Review of Speed Grapher: Vol. 6

Introduction

"And so, the end is near (here), and so I face the final curtain (volume)."

`Speed Grapher`, the show that gripped me with a simple trailer back in.. erm... sometime back that way, comes to a close with the sixth and final volume, episodes 21-24. Normally when you get to the end of something you`ve been with for so long, you get an empty feeling in your stomach; like watching `The X-Files` boxsets from start to finish, after CSM gets blown to bits, you don`t quite know what to do with yourself. Of course, a 24-episode series isn`t quite the same seeing as you dip in and out of it for 90 minutes every six weeks, but the principle remains. Or something. `Speed Grapher` is the first of three of my on-the-go anime shows to end at the moment, and even though they vary in quality and none of them can be described as engrossing, I`ll be sad to see them all go.

So, the last four episodes of `Speed Grapher` then. Saiga and Kagura are held against their will by a mystery man, who eventually reveals himself to be none other than... well, that`d spoil it. But Suitengu has a bone to pick with this individual, and he has an elaborate plan to exact a little revenge. But he also wants Kagura by his side. Saiga isn`t about to let that happen, resulting in a vicious showdown between the two that turns the stability of the entire country on its head.

Episodes:


21. All Hail the Glutton
22. Money, Money, Money
23. Tender Grave
24. The Roppongi Crisis

Video

Preserving the original AR of 1.78:1 and presented in anamorphic format, `Speed Grapher` isn`t particularly flashy when it comes to animation, and certainly isn`t as edgy as the cover art suggests. While there`s generally a lot going on in a scene, the backgrounds and character design aren`t excessively detailed or striking, however both the settings and characters do have plenty of visual personality. Of more cause for concern is that the transfer is very soft and the composition contrast and colour palette are both murky and muted, almost washed out. There are few small techie niggles, such as instances of colour banding .

Audio

While there`s an English surround track in the form of Dolby Digital 5.1, the only native Japanese language track is a DD 2.0, which, while perfectly clear with solid acting, good casting, and certainly preferable for those who can`t sit with a Tokyo setting and English speaking citizens, really does miss out on some of the great direction and solid use of the soundstage as displayed by the DD 5.1. The voice acting on the English track is good, certainly one of the better dubs out there, even if a little overdone at times, with the now American-accented Saiga doing his best Philip Marlowe-meets-Max Payne impression. The subtitles that accompany the native track are actually subtitles, as opposed to the dreaded `dubtitles` (booooo!), which gives you the advantage of comparing the translation of the original script with the English adaptation. Should you feel so inclined, you`ll find the original translation ekes out the win on the script front.

Features

Part three of what can only be described as the exhaustive documentary on Kei Saito, the wannabe voice actress plucked from obscurity and into the lead role of Kagura. Running about 45-minutes, this section focuses on the promotion side of the industry, with Kei visiting radio shows, CD launches and a host of events. Character Cast Auditions return, as do the usual anime set - an art gallery, textless credits and trailers.

Conclusion

All fairly enjoyable things must come to an end, and so the blade falls on `Speed Grapher`, Gonzo`s twisted little anime show. I`ve seen better shows, I`ve seen worse. `Speed Grapher` showed a lot of promise back in the beginning, but it`s safe to say it failed to capitalise on the energy and verve the early volumes contained, with the second half of the six volume show sort of tailing off both in quality and narrative terms. In fact, it`s a testament to how enjoyable the first - and to a lesser degree, the second - volume was that give it a few months and I won`t remember anything past the daring rooftop escape from the Tennouzu building that closed the disc.

As you would expect, the final batch of episodes are about two things - climax and closure. Everything comes to a head, loose ends are tied up, characters engage in their final face-offs and other general ending stuff. In this respect, `Speed Grapher` ticks all the right boxes. But that`s all it does. It doesn`t go above and beyond to give that one last hurrah climax. The narrative has always been a little flimsy, and there`s no last minute revelations, no sting in the tale to liven it up here. The battles are fairly dull, retreads of previous encounters, and the new Euphorian this volume gets a couple of points for design, but loses them in execution. Although, what you can do with a big fat head that walks on pink tentacles that protrude from its mouth, I don`t know.

The show has a decent ending though. It never leaves you in any doubt as to what`s going on, and everything ends suitably wrapped up. The final scenes take you five years in the future and attempt to show you how Tokyo, and by proxy Japan as a whole, has changed following the course of events than ran through the show. And while the last moments are certainly a little twee, it`s a nice conclusion to the story, even if you feel like you`re watching the epilogue to an adventure that never really took off in the way it could of. And that`s `Speed Grapher` in a nutshell. A series which showed a lot of promise, but never quite lived up to it.

But it was fun. And gross.