Gangureivu

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!

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.

There are very few films that have touched me as deeply as this anime series. It is unfortunate that this series isn't more well known. Everything about it is terrific. The story, voice acting, music, and animation is excellent. I have to say that the ending to Gungrave is hands down, the best ending to an anime series I have seen. It broke my heart and pieced it back together all at the same time. There is also the themes explored through this series mainly dealing with loyalty, love, and friendship that is expressed so well in this series. I greatly recommend this series to anyone who loves anime. It's definitely worth it.

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.