Two best friends, the ambitious and sharp Harry McDowell and the stoically quiet Brandon Heat, climb the ranks of a crime syndicate, and experience cataclysmic events that follows their respective fates as friends, partners…and enemies.
The summary of Gungrave’s plot intrigued me, for an abashedly simple purpose. It was the titular adaptation of a videogame bearing the same name. Now I want to make it clear that I haven’t played the game, nor have I found the apparently short premise featuring a zombie gunman rising from the dead to avenge his murder by killing mutant monsters to reach his best friend, who coincidentally his murderer and
...
a powerful crime boss interesting enough. (okay it actually was).
But seeing this anime being so heavily recommended over its original source material made me wonder…is it possible that someone adapted a videogame properly into a medium for viewing entertainment?
Well the guy who made Trigun made this one too, and served as a producer for creating the anime in the first place. Should that be a good reason enough? Good enough to revisit another brainchild of Yasuhiro Nightow?
What I got was…totally unexpected. I dare say, far better than Trigun.
Plot: The entire premise of this anime relies on three parts.
The first part initially narrates the exploits of two young men, Harry and Brandon, who make ends meet by performing petty crimes and odd jobs with their other comrades, when suddenly an altercation with a rival leads to a violent event that rips their once tranquil lives into pieces, and tragedies which then befall the ones dear to them. However an unexpected coincidence in this vicious event gives Harry a reason to capitalize on his destiny, and Brandon becomes a steadfast follower of Harry’s goal to reach the top.
The second part kicks off when a sole criminal intent on taking down Millenion initiates a dastardly scheme with his brother in arms to resurrect the dead and use these ‘necrolyzed’ monsters called Orgmen against Millenion. From there on out, this event proves to be catalytic for both Harry and Brandon’s lives, as Harry’s ambition finally reaches a turning point and Brandon’s line of work and dedication to Millenion towards protecting those he cares about affects everyone else around him.
Until the arc ends with Brandon’s shocking death.
And the third part then narrates about Brandon’s return from beyond the grave to apparently avenge his death, whilst protecting the late daughter of Maria, Mika Asagi from the hands of Harry’s Millenion, and from there on out it’s where the series draws onto a more shoot em’ playwright with emphasis on the emotional culmination of Brandon and Harry’s journey, with a shocker of an ending.
Now the plotline here sounds really mashed up at first, and the first episode might throw you off as it takes place in another timeline. The anime actually relies on an initial flashback narrative before it crosses over to the current timeline, letting the viewer put their imagination in the mix to connect the dots. Safe to say, this form of storytelling in this anime is written well and has excellent, straightforward pacing, as expected from a story with the vibe and tone that draws off the playbooks of names like Scarface, The Godfather, or Pulp Fiction, with characters that are both grounded with realism while having some interesting quirks and their own storylines and motives added to the mix that does not detract from the viewing experiences, only adding on to it, thus encouraging you to keep watching until the very end.
Three particular themes that stand out, and intertwine each other throughout the anime are loyalty, trust, and friendship, in which the latter two are more heavily played out in direct notion whilst the third one is more emphasized in an emotional aspect for the two main cast members of the series, Brandon and Harry.
Loyalty in this anime comes down to a matter of perspective. Millenion’s ‘code of iron’ dictates loyalty and trust through file and order design. No member should betray Millenion and do nothing that could tarnish the image of the organization. Break the rule, and the punishment is death. The majority of Millenion’s role in the anime showcases a lot of how this loyalty is demonstrated by characters such as Bear Walken, a long time sweeper and Randy who’s a loyal associate of the organization’s leader, Big Daddy, who created this code in order to protect not just the members of the mafia, but to protect the citizens of the city where Millenion rules over and to protect the people they care about. Pretty much what you’d expect from a mafia organization.
However loyalty and trust is also demonstrated on a more personal side through the thick and thin of Brandon’s devotion to his best friend and his cause to achieve glory despite being unequivocally loyal towards Millenion’s cause, and loyalty is also earned from certain members of the organization like Balladbird Lee, Bob Poundmax and Bunji Kagashira, who start to become loyal to Harry’s cause after he proves himself an integral player in the game with a common goal they can get behind with.
What’s really interesting about how these two interconnecting themes really that plays out in this anime how loyalty by design clashes with loyalty by sentiment, while both having their own justifications, ignites streams of conflict that forces certain characters caught into this web up to a wall, irrevocably tearing through the bonds once built on trust, creating events that end up in tragedy.
The initial crime aspect of the story, while it showcases brutally paced drama with sufficient amounts of action…the bizarrely added mix of sci-fic elements of questionable moral standards surprisingly works together for one good reason. It knows when and where to cut corners without suppressing or overexerting both story aspects, and it combines to create a believable forerunning motive in the show that plays well in influencing the characterization and the progression of the plotline for a huge part of the series.
The justifiably strong writing put to work for the plotline however isn’t perfect, as most of the focus is centred towards making a coherently brutal and emotional tale about two friends joining a crime syndicate and the events that transpire in this tale, which in my books is filled with applaud and nothing else. Being leniently vague about the sci-fi aspect of the story, however, other than adding some thrown in biological factors is a minor niggle if you’re willing to overlook that factor in favour of the human characters and their struggles.
Plot: 8/10.
Characters: Top tier characterization done right. Every character in this series has some form of importance that keeps their roles and presence relevant enough to be remembered, which kind of reminiscent of another anime I’ve watched which is called Monster (I highly recommend that one), though Monster had 74 episodes worth of content compared to this…
Here you have characters that fit into the mold and heart of the series who each have their own interesting branching storylines into the main plot like the innocent and sweet Maria Asagi, the old school valued and strict Big Daddy, the misanthropic assassin Bunji Kagashira, and even the morally conflicted Dr Tokiyoka…and the tragically affected Mika Asagi whose presence invokes the most sympathy is stated in the second half of the series.
But the awards go out to the two main characters for employing the very reason why this anime is worth the watch.
We see the anime mostly through the eyes of one Brandon Heat, who is every bit as calm, kind, loyal to a fault…and notably a man of few words. You might think of him as the silent badass archetype what with his involvement as a sweeper in Millenion’s ranks, but don’t let that fool you. Brandon is a character that leaves impressions on people, despite having an unorthodox way of doing it. He might be socially awkward due to his silent nature, but time and time again, we see how much Brandon truly cares a lot more about others than he does himself, being willing to make sacrifices without any regard or remorse, and only putting his resolve into protecting those he cares for the most no matter the cost. He picks up a gun not to kill, but to protect. He chooses not to pursue a relationship in consideration of Maria’s future and how his line of work affects her. He also values his friendship with Harry above all else, as it is clearly shown that he was willing to stick for him through all odds to help his friend reach the top. He’s even willing to protect Mika despite not being intimately familiar with her, but out of sheer duty and reverence to his code, and eventually also grows to care for Maria’s daughter in a fatherly way. And yet, his selflessness takes a toll on him, as it is shown through uncommon occurrences of him being forced to make certain choices that cause him internal strife, but he puts it aside for the greater good. Does he regret those choices? As it’s shown, not at all.
It’s a no brainer to sympathize with this dude for the amount of heart he has.
Harry is a polar opposite of Brandon. Initially we get the idea he’s a smooth talking con who cheats women of their money and a guy who wants to have a good time, but deep down he’s an ambitious, sharp, hungry, and every bit desirous for power, under the moniker of what he terms as his freedom to ‘take what he can and give what he can’, and this slowly comes into play the moment he join Millenion’s ranks, and that simplistic façade is chipped away in favour of the underlying ruthlessness and cutthroat persona that comes into play. As the show progresses, it becomes apparent that he becomes obsessed with the idea of his goals and even willing to perform despicable acts to get what he wants through manipulation and deceit, whilst being crafty enough to put his goals in alignment with Millenion’s code. But all in all, Harry’s faith in his ideals justifies his misdeeds. He justifies being right in being an opportunist and justifies being a murderer, all in all for what he believes in his own rights, even if he has to make life changing choices that leave scars in his heart that he ultimately regrets in the end.
Now that’s a villain, and a character with a money’s worth.
You might question how could they be friends?
That’s because the driving heart of the story lies in the bond these two friends share with one another. Theirs is a tightly knit bond built straight from childhood from a bleak past and it develops further as they age with only each other as support. One could say they are close enough to be called brothers, exemplified by how different their ideals work and how they are in respective personalities, and yet they are willing in respective terms to go the extra mile for the other and have a relationship built on mutual trust and affirmation of each other.
However as they grow and develop as people, from Brandon’s unshakable resolve to Harry’s ultimatum, it becomes apparent when circumstances that are birthed from their choices finally comes into a dark, converging point where their friendship is forced into question. Not by words, but by action. And the outcome…let’s just say it’s not pretty, mildly put.
But the aftermath here is truly what makes their bond so heartwrenching and a tad bittersweet. It is a powerful viewing experience when a second chance, a second chance filled with tragic repercussions for both Brandon and Harry, whose lives unravel due to the very circumstances that tears them apart and for a brief moment turns them against each other, and yet this chance ultimately manages to rekindles the bond that was once destroyed between these two friends.
It’s a well-executed dynamic to have two complex characters have a bond only few can rival, and an equal footing in their beliefs as well a relationship only they can understand with each other. If nothing else, the final episode of this anime justified those manly tears I had.
Character: 9/10
Sound: Ah, the soundtrack…a classy mix of blues, jazz and swing. Every moment in this anime is rich with guitars and violins that alternate between mournful, solemn, and even frantic. Nothing beats it in better way for a mob flick chalked with blood, drama and death.
The serene if not ambivalently spirited opener ‘Family’ by Tusneo Imahori perfectly captures the gritty mood for the anime, and the ending track (that starts with a lovely violin intro that gets me every time) Akaneiro ga Moeru Toki gets the nostalgia going about the journey of two best friends, in an upbeat jazzy way that is a welcome after…well after all the heartwrenching drama, and blood drenched action sequences.
As for the voice acting…well with an anime as gritty as this it’s sure to have certain liberties to be put into this department to match up the standards needed?
Fear not, for both the original Japanese dub and the English dub are good, though I preferred the dub after watching the first half of the series subbed. To be honest I tolerated the rather off putting Engrish in favour of the performance merit of Kenji Yamada and Tomokazu Seki and how they accentuated their characters, and switched to the dub for the right perspective I wanted to experience in here.
Hey, it’s a mafia show that would have the admiration of Scorcese. English it is!
The dub at first doesn’t start off squeaky clean with the first half of the series, as some flaws are seen despite the neat renditions done with the script. Veteran Kirk Thornton plays a believable Brandon with a silent subtlety of weariness, with pragmatic effect that it’s hard to compare it with Tomokazu Seki and Tony Oliver brings a cocky, calculating edge in his tone that wasn’t clearly shown in Kenji’s performance, while Tom Wyner does admirably giving the older Harry a ruthless edge of a Mafioso in charge. Other characters like Maria, Dr. Takiyoka, Ballardbird Lee, Bunji Kagashira (who sounds vaguely Clint Eastwood-ish), Bear Walken, and especially Mika Asagi have no complaints and only admiration from me in the voice acting department. Give this dub a try if it fancies you, it’s worth a shot.
Soundtrack: 9/10, Sub: 7.5/10, Dub: 9/10
Animation and Art: For an anime that came out nearly fifteen years ago, studio Madhouse provides stellar visuals and animations that betray its age, despite some flaws made in forms of uncommon sloppy drawings of the characters whenever the cameras catch them without any close ups. The background designs of the Western environment where the heart of the anime takes place however, from cities to slums alike to what you’d see out a traditional gangster story environment...it gets the job done to a near perfect effect rendition. The fluidly animated action and gunfight scenes are moderately done in here, serving only at important points when a certain precarious event happens in the show, but don’t miss it out if your life depended on it. It’s pretty over the top, and even a tad bit ludicrous, but overall still in made in the exact reason you would watch an action flick for.
The nicely rendered character designs of Nightow is a feat, and even the monsters get some kudos from me, is more than enough reason to not shy away from anything this anime dares to show. It’s not technically perfect, but it’s a milestone improvement from what Madhouse did with Trigun.
Animation: 8/10. Art: 8/10
Overall enjoyment: 9/10
Final score: 61/70
Final verdict: Gungrave deserves every bit of its term as a classic. Madhouse did well, proving a superior adaptation of a video game is possible if done right. With awesome visuals, shoot em’ up action scenes, compelling leads that more than once leave you feeling more emotional than you might have to be and interesting side characters you can’t help but root for, and a monstrous sci-fi aspect into the mix, it makes for a newfound watching experience that is certainly going to be one worth remembering.
Grade: A.
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Feb 9, 2017
Two best friends, the ambitious and sharp Harry McDowell and the stoically quiet Brandon Heat, climb the ranks of a crime syndicate, and experience cataclysmic events that follows their respective fates as friends, partners…and enemies.
The summary of Gungrave’s plot intrigued me, for an abashedly simple purpose. It was the titular adaptation of a videogame bearing the same name. Now I want to make it clear that I haven’t played the game, nor have I found the apparently short premise featuring a zombie gunman rising from the dead to avenge his murder by killing mutant monsters to reach his best friend, who coincidentally his murderer and ... |
