Gungrave

No Doubt, one of my favourite anime series I ever watched. A class. Definitely, one of the best.

As of late a flood of Japanese animated series have hit the American shores. Gungrave is the most amazing of any one of those. It has beautiful animation, potent voice acting, and a storyline that requires multiple viewings to fully understand. Ten out of Ten. Perhaps the thing that makes Gungrave stand out above its anime competition it the multitude of underlying messages. It has some of the more obvious dialectical themes, love/hate, hope/despair, devotion/betrayal but it is also driven by a gathering of more subtle ideas (I will leave the viewer to find those for themselves. Anyone who has the time that it takes to fully appreciate Gungrave should do so. Also, if you are a fan of mafia violence and a scarface like rise to power then this is the show for you. For me, that is merely a bonus to an amazing piece of art.

Let me begin by saying, this anime not only defines the art and style of the anime world. But also defines what true anime masterpieces stand for.

The story begins with Brandon Heat and Harry Mcdowell. Two teenage punks who are always up to no good. Such as getting into fights, stealing and conning others. Their life was already set for them, thought by Harry. Harry was the ladies man and Brandon had his eyes on a beautiful short-haired blond named Maria. Even though love was tumbling around their young minds, both of them were still doing their wreckless lifestyle. During an alley fight that broke in pandemonium, Harry and Brandons gang showed what that they were truly made of.

Proud and Motivated, Harry and the others decided to go back to their hangout pad which already had food prepared for them by their friend Joylce. With laughs thrown in the air, heavy drinking and drunk conversations that took hours of enjoy. Harry's gang did not know what they got themselves into.

During the ally fight, the gang that was defeated by Harry's Crew, was involved in the Mafia. Rage, Anger and total annihilation went trough the defeated gang leaders mind. He sought out help and forgiveness from others since his gang was already disgraced from the Mafia.

Harry's crew one night decided to return a Treasured Jewelry that represented equal value to the owner, but haggled for decent pricings. Confident and Cocky harry tried persuading the women, But ended up getting him and his crew beatup. They returned back bloody and bruised but still laughed from all experience they all went through. Limping and laughing the crew almost smelled their friend joycle cooking. As soon as they opened the door, they found something that not only engulfed their mind with anger but brought tears to their eyes.

The gang not only got themselves involved with something big but would change Brandon And Harry's life forever.

**.........[ - ]...........** This anime is a combination of gangster genres such as the godfather, sopranos etc. And a combination of Sci-Fi and modern living. It's beautiful when they combined these elements cuz when u watch it, it doesn't look futuristic, it doesn't look old, it just makes u relate to what kind of world they are living in. When watching Trigun and Gungrave, director Yasuhiro Nightow, not only created worlds that gives audiences an Aww amazement base, but wants u to be living in that world the he creates in his head.

The one thing I love about Gungrave is the characters. The characters are so emotionally realistic, the way each characters have their own style and feel to them. U get attached to each single character because they represent themselves to make u believing they are that person. Yasuhiro Nightow not only does an excellent job portraying the characters, but gives each one a personality that u can relate to. Other animes always have ur typical Serious Guy, Funny Guy, Quiet guy etc. To me, animes like that gets pretty boring because u know u already expect that out of each character. For example "Naruto" that list I wrote down have all that in that show. And it gets pretty boring.

In Conclusion, If u want an anime that gives u an endless impression. Watch this, because this is what Anime is all about. Like I said And I'll say it again "An Anime Masterpiece Of Our Generation." Thank You.

Gungrave is a brilliant anime. The construction of the story, the characters, and the motifs/themes are all outstanding. When I watched this anime I was addicted after the 3rd episode because of the story and characters. The anime plays like a revenge tragedy, a Doctor Faustus of sorts. Except the way the story is told is all jumbled up which reflects back on the mind of the character Beyond the Grave. The entire anime reflects the mind of Beyond the Grave and in the end we understand and know who he is even if his actions sometimes confuse us. By doing this we see the past that lead Beyond the Grave to revenge in the same way that he remembers the past. We learn with Beyond the Grave what cause The Organization to become corrupt. And the evolution of the human psych drives us to watch further and deeper understand the relationship between the characters. These characters raise questions, motifs, and themes that make the viewer realize that The Organization is more complicated than the mafia may have first looked. Motivation for sins, for betrayal, and loyalty are core concepts in this anime and by the end there will be more questions than answers. But the anime closes as nicely as it unraveled with the story clear but the implications of the story sticking with the viewer long after it is over.

So far all of that is outstanding but the anime does falter in the actual animation. There are times where the animation feels forced or awkward. That being said it hardly takes away from the experience and will probably be only a slight annoyance in the beginning

Overall I gave Gungrave a 10/10 because all together the simplicity and precision of the anime overall the slight imperfections.

Gungrave is the story of two friends who join the mafia and progress up the ranks of the family. It is filled with sub plots of love, friendship, trust, and finally, betrayal. It takes you on an emotional journey of the two friends, Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowel. It shows you how the two men grow and change over time, and the different paths they take in life. For Brandon, the family is all about honor and trust, while for Harry it is for power. You can see the development of both of these characters, and how much they change, throughout the entirety of the 26 episode series.

The ending is absolutely heart shattering, all the loose ends are tied together and it gives you a perfect sense of closure to a great series. The story among the best in all of anime, and the execution of this story is flawlessly done. This is definitely an anime to see, even for those who don't usually watch it.