Gungrave

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.

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.

This is one of my favourite anime's. The first episode throws you in a battlefield in the middle of the anime. A big gunfight with no introduction at all. In fact the anime really starts with the second episode. Slowly you'll get introduced to the characters and the organization. After you've watched half of the episodes of Gungrave you'll start to see things of the first episodes. Slowly you'll build up to the situation of the first episode.

!Do note that the first episode isn't the last episode as well. The story goes on after that!

+ You really see how the characters change and the situation. That has been done outstanding by the creators of this anime + It's an intense story. When you watch the anime, you feel like you are in fact IN the anime

• AND + The first episode should've been deleted. Puts some people on the wrong track. Although after watching the first episode I decided to watch Gungrave.

Already familiar with Yasuhiro Nightow's Trigun, Gungrave is a vastly dark, yet richer story. In this world, there are no good guys. Trigun's Vash was a kidder, but deadly with the steel. These guys hardly joke at all and it's a tale of struggling to survive at any cost. There's a theme of brotherhood, loyalty and betrayal almost like a John Woo anime. Soft spoken Brandon is mostly enigmatic and prefers action rather than words. But don't be mistaken: Brandon might even give Vash a run for his money. There are gang hits, conspiracies, and full out urban chaos and it becomes amazing watching it all progress. Hell, I found myself rooting for the gangsters to win! No lives are spared and people don't miraculously dive out of the way of bullets. Mixed with a great soundtrack and some great character designs, Gungrave is raw, gritty and, after finishing it, it even offers hope of brighter days.

Gungrave is, hands-down, the best anime series I've had the opportunity to follow this year. Based on an obscure PlayStation 2 game of the same name, the story chronicles the rise and fall of two childhood friends, Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowell, two lowly street punks who join the ranks of Millenion, a Mafia organization that runs the city they dwell in. Driven by youthful exuberance and ambition, Brandon and Harry both rise quickly in the organization. It is clear during their ascent in Millenion that the two friends' paths are diverging. Brandon becomes the most feared "sweeper" in the organization, but all he wants is to be able to protect the people he cares for: Harry, Millenion boss Big Daddy, and Maria Asagi, the only woman he loves. Harry becomes overly consumed with his ambition to rise to the top of Millenion and it threatens to destroy everything both he and Brandon have worked so hard to protect! Gungrave is the brainchild of Yasuhiro Nightow, the creator of Trigun. The animation studio in charge of producing Gungrave is the venerable Madhouse Studios. The show is supported with an awesome soundtrack by composer Tsuneo Imahori, who used to be a member of Yoko Kanno's "The Seatbelts", the band responsible for all of the memorable jazzy tunes from Cowboy Bebop!