Review of Gun X Sword: Vol. 7 - Last Rites

Introduction

The old proverb "absence makes the heart grow fonder" must be to blame for me lamenting the end of `Gun X Sword` among others in my final `Speed Grapher` review, because after sitting through the final three episodes of Gorō Taniguchi`s mecha-heavy anime, I couldn`t help but be glad it was all over. As all-to-often proves to be the case, it started off quite well, then nosedived around the half-way point before, as I`ll go into in further detail later, finishing in a rather predictable, mundane fashion leaving a lasting impression of `meh`. This seventh volume hit the shop shelves a while back, but this review is more-or-less pro forma as if you`ve been following the show with enthusiasm, you`ll no doubt have picked this up back when.

So, the final set of episodes. The countdown to Claw`s ultimate plan has commenced, and only Van, Wendy and their friends stand in the way of irrevocable world change. Wendy confronts her brother Michael, while Carmen 99 and Fasalina duke it out. Ray stands alone against Claw`s powerful Armour, while Van and Dann seemingly linger somewhere in the atmosphere after the previous volume`s assault in outer space.

Episodes

24. End of the Dream
25. Endless Illusion
26. Tuxedo Man Dancing Tomorrow

Video

A top-notch 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, probably the best you`ll see that doesn`t have the words `Ghost` or `Shell` in the title. Beautifully crisp and brilliantly hued with deeply saturated chroma and great contrast, `GXS` sports one of the brightest, most vivid colour palettes outside the works of Miyazaki. There`s a fleeting hint of aliasing now and again, but you have to try really hard to care. What may not be to everyone`s tastes is the choice of character design for Van, which is a sort of amalgam of traditional action anime design and the elongated, disproportionate characters that designer and director Masami Obari (`Virus Buster Serge`, `Fatal Fury`) likes to employ. But Van is the only main character to be drawn this way, if flashbacks of `Virus Buster Serge` and its overstated body models and gangly legs come crashing back to haunt you. All in all, `GXS` is a particularly stylish looking anime, particularly the anime-meets-James Bond opening credits, and the transfer is difficult to fault.

Audio

Your choices are three-fold when it comes to soundtracks. A native Japanese DTS 5.1 or Dolby Digital 2.0, and an English dub presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The surround tracks are excellent. There`s sufficient directional implementation to remind you anime can do something special with 5.1 when it comes to travelling a soundstage, the dialogue is exceptionally clear through the center, and both the DD and DTS really know how to work a sub-woofer with the show`s gamut of various explosions, thuds and crunches.

The English translation from Californian dub house New Generation Pictures is spot on, and for the first time in a long time succeeds in representing a teenage girl in anime without having her sound either inherently whiny and annoying or shy and reserved. Wendy`s dub is full of youthful exuberance and character, and although Van is a stock tough-guy-loner, all terse and laconic, his performance doesn`t sound samey or feel overly contrived. As the show is set on an Earth-like planet with English featuring exclusively in the signposting and in towns, the English track could be considered the lead track in this instance.

Features

If there`s one thing I will be sad to see the end of, it`s Gun X Sword-san, the CG microseries which ends here with episode 13. As you would expect, all the characters in their hand-puppet form return for the grand farewell to the extra feature that`s better than the main show. Also present is a short clip titled `Dave`s Wedding Proposal`. Dave Vincent - Van`s voice artist - and the US production team threw together this trailer where Vincent proposes to his squeeze Kasey in a faux scene from the show. Apparently he showed it to her and she said yes. He`s clearly a very lucky man.

Then there`s the usuals - clean credits, art gallerys and trailers.

Conclusion

The problem with `Gun X Sword` is that it, to use an over-used phrase from the television critic lexicon, jumped the shark around the midpoint. Once the nefarious Claw was revealed, any air of mystery the plot had evaporated. The real deal could never live up to the legend created in the original sets of episodes, and added to that he turned out to be a fairly dull, seemingly benign character who really sullied the good name of anime antagonists. Around the same mark, the show switched from being a loose space-western in the vein of `Cowboy Bebop` with solid myth-building, and proceeded to turn into a run-of-the-mill mecha action show with a terribly routine narrative to boot. I would imagine there are plenty of unfinished `GXS` collections out there, as, like myself, followers turned off the show in their droves and completely lost interest in the story, which, to be honest, started to appear so dull it was harder to follow than `Akira`.

It doesn`t finish strong either. This set of episodes that make up the final volume are, as you`ve probably come to expect, 73-minutes of big bot battles, a drawn out climax that started at the beginning of the previous volume. Like most finales, they try and up the ante for the big finish, here taking the form of misfiring, ineffective sentimentality between the characters - particularly between brothers Joshua and Ray. What`s left of the story to tell is presented through monologues between characters as they pause for breath in their battle suits, fighting for a cause you probably won`t care to remember. But if the mecha action is your bag, you didn`t fall by the wayside and just can`t bear to see a story unfinished, you`ll probably find `Last Rites` is essential.