kind of reminds me of Enobarbus in Shakespeare's
Anthony & Cleopatra, Anthony's
level-headed friend who tends to take a detached or
amused view of Anthony's life, and tries to talk
some sense into him. Put it this way, if things had
gone his way, the play wouldn't have been a
tragedy. Unlike Enobarbus, though, Gaddes never
lets Allen down in any circumstance.
I think he must get pretty exasperated with Allen sometimes, but sticks with his supportive role. He's definitely semi-exasperated, semi-amused by Van's bravado - I love the 'ohshit' face he makes when Van pushes forward to challenge Dilandau in episode three. On two occasions Gaddes teams up with Princess Millerna to rescue Allen - he's lucky his best friend and his would-be girlfriend get on so well! But I don't want to get too far into spoilers here. You really need to watch the series and enjoy it fully.
Looking more closely at this rapport with Millerna, I think it suggests that he respects her and thinks she's a sensible, trustworthy companion - someone he can rely on to do her part and not lose her nerve. Either that or she said 'Right, I'm joining in the rescuing and you can jolly well like it or lump it' - and there's no answering back to a princess in that kind of mood *^.^* But I don't think so - I like to think that Gaddes sees past Millerna's fluffy, immature, sheltered exterior and recognises the strength and honour that are just waiting to be developed, once she gets into situations that actually require her to use those muscles. People can be pretty hard on Millerna, and I used to be one of them, but I'm coming round to being a bit of a princess booster. She needs people to believe in her and encourage her in her efforts to become more than the Tori Spelling of Gaea, and while she doesn't get that from Allen, who would presumably rather she sat around in an ivory tower or a rosy bower waiting for him to come home victorious, it does come from Gaddes and from dear old Mr Mole. They're two very unlikely friends for a princess, but I think their influence is good for her. Ummm, I'll try and drag this back towards the original subject.
Gaddes' attitude to the princess suggests to me that he's perceptive and a good judge of character; also that he is not blinded by some of the more male-chauvinistic aspects of chivalry (as Allen is) to the potential for active heroism in women. All the more reason to like him! The support she receives from her two unlikely friends enables Millerna to do that whole significant-other-rescuing thing that's so nifty when Hitomi (or Buffy or Scully!) does it. So Gaddes isn't just cool, he is a cause of coolness in others. (Ditto Moley.)
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The first couple of times I watched Escaflowne, I mainly focused on Allen, on whom I had an enormous crush. (C'mon. Look at him. Could he be much hotter?) Then I dragged my tapes over to my friend Helen's house to try and indoctrinate her. I was sure she'd have a crush on Allen as well, being the hopeless/hopeful romantic she is, but instead she kept pointing out 'that cute dark guy in the background' - and damn it, she was right! With Helen I started seriously Gaddes-gazing - so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank her! And... don't you think he looks a little like David Duchovny? *^.^* |
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Random
Trivia
- While it is never made clear whether Gaddes is the
character's first name or family name, I can tell you that a
lot of people in Scotland are named either Gaddes or Geddes
(the two are variant spellings of the same basic name, like
Thomson and Thompson). Like many names common in the British
Isles, it may be used as either Christian name or surname;
this stems from an old custom of giving the first-born son
of a family his mother's maiden name as a first name, to
show her family has a stake in him too. What is the truth in
our Gaddes' case? We may never know. If you're ever at a con
with Escaflowne staff on a Q&A panel, ask and
email
me
the answer!
- Not all Escaflowne fans are aware that the first six episodes, when fully animated, ran slightly over broadcast time and had to be edited down. The deleted scenes were not vital to the story but added nuances of character, and two of them prominently featured Gaddes. These bits were restored on the Japanese LD and DVD releases of the series, which is how I know about them; to the best of my knowledge no official English translation exists, but I can give you the gist.
The first of these scenes is short and not particularly fascinating; it takes place in the episode 'Diabolical Adonis' and features Gaddes bringing some food to Van and Hitomi in the room where they are held prisoner. They negotiate with him to be allowed out to see the visitors to the fort. This is why, in the hall scene just before Dilandau and the Dragonslayers' big entrance, Hitomi is at the back whispering to Gaddes, 'Please? Just a little bit?' She's asking for them to be allowed to stay out a little longer. Why Gaddes consents to this is a bit of a mystery. My theories are:
1. He has a soft spot for Hitomi - he is always very kind to her. He may also feel some sympathy for Van, who has after all been shat on from a height recently.
2. He simply doesn't think Van poses enough of a security problem to need locking up, which adds a nice nuance to his evident mortification when Van pushes his way to the front to dis Dilandau. He 'misunderestimated' him.
3. He's kind of a putz sometimes.
The second Great Gaddes Scene is one I love-love-love. It takes place on board the Crusade en route to Pallas for the events of 'Capital of Intrigue.' Allen is standing on the bridge gazing out of the big windows, evidently having angst about going back and re-encountering the people with whom his involvement has been so painful. Although he doesn't seem aware of it, Gaddes is watching him with a sort of protective glower, with what my mate Lizz calls his 'you'd better not be moping' face. Hitomi comes along to talk to Allen and you can see him decide to flirt with her to cheer himself up. She's a little nervous about Pallas too, and he reassures her very smoothly, but advises her not to tell people she's from the Mystic Moon, as not everyone in the city is trustworthy and she might make (ultrasmooth caress of her hair) 'an attractive target.' Hitomi goes bright pink at the implication - Allen thinks she's attractive! - and he saunters off, masculine ego fully restored, tossing an instruction to Gaddes over his shoulder. 'Right you are!' says Gaddes, giving him a thumbs-up and a great big smile. It's so sweet seeing Gaddes worry about Allen's feelings, then go all perky and happy when he sees he's not only okay, but on top ladykiller form, as only Allen can be. It seems that he knows and understands him well - beyond the general crew's jokey admiration of the Boss 'in action,' seeing the sometimes insecure and melancholy young man inside - and really cares for him. They are so best friends.
The scene ends with Hitomi losing her balance in sheer flusterment and conking her head against the window. It's funny, it's cute, it adds a beautiful layer to Allen and Gaddes' friendship, and again, it makes something that comes later make a little more sense: this is why Merle stamps on Hitomi's foot when, nettled by Millerna's superior manner, she starts to boast about where she's from.
And now, of course, you can see screencaps of this scene at Cutting-room Floor!