Gungrave
Synopsis
Beyond the Grave: In each hand he wields “CERUBERUS”, his twin handguns and on his back he carries a coffin filled with heavy weapons. Cloaked in darkness and smelling of the grave, he is back to kick ass!
Review
Brandon Heat works for the mob. He is one of the top hitmen in the top crime syndicates in the world, Millenion. Beyond all he is loyal to all that he holds dear. That loyalty however ends up costing Brandon everything. When his own best friend, Harry MacDowell, reveals to Brandon his intentions of taking over Millenion through force, Brandon pulls a gun on him. He struggles for a moment coping with his dilemma, as he must now choose between his loyalty to Millenion, and his loyalty to his best friend. Harry uses Brandon’s hesistation to his advantage however. Before Brandon has a chance to respond, Harry shoots Brandon several times in the chest, and then fires a final shot into Brandon’s left eye. Brandon Heat is dead.
This is where most animes would end. Not so with Gungrave. Back from the dead via Millenion’s own Necrolyzation process, Brandon Heat is back to get revenge on those that wronged him and to protect the legacy of the one he held dear. However, he is no longer Brandon Heat. He is now, and forever will be: Beyond the Grave.
Gungrave admittedly has a silly sounding story at first. An ex-mobster comes back from the dead via science to get those that wronged him. Sounds like another goofy anime storyline at first. However, it is surprising how deep Gungrave really is once you give it a chance. The story weaves and turns, and tells tales of love lost, betrayal, friendship, revenge, and forgiveness. Gungrave, despite it’s odd setup, really has as good of a storyline or in most cases an even better storyline than most of your more typical anime fare.
Gungrave doesn’t simply tell the tale of revenge. Beyond the Grave isn’t a mindless zombie fighting enemies he no longer remembers. In truth, Grave has lost some of his memories from the old days, and struggles to get them back. Each piece comes together and reminds him of what he once had and what he lost. Harry MacDowell wasn’t always the tyrannical ruler of Millenion, now known as “Bloody Harry”. At one point he and Brandon couldn’t be any closer. Did Harry really betray Brandon? Or did Brandon betray Harry? Gungrave reels you in early on, and throughout the series takes you on emotional highs and lows. By the time Gungrave Episode 26 came to an end I had tears in my eyes. The finale of the series was beautifully wrought, and capped the series off perfectly.
What makes this even more surprising is that Gungrave is based off a PS2 video game series. The video games, while both fun, rely on shooting enemies up to lure fans. While both of them have decent storylines, neither match up to the incredible story that Gungrave offers.
If Gungrave has a weakness, it is in it’s animation. The series never catches up to the high octane roller coaster ride that the gaming line proves to be. Much of Grave’s fights lack energy and gusto that the games provide, and Grave seems far weaker than his game alternative. All of this is only nitpicking however, when you come to realize that Gungrave’s true draw is not it’s fighting scenes at all. Keeping that in mind, the fights were all interesting and well played out, but rarely spectacular.
If you’re looking for more weaknesses however, don’t look towards the sound. Gungrave’s dub exceled in all aspects. Tony Oliver’s potrayal of the young Mr Harry MacDowell was everything a fan could want out of a voice actor. Harry was mean, cruel, cunning, and tenacious, and Tony Oliver carried those nuances over perfectly.
The series soundtrack (available from Geneon) was in all respects excellent. Each song added atmosphere and character to any given scene. Songs like “Here comes the Rain” served to highlight one of the most bittersweet episodes in the series and alluded to the coming darkness of Brandon’s days ahead.
Gungrave is in all respects one of the greatest anime series in recent history. With a combination of an incredible story, excellent characters, and great sound, Gungrave is something you would be amiss to do without. Whether you buy or rent this anime, do yourself a favor and do so immediately. No collection is complete without this tale from beyond…
The Breakdown
What more can I say. Somehow through the combination of the mafia underworld and pseudo-zombies, Gungrave was born. More than a sum of it’s parts, Gungrave is well worth all the praise I have heaped on it and more. From it’s quality top to bottom, Gungrave is the kind of series that solidifies my affections for anime.