Ranked #273

Ginga Nagareboshi Gin

Not many anime have canines as main characters. And perhaps this is a good thing; Most people can relate to humans much better than animals. But what makes Ginga Nagareboshi Gin (henceforth acronymed to GNG) so engaging is the characters involved in it. The main character, Gin, starts off a loveable Akita puppy who soon grows into a teenage fighter and leader.
Other dogs get their time to shine as well; from John's acceptance of the pack to Hyena's new sense of justice.

What the anime lacks in animation it more than makes up for in story-telling and enjoyment. The immense cast of characters and the way everything mixes together makes for an anime everyone can take something from. Truely, the plot is straightforward and simple, but out of that simplicity comes the innocence childern fans cling to and the epic-adventure story adult fans cling to. The background music is also simple, but very catchy. Usually, as variations of the opening and ending theme songs, the background music gets stuck in your head quickly and effectively. It is hard not to hum to the victory tune that plays in the last episode or the battle tune that plays during the action-oriented scenes.

And does GNG have the action scenes! I assure you, if you are looking for action, you'll definitely get your fill here! Since GNG was animated by the same guys that brought you Dragon Ball, the fighting animations are very fluid and amazing. And staying true to the original manga, the anime occasionally has many freeze-frames of colored manga scenes. (This is a common aspect to GNG, and newer anime sometimes reference this.)
But GNG is also known as one of the most violent anime ever; from decapitations to eyes popping out of a dog's head. To me this does not hinder the enjoyment of the series, rather, it adds a more realistic feel to it. (As far as dogs fighting giant, demonic bears go.)

Even if this series was before your time, I ask that you give it a chance. It has that old-school feel that is so satisfying that you might just find yourself watching it over and over again. read more

Ginga Nagareboshi Gin is a unique and action packed anime based on the manga of the same name that originally ran in Weekly Shounen Jump from 1983 to 1987.
From what I've seen; people seem to be put of by the fact that the main character of the story is a Puppy (Akita-Inu, Silver Tiger Striped Bear Dog...to be exact. :33) But its DEFINATLY nothing like a cutesy, happy disney movie about singing dogs..or whatever (and for the record - I do like disney movies. :3) - far from it. Its your basic shouneny story about a young boy with a dream, or goal, or ya' know, whatever who grows and gets stronger and..stuff. Its a lot different from any shounen (and not just because its about dogs, either!) I've ever seen, it has an interesting, yet violent storyline and its very enjoyable to watch.

Its about a puppy called Gin whose born in a small mountain town. He is the third in a generation of bear dogs - famous for being strong, powerful hunters. At the very beginning of the story Gin's father, Riki is supposedly killed by the giant Bear who has been terrorising the town, killing people and scaring of tourists. When Gin gets a little bit older, the death of his father is his motivation for getting stronger - so that he himself, can take down the bear. While out trying to hunt the bear with his young owner, Daisuke - Gin comes across a group of wild dogs - working together to try and rid the town of their home in the surrounding area of the Giant "unkillable" bear and its followers. After proving his power, Gin joins the group of dogs as they travel Japan, finding comrades and battling enemies, over this time Gin develops in to a strong leader. Also, Gin is convinced that the leader of these dogs (who isn't travelling with them) is his suppose ably dead father. All of this leading up to a final, violent battle between dogs and bears.

The anime ran for 21 episodes in the mid 80s. The animation and music itself as you can imagine and incredibly dated - but still likeable. Their are lots of interesting characters in the series although their are ALOT of them.
I truly think that any one who doesn’t mind the dated animation, but loves action, shounen stories would like this. Even though its quite an old show, fansubs are quite easy to find.

I'm not very good at writing reviews, but I felt I needed to comment on this anime as its reeeally overrated..and I just completely love it. ^^
Thankyou. read more