Review of Gungrave: Vol. 1

Introduction

Wow! This is a really cool anime that kicks off with (literally) both barrels blazing in the first episode and then rewinds back to the human story behind Brandon Heat`s return from the grave as a silent, gun-toting ghost hell-bent on revenge.

Based on a Playstation 2 game that I`ve never seen or played, Episode 1 does feel like a video game with it`s relentless shooting action and accompanying sound effects. It all feels like a cyber-aged spaghetti western, with a very dark twist.

But just as you think you`ve got the measure of it, episode 2 kicks back to another time and another place where Brandon is shacked up with his gang, and in love with a girl called Maria.

The series was `designed` by Yasuhiro Nightow, famed in particular for his work on similarly themed `Trigun`, and Episode 1 of `Gungrave` is full of recognisable hallmarks - and in particular the impossibly large-barrelled hand-guns.

Four episodes are included here:

Episode 1: "Destroyer in the Dusk"

Brandon Heat is brought back from dead by Dr. Tokiako and Mika, a little girl whose mother was killed by a crime syndicate known as Millennion. The leader of this syndicate, Harry MacDowell (aka Bloody Harry) was once Brandon`s best friend and partner. The action kicks off without delay - when horrific `OrgMen` attack the base where `Grave` has been revived.
Despite their monumental power, they are no match for Gungrave and his huge-barrelled guns. The episode continues in an impressive display of `Grave`s` fighting power.

Episode 2: "Young Dogs"

Expecting more `Grave` action, this episode came as something of a surprise. We`ve headed back in time to Grave`s past when he was known as Brandon Heat. Living in the slums of an unnamed City with friends Harry, Nathan, Jolice & Kenny who live by stealing and fighting for their local Yakuza boss, Descartes.

They fight with a rival gang led by demented cold-hearted killer Mad Dog Ladd, who talks like Clint Eastwood as the `Man with no name`. The episode ends on a sad note - that precipitates the series of tragic occurrences that eventually result in Brandon`s inevitable demise. But don`t let me spoil it too much!

Episode 3: "Rain"

Mad Dog Ladd kicks off the episode with some more cold-hearted ultra-violence, really developing his character as he enters a hospital and kills half a dozen doctors without thought. The plot also thickens as Maria learns that her `uncle` (who has cared for her since her parents died) is not really who he said he was, but is in fact the killer of her parents -who adopted her out of a sense of guilt. When he tries to warn Brandon to stay out of Maria`s life Mad Dogg appears and wreaks his usual havoc, killing Uncle `Jester` in the process.
But all doesn`t go Madd Dogg`s way as a new man enters the plot . Watch and see!

Episode 4: "Go"

In the aftermath of the bloody gun battle, Harry and Brandon are now down to a gang of two, Maria then meets `Big Daddy` who avenged her `uncle`s death. Despite being Millennion`s top dog sweeper, it would seem that he has a heart of gold. In fact, Harry becomes so impressed with him that he wants to join Millenion. If he can take care of Descartes then he`s in - a simple enough task for the dynamic duo, though it will mean the end of a beautiful relationship.

Video

Widescreen 1.85:1, which is nice (as so many anime discs are OVA`s or TV episodes in 4:3) and the presentation is flawless with simply stunning picture quality and amazing detail. Fantastic!

Audio

5.1 Dolby Digital for the English soundtrack, and it`s well done. A good choice of voice in general, and a nice audio mix that veers towards gaming when the action starts - and man, do they make some use of the speaker spread! The fights will have you leaping from your chair as this puts you at the heart of the action. (I only watched a little of episode 1 in original Japanese - and the DTS gunshot ricochets were equally impressive!)

Also worthy of mention is Tsuneo Imahori`s score, which is really unusual for this type of anime. Almost ambient jazz, it`s an odd choice and yet somehow works.

Features

There`s a healthy portion of artwork here for those who like to use the stills as manga drawing reference material. For the rest of us though, these always seem a little dull compared to the anime.

You also get the opening and closing title sequences sans captions - so that you can see what`s actually going on behind that sea of credits text, which is a nice addition, de rigueur on anime discs these days it seems.

Then there are a short cluster of trailers which looked very promising indeed…note to self: Keep an eye out for `Paranoia Agent`, it looks bloody brilliant!

Conclusion

`Gungrave` may have been inspired by the video game of the same title, but it`s not a series that`s happy to rely on relentless shoot `em up action. Whilst there`s plenty of that in episode one, by episode two the plot has thickened, along with the characterisation.

At round about 25 minutes an episode they move through at such a pace that it`s hard to believe that the time has passed, and there`s no doubt that will have fans of the genre panting for more.

The animation is intelligently and creatively handled, with interesting perspectives, colouring and mood - and the picture quality here is just incredible.

My only gripe is that this is a single disc with just four short episodes. Perhaps this makes good sense from a marketing point of view, allowing fans to build the series an affordable disc at a time, though I can`t help feeling that a complete box set would be infinitely more satisfying, and would also provide some good value economies of scale.

That said, `Gungrave` far surpassed my initial preconceptions, and I for one can`t wait for the next four episodes of what promises to be a classic series.