Friendship is one of the main themes of this anime and perhaps the way it is portrayed is the only reason for you to watch it. While Gungrave does not focus on a nakama team of pirates, this anime has its own ace in a sleeve and finding this ace, this gem, will be for you to do.
First things first, as you might know, this anime is based on a video game. Yes, I know what you are thinking; however, Gungrave is one of the best video game adaptations you will ever see. Yet, I cannot say that this anime is absolutely flawless; nothing is flawless and Gungrave is not something that will make you go wow, but if you take time and enjoy this anime like a bottle of your favorite whiskey, or whatever you like, this anime will reward you. Yes, I guarantee you that. Let us return back to the flaws of this anime… The only thing that I want to recommend you, no, I am insisting on it, DO NOT WATCH THE FIRST EPISODE. Just forget it; it does not exist; it has NEVER existed. So, what I am trying to say is that the watching order for this anime will be: 2nd-3rd-4th…-26th episodes. After finishing the anime, you can watch the first episode and see for yourself if I am right, or wrong.
Now let us touch the anime’s components. Gungrave takes place in an undisclosed town that feels and looks like somewhere in Europe. The anime focuses on a group of friends that tries by committing petty crimes to earn enough money and to perhaps, one day, become high in the social scale. However, the world of crime is very cruel and it will wait patiently to find a good opportunity to crush you once and for all. Sooner or later our heroes will have to pay for entering this cruel domain; they will pay a very high price and they will undergo some serious character changes, but, in the end, they will find a way out. The group of friends, of brothers, achieves their dream and they become members of an influential mafia organization.
This organization is powerful enough to control everything and by everything I mean everything. Gungrave will tell you a story of how power and influence change people. And believe me, the final episode of this anime will not leave you untouched; this anime is worth it!
The animation of Gungrave is very disturbing and real. As opposed to some newer series with vivid-colored character designs, Gungrave opted for the more realistic look. Some characters looked very realistic and you will surely like it, other characters; however, looked weird and unusual. The anime also covers a period of 30 something years, so most of the characters will change to reflect their age. Background visuals were top-notch, as well; they looked very realistic and it will surely help you to dive in the world of this anime.
The anime’s OST is unique, but I would not download it. Yes, it did help to understand this series better, it did one hell of a job. But the OST is far from being something that I would recommend you to download. You might find 2-3 good tracks, though... Anyways, it’s not annoying and it will definitely help you to understand this anime better. The voice acting; however, is absolutely splendid. You can watch this anime either in English, or in Japanese. The Japanese version is slightly better, though.
The main appeal of this anime is its characters, its main characters, to be precise. While many of the supporting characters feel a little undeveloped, the anime’s protagonists, Brandon and Harry, are amazingly well-developed. Brandon and Harry grow up together, fight together, and rise to the top together. Their friendship is so strong that it might seem that no force will be able to destroy it. However, I would not say that all supporting characters are uninteresting. Some sub characters have a story, and you become empathic towards them. Anyways, I would not call it a huge flaw.
All in all, this anime deserves to be called a masterpiece. Yes, it is not flawless and I cannot guarantee you that you will like it. Nothing is flawless in this world and, alack, I am not a person with extrasensory perception. However, I can guarantee you that if you are patient, if you like anime like Texhnolyze and Monster, and if you are able to think and analyze characters’ actions, I am sure that Gungrave will not disappoint you. Please remember that you SHOULD NOT watch the first episode.
I hope that you will enjoy Gungrave!
