Gungrave

I saw the first episode of Gungrave a few years ago and thought it was shit. However a number of people told me that the first episode is not representative of the rest of the series at all and that IT GETS BETTER I SWEAR!!! For the most part they were right, you really are better off skipping the first episode altogether. It’s quite similar to the first episode of the Berserk TV series in that it spoils the entire plot with some dumb flash-forward that doesn’t work at all and you’d be better off starting on episode 2. However that first episode is maybe ... a little more representative of the nonsense that occurs later in Gungrave than people give it credit for.

Let me back up and start from episode 2. Gungrave is a gritty crime story about two lovers I mean friends, Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowel, working their way up to the top of the crime syndicate Millennion (the N at the end is how it’s actually spelt, don’t ask). The story mostly follows Harry and his rise to power, making friends and enemies, tracking his tale from the height and back down again. You may have heard from other places that Brandon is the main character, and this is true only in the fact that the camera spends most of its time on Brandon. It’s not actually his story, because it’s hard to have a story about a person who has all the personality and speaking skills of a tub of lard who can shoot people.

It started to get really silly sometimes how utterly stoic Brandon was. It reminded me of silent video game protagonists. Other people would monologue at Brandon about how great he was and how much he must love Harry, then pause for a few seconds waiting for Brandon to respond before going “don’t talk much do you”. It got particularly bizarre when they started ascribing character traits to Brandon that I never saw him portray. All he does is shoot people and stand still. It felt like I was playing Half-Life 2 again where Gordon Freeman somehow becomes bearded Jesus without ever saying anything, except Brandon didn’t jump on tables while people were talking to him.

The story shares a few more similarities with Berserk with the how the burning ambition drives the two characters until things start to get strained (or at least that’s what drove Harry. Brandon was just dragged along like one of those cans on a string tied to a bumper of a Just Married car). I’m going to keep away from spoiling the big twist, although between the first episode and the fact characters keep going “GOSH I SURE HOPE X DOESN’T HAPPEN”, they did a mighty fine job of spoiling it themselves. There’s a fine line between foreshadowing and spoiling and Gungrave passes that line, then sprints away from that line, jumps inside a harrier jet and then flies several continents away from that line.

What’s strange is the thing the show doesn’t spoil is the completely ridiculous introduction of zombies. Out of nowhere, the show turns from gritty realistic crime story to nonsense sci-fi action. They are poorly explained, poorly justified, take up approximately half of the show, could have been removed from the show completely without harming anything, and make the whole thing difficult to take seriously when previously serious characters start sprouting helicopter blades out of their back. The entire arc is a nice 101 lesson in bad writing. What infuriates me the most is there was no effort to explain any of the zombie science. If you’re going to crowbar this nonsense plot thread, at least put some effort into it.

The writing in general is not very good. Between the crowbarred in zombies being terribly explained, characters monologuing at Brandon as though he’ll ever respond, a lots of general other clichés thrown in, it feels like a first draft rather than a finished product. My personal favourite font of bad writing was the scientist dude, whose every line was solid gold. What I loved was nobody seemed to pay any attention during his monologues, with even the chattiest characters turning to Brandon-levels of indifference whenever he started spouting his nonsense about how he must atone for his evil and how he’s going to hell. “I DO NOT DESERVE A NAME, CALL ME N FOR THERE ARE NO NAMES IN HELL”, an instruction I believe nobody ever listened to.

Equally bad but less funny was how the show completely rewrote the history of Big Daddy and Millennion towards the end of the show. Big Daddy was the boss of Millennion (I thought Big Daddy was a title, but even his wife called him that so I eventually figured that his name probably was Big Daddy, son of Mr and Mrs Daddy) and was generally all the things you would imagine the boss of a crime syndicate to be. By the end though he became this mythological figure who created Millennion for Good and Righteousness. Bear in mind that Millennion is a crime syndicate. Bribery, robbery, extortion, assassinations, threats, everything was run by Big Daddy. I started to agree with the character who was calling out that bullshit at the time when we were supposed to be the most against him, which undermined the entire story quite a lot.

At the core of Gungrave there is a fantastic story. At the key moments of Harry and Brandon’s arc…well, OK just Harry’s arc, it does a fantastic job of emphasising their relationship and how Harry got to the position he’s in. The ending in particular is so wonderfully done, far beyond what anything else in the show managed to achieve. A lot of people hold up Gungrave as some sort of beloved classic of the early 00′s, and if it has been over 5 years since you’ve seen it, I can see why you might think that. With enough time all you can remember is the core story of Harry and that ending left nice warm fuzzies. But if those people went back to it today, I can imagine there would be more than a few heartbroken anime fans realising that reality doesn’t live up to their nostalgia.

what can i say about gungrave?
well we start to this nice intro,kind of jazzt kind acool vibe,its nothing but good old tsueno imahori,who is definitely the best part of the series,his music sets the mood for the show which i will now continue to review

Show
Well we start with an old scientist and this young woman being persecuted by a bunch of zombies,so after they release a guy from some cryogenic device,he completely blasts the zombies away and the first episode ends
then we have an 11 episode flashback,now ypou would ask,this is kind of bad right?well exactly the opposite,this 11 episodes are some of the ... best episodes i have seen in anime,i was totally turned on,it has a sort of combination between scarface and the godfather,but then we are explained how brandon is turned in this sort of alucard style of hero and how the monsters-zombie like came to be,which it wasnt bad when you continue the anime you see some great fights but it doesnt have the complexity of the mobster like episodes, well i got to episode 26
and i was completely dissapointed the last twist of the viewer gets,it was all of vengeance up until the very end,and i totally hated it

the art and animation well the art is good the animation flows out only in the fight scenes its so so not that bad but not excellent

Voices- they do have some memorable scenes but they arent bad

overall
i judge anime on 3 things music and story and voices
music is good,the voices are ok,but the downfall for this series is the ending
which is in fact a total piece of crap
if you are a newbie,AVOID IT,if you arent,enter at your own risk of getting pissed off

Another Studio Madhouse anime and another one with an unknown director. This time they got Toshiyuki Tsuru. He has really only previously worked on various shows doing the odd storyboard or key animation here and there. Interestingly enough, the character desigs are from the Trigun series creator Yasuhiro Nightow. For an anime based on a third person shooting PS2 game by Sega, and how most anime based on games turn out very lack-luster, hopes were not high heading into this one. With Madhouse working on almost everything of note in this era and a director with zero experience, expectations could not have been lower.

However, Gungrave ... sets itself apart from other game-based anime and somehow manages an interesting story out of a pretty dry plot. Gungrave starts off with a bang. A man code named “Beyond the Grave” is brought into a crazy zombie-esc battle to kick some tail and take names. Then the story back tracks a couple decades for about half of the 26 episode series. The audience then gets to learn about Beyond the Grave before he was given that code name to a time when he was known as Brandon Heat. There, Brandon and his best friend Harry MacDowel are shown from their early street gang days and due to exceptional events lead to their rise in the massive criminal organisation known as “Millenion.”

We see immediately from that first episode that Harry does betray Brandon, and the buildup in that first arc is fantastic. The audience slowly see a series of dominoes slowly falling into place ranging from when the street gang dissolves to Harry’s personality change within organized crime. The characters throughout the show are rather interesting other than Brandon. Harry and the people within in and out of Millenion go through various build-ups and life events all while Brandon remain the silent loyal follower of both Millenion and his best friend Harry. There is even a love relationship thrown in with Brandon from the start. This in itself adds to that unfolding deck of cards.

Then, after Harry’s inevitable betrayal of Brandon, the second arc starts. This is where the show falls heavily. After all of that build and after riding the emotional roller coaster, fans are rewarded with zombies, resurrecting bodies, Resident Evil style T-virus mutations for stronger soldiers, and finally a conclusion. At least the story does have a conclusive ending. This second half just does not live up to the first. The writing is absent and replaced by run and gun monster of the week encounters. This is probably where the source brings the show down. There is plenty of repetitive action for some entertainment along with bro-love moments and lost love moments.

The animation and music are nothing outstanding nor memorable. It was the writing and the lure of that first arc which made Gungrave so interesting and fun. Then when the story turns into a plot for revenge, the anime loses what made it so fun in the first place. When a mob story turns into a sci-fi plot straight out of a zombie shooter, it just cannot hold a high place. Together Gungrave turns out to be slightly above average. If a mob story is of interest then arc one is almost perfect. If nonsensical sci-fi gun violence is fun, then arc two is below average.

I can't say I'm too well-versed when it comes to the mafia. My knowledge primarily stems from popular culture, which I'm sure glamorizes some aspects and trivializes others. However, I'm confident that the most vital element in the mafia is the concept of trust. When you're doing illegal activities, for your own sake or for someone else's, a traitor can easily collapse an insurmountable amount of hard work. The mafia in Gungrave are no exception. The members of Millennion, the mafia that rules the underground activities of the city Billion, are all bound by the "Code of Iron". This code has a simple definition - ... never betray lest you be killed. Simple in theory, but in practice, the message can be blurred or disobeyed when members feel they are above the code. Gungrave, for better or for worse, documents these decisions in a tale that tackles trust, friendship, freedom and family over the course of 26 episodes.

The hardest part of reviewing Gungrave stems from its first episode. Unlike some introductions, where they tease what's to come or try to hint at the protagonist's success, Gungrave flat out tells the viewer of many spoilers of what happens and can ruin the buildup of key plot points. For this review, I will be pretending this first episode doesn't exist so as to avoid any "spoilers". I suggest new viewers to do the same until they reach Episode 18.

Gungrave documents two young men, Harry MacDowel and Brandon Heat, as they rise from the dirty slums of Billion City through the ranks of Millennion. While Harry's goal is to obtain a Robin Hood like freedom, being able to take and give away as much as he wants, Brandon is along initially for support and for the chance to see his crush, Maria, more often. These roles are reflected in their personalities, with Harry being a charismatic individual while Brandon is a quiet, near mute figure. It can be a bit worrisome when a character is silent a majority of the time in a work, as they can feel more like a "blank canvas" than an actual character. Fortunately, Brandon's actions do a far better job voicing his feelings. His loyalty to Millennion is shown early on by accomplishing unpleasant internal affairs as well as risking his life as a sweeper more often than most in the business. Harry and Brandon play off of each other as you'd expect good friends to and their opposite behaviors form a nice contrast that makes them great to watch.

Of course, the other characters of the story are no small fry either. Initially, the characters of Millennion show interesting and human characteristics that make the story feel more real. Big Daddy, the leader of Millennion, is not a scary power-fueled boss as much as a guy who started the organization to protect the ones he cares about (the irony is dampened when Millennion's trust is put in focus). Bunji Kugashira is a lone wolf "assassin for hire" who thinks he's above all else in talent, but finds respect in Brandon's abilities and even looks up to him as a older brother. It's true that we don't go too in detail for the supporting cast - after all, this is Brandon and Harry's story - but I did enjoy the early company of these characters just as much as the main characters and was excited to learn more with each episode.

These character moments aren't just pleasant to watch - they are important for Brandon and Harry. They learn from others what the mafia business is really like and they learn the strengths and weaknesses of each individual working in it. It becomes quite clear that an organization is only as strong as the people who make it up. When underhanded deals and betrayals are made, the impact can not only affect the others in the business but also the ones behind it. Gungrave makes it clear that it isn't a happy story and even when the "right call" is made, it can often lead to the despair or downfall of another person. These moments are when the show is the most powerful and interesting. It's not so much a feeling of anguish or sadness as much as it is that of solemn behavior. There's no time to grieve - the show and business must go on.

Unfortunately, Gungrave runs into a dilemma in its story that can either make or break the anime to some. Gungrave's main focus is a serious mafia story but it also dabbles in science fiction. A key element of the show is found in the process of "Necrolyzation", a term meaning to bring back those from the dead into strong zombie-men that have high defenses. Like the struggles within Millennion, the show struggles to maintain its story and characters as more of these concepts leak in. I felt that the characters became more "one-note" and lost some of their appeal during the second half of the show and the zombie technology and transformations ("Orgmen") became a bit ridiculous. I could see some people feeling the show was a bit dry and this was a way for it to carve its own identity versus other stories, but I really enjoyed the non sci-fi elements of the show the most. At the very least, the pacing is kept up and the episodes are still enjoyable to watch, even when the show becomes a "Orgmen of the week" series.

Another big flaw of Gungrave stems from its animation. I usually am more forgiving towards a series if the animation and pacing are good - it gets me immersed and ready for action! Sadly, Madhouse does a B-grade job when it comes to Gungrave's animation. Some fights during the second half are pretty clean and the use of shading is nice but the lack of fluidity and occasionally awkward drawing can hurt the series more than it should. It's not bad enough to be laughable but it sure isn't the best that Madhouse has done. The music for the show is a bit of an odd one to discuss. I never really felt a strong emotion or power from it - it acted more like a "texture" to a scene, trying to enhance it without being noticed (sad violin, expressive guitar, forlorn horn). They don't really work standalone either - I suppose Tsuneo Imahori (who did the music for the series) just wanted it to be support and nothing more. The voice actors do a real good job. They convey emotion well and are very expressive. Major props go to Ryuuzaburou Ootomo for Bear Walken's bass voice and the flamboyant Takehito Koyasu who does the voice of Balladbird Lee.

An interesting aspect of Gungrave comes from the fact that Madhouse adapted it from a video game, rather than a manga or light novel like usual adaptations. The Gungrave video game, funnily enough, scored only middling reviews and was praised most for its character designs by Yasuhiro Nightow (of Trigun fame). A glance through some of the gameplay mechanics shows this game is more combat heavy and features even stranger twists than what's shown in the anime. I suppose that director Toshiyuki Tsuru wanted to focus more on the story and character interactions - a smart move considering you can't play an anime.

Overall, I give Gungrave a 6.0 out of 10. It's an addictive and fun show to watch, but I wish it was a bit more down-to-earth overall instead of trying to be a strange sci-fi thriller. However, I may be in the minority - if a mafia tale with a twist sounds like your thing, you should definitely check this one out!

Do you like or dislike this anime? If you haven't watched it, are you encouraged to watch it or not? Leave a comment on my profile telling me what you think of the anime and/or my review.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!

Gungrave is a show which is almost completely about the buildup for two very powerful and dramatic moments which rank up there with some of the best episodes I've seen in anime. There's a catch though, the rest of the show rolls around in mediocrity with redeeming moments placed in such a way as to keep the audience sucked in just enough to think that the show will make an upturn. Let's start from the top, shall we?

The first episode is a failed attempt at dramatic foreshadowing which is not only unnecessary but a huge spoiler for the first dramatic moment and great episode which ... occurs about halfway through the series. Worse yet, the first episode is completely retold with a few additions later in the show, making it a definite skip for anyone watching Gungrave for the first time.

The first half of Gungrave revolves around two street punks rise from the streets through the ranks of the mafia. If you can buy into the protagonists Harry and Brandon, then the ride is probably worth the waiting. Gungrave commits the cardinal sin of boring it's audience on a regular basis. Plotting and depth of character are talked about a lot but rarely shown but it remains a character oriented show.

I felt for the self-inflicted plights of Brandon and had a growing distaste for the ambitious Harry, as the writers wanted, so when the drama started to kick in I lapped it up. I managed to overlook the zombies as they served a point in the progression of the plot but they really should have been replaced with something non-science fiction.

After their introduction, the zombies take a backseat for some solid character drama, the first real high point of the anime. After the first climax we have more zombies then a jump to the future where the show takes a major nose dive. Word on the street is that Gungrave is a tie-in to a PlayStation 2 game of the same name and these episodes make me believe it. The drama is mediocre and the action is awful. The zombie helicopter is the low point of the show, it makes no sense and the character who transforms into it has been such a background player that I couldn't care less about his death.

A mess of episodes focusing on characters who we are supposed to care about but who never had any development ensues. Unfortunately one character who was developed and did have a shot at having an interesting arc is thrown away in the series of game tie-ins. Finally we can leave the carnival of pointless zombie "science!" for good and go back to the core of the show. The conclusion to the show is epic and one of the most satisfying, and tear jerking, conclusions that I've seen in a long time. If it didn't require all of the build-up of the non-zombie episodes I'd recommend just watching it but unfortunately it's a package deal.

Gungrave makes an excellent candidate for a show to be remade with better writing and the crap flushed out.

This show is about action and drama and it is driven by character relationships, and it is rather mature.
Now, my personal views.
The characters are varied, interesting and well developed, however a few of their actions and decisions seem odd; these actions dont make any sense from the point of view of the character but are simply imposed so that the story moves in a particular way. Further, if you are a female or are concerned with female characters, be warned that females here are merely a complement when not plain stupid.
As for the action, it is great yet to me it becomes unrealistic. There are ... shows (like Cowboy bebop) in which there is a protagonist who is really far above anyone else (or almost) and yet they seem "human". Not here. When the protagonist fights the enemies pee on their pants, it is like a super hero vs your average gym rat.
To me, it could have been a much better series had it only been more realistic (not because I like realism better but simply for internal consistency) and had the characters actions been more aligned to their personality.

**SOME SPOILERS**

Originally i was gonna write a big rant about this show but ugh

Let me start off by saying i really wanted to like this show, otherwise i wouldn't have watched the whole thing.. That being said, this has got to be one of the most overrated shows on here. It takes about 18 episodes before Grave/Brandon stops becoming a bystander in his own story..

Atleast you can't blame them for not trying to stick to the source material, for better or for worse.

And who the hell thought having an old guy called Big Daddy do what i can only describe as grooming Graves LI for ... years after taking her away from him and forcing her to live with him WHILE becoming best pals with Grave..

And despite that he is still fanatically loyal to Big Daddy and it never gets touched upon by the story

Gungrave has a unique flow to it that comes from being transcribed from a video game story and setting to an anime, and for the most part it navigates that pretty well. It can be very edgy at times with some over the top eye-rolling dialogue, but does what it sets out to do well overall. The strong parts of the show are it's narrative during the first section, and the payoff for it during the second. The art and voice acting (in the dub at least), however, are definitely the weakest aspect of the show, and are distractingly poor at times. Overall, I would ... only really recommend it to interested fans of westerns, action, and shonen.

*Light spoiler story synopsis*
The story is divisible into 2 major parts, past and present, following the main protagonist Brandon Heat. The first half of the story follows a starting-from-the-bottom mafia plotline which is well done, and the second half is a revenge story. Many supporting characters from the first half return after a time skip into the second, and it's done well enough to be enjoyable seeing how it's handled. The second half is definitely the weaker part though as it turns more towards action, you can tell that this was originally a game from how the fights play out.