Ranked #2281

Gun Frontier

Gun Frontier.

It's a mangy, dusty, violent place where innocence goes to die. "Lonely, alone" says the narrator, describing Gun Frontier's inhabitants and the nomads who blow through the land. It's a place where dead men are forgotten and the living run like hell.

This anime, first and foremost, is a Western. If the wild, wild West, gunslingers, saloons, prostitutes, whiskey, hangings, and smelly, ugly cowboys do not appeal to you nor do the traditions of a cowboy flick hold any interest, then this series will not be recommended. The story follows the sharp-shooting gunman Harlock, the skilled swordsman Tochiro, and the multi-talented femme fatale Shinunora as they travel across Gun Frontier getting into scrapes all linked to one giant conspiracy that involves the three of them in very different ways.

Though there is a main plot, the anime runs in an episodic format. Our heroes (anti-heroes?) travel the desert, rough it against bandits and cowboys, and blow through like tumble weeds in various towns. One of the clear features of each episode is that the group usually ends up in a strange town (sometimes very strange, such as the town of neat freaks or the town where people did whatever they wanted to, which included public defecation), they fight off the main baddy, and then they move along like good little doggies to their next adventure.

Art is definitely dated and not very detailed. The lack of blood for example might irk some viewers, especially considering that dozens of people (and horses) get shot and even more get killed, and yet there are only a handful of instances where blood is used. Doesn't help that the blood was coming out of the character's nose, either. The art style is very interesting, and it utilises that distinct design found primarily in anime of the 1970s. However, while the protagonists look cool, the background characters look terrible. Some have lips like bicycle tyres or heads that are shaped like mouldy potatoes. Given this is set in the desert, it looks largely like a brown dull setting.

The music is a lot better than the art, ranging from the sweetly picked acoustic guitar pieces to low, subtle drumming. It fully uses the melancholy country-themed music for its soundtrack. It sounds traditionally like one of those black and white cowboy flicks with the right amounts of spaghetti Western sounds to it. Just so you know, the English dub of this anime is actually pretty darn good. Steven Blum, known for his roles as Onizuka Eikichi (Great Teacher Onizuka), Spike Speigel (Cowboy Bebop) and Mugen (Samurai Champloo) makes Harlock's character at least ten times cooler with his voice.

An unusual aspect of this anime is its choice for the protagonist. You know the type of hero shows like these have: a tall, good-looking charmer with an understated dark side. Harlock fits this description perfectly. Except there's one little thing about him. He is the sidekick. Yes, Gun Frontier's protagonist is a bow-legged, half-blind, pint-sized mole of man named Tochiro. The role reversal is an interesting one, but despite Tochiro's looks, he fits the description of the "hero" very well. He's honourable, dedicated, loyal and kind. Shinunora is probably the most multi-faceted of the characters, but she spends so much time with her clothes off, it's hard to wonder whether she is there for her personality and skills or for her other, er, assets.

This is no realistic Western. Samurai in the wild west? Nearly every character, including Caucasians, have Japanese names. Not to mention there's the use of anime physics in the fight scenes so realism is also lost there. Additionally, there's tongue-in-cheek dialogue such as "Damn! They shot our horse in the ass!" or "Get your gun out of her butt!" (shouted by the good guy when he catches a bad guy molesting a woman) which adds comic appeal but also pokes fun at the traditions of cowboy movies. Despite this, this anime has some very, very mature themes especially considering the content and the way they handle these topics. For example, a viewer usually is left to speculate about the group dynamics and sexual tension whenever there is a main cast consisting of two people of the same gender and one of the opposite. Gun Frontier openly examines these issues in an unabashed and straightforward way. The girl gets right down to asking if the guys were gay since they didn't want to sleep with her. Hell, she even throws around the idea of a threesome. How many anime do that? That is, it takes on issues of sexuality and desire in such a direct, mature manner without being smut.

There are some heavy issues dealt with like rape, murder, and betrayal but Gun Frontier gives these the "cowboy treatment". It never romanticises the darker elements and the characters deal with these events like a passing rain cloud. Because when you get used to a rough existence, things just don't bother you any more. Plus, a very big theme is that of xenophobia and racism. It exposes the ill treatment of immigrants AND the native population of America and the hands of the settlers.

Is this worth a watch? It is, if you want something to keep you entertained. It is an anime without the pink haired characters or power ups or mystical fluffy animals. There are no teenagers around for miles. You can also dive right into the story. Although the characters are originally from older anime franchises, it is unnecessary to know the back-story of (Captain) Harlock and Tochiro. This story functions independently of the history of these characters. If anything, it's as though they have been transported into an alternate universe and an original concept had been drawn up just for this anime.

Using offbeat (usually perverse) humour and nonchalant attitudes towards violence, it gets its story and characters across. It is cartoonish without being childish. Lots of people die and yet this is no big deal. The desert is unforgiving and unrepentant, burying all memories under the dust. (As a side note, many horses died horribly in the making of this anime.) That's not surprising, anyway. This is an anime about death, sex and alcohol. Where dogs pick you apart for a piece of meat and where humans do even worse for even less. This is a place where you leave your manners at the door, proceed to pump lead into people and expect them to tell you "thanks" when you're through. It's a dirty, messy, place with even dirtier, messier people. This is the West. This is the desert.

This is Gun Frontier. read more

First off I am not into westerns, but this really hooked me right away. A short foreign man who is always getting himself "hung". A cool girl who often gets into situations that she has to strip at gun point. A cowboy who has his friends backs at all costs. The story is really great and it is not your typical anime that you see out there. The art is sub-par, but the goofiness look of some of the characters makes up for this.

And last but not least, "horse meat" mmm...