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GunGrave
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Animation - 8.8 |
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Sound - 8.7 |
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Story - 9.0 |
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Character - 9.2 |
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Value - 8.9 |
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Enjoyment - 9.2 |
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Average - 9.0 |
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plothound |
(2009-06-15 19:14:35) 2009-06-15 19:09:59 |
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| Average |
3.5 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
2 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| Starts well before fading into a boring cliche.
This starts with a bit of sci-fi shoot-em-up before going into flash back based around young gangsters.
The gangster side of things is handled fairly well although the characters are not fleshed out very much.
I was looking forward to seeing how this part of the plot would be used to take us to the futuristic world we started with.
That is where the story fails to deliver.
The joining up of the two stories is just one big plot hole, it doesn't make a lot of sense from the characters point of view or the technology point of view.
The futuristic part of the story then comes back as a dumb cliched monster fight.
It's an ok watch but it seemed like it could have been better than it ended up.
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I would have to rank this as my favorite series so far. The way the story was told is superb and entices you to watch the next episode. I enjoyed the mafia style story and how it portrayed it. The characters really brought this anime alive. They spent a good amount of time creating these characters, allowing you to understand what they do. The animation felt a bit old, even though it was released in 2003, though it doesn't harm the series in anyway.
If you like action anime, this is a must see.
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1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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No
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Like Trigun (from the same author) this has a very western, American feel to it. Indeed, this doesn't seem like an anime at all. That is not meant to be an insult however, as this is a very good series with only one notable flaw in its otherwise compelling story.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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No
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Let me start out by saying this......I'm not into this type of show. I love shoujo anime [and now manga], I also like shounen-ai stuff and I'd say it's pretty much guaranteed that I'll watch just about anything with bishounen. So if someone were to tell me about this show, Gungrave and all I had was his word-of-mouth to go on then I wouldn't have bothered watching it. The only reason I watched it was because they used to play it on Tech TV [now G4] back when they used to be a cool TV station and they played anime on the weekends @ midnight. I remember they used to play Gad Guard and this other show, Gungrave. Frankly, I was mesmerized by this show...simply because this story was that good. It had me hooked and I watched it religiously every weekend but I never got to see the ending so I bought the series and even one of those giant wall scroll posters, I loved the show that much......this coming from a person that's a self professed yaoi fan-freak that mainly watches shounen-ai and all other shoujo-type anime. So if I can like this show, I don't see how anyone else can't. What's not to like?
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
5.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
1 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
3 |
| I didn't like this anime at all, I watched not knowing about the origins as a game turned into series.
I didn't find that organized crime and zombies mix all that well together. The story could have been developed just around one of the topics and that would have been plenty, but that's just me.
That's a real shame because the characters manage to have some depth and interest but the plot goes off into some silly direction just to get some 50 caliber action jammed in.
Animation and sound don't matter all that much to me unless they are bad bejond watchable.
Here I found that animation was rather well done.
Final Verdict: not so good.
thanks for reading.
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0 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| How long does a friendship last? Are it's bonds eternal, so strong that no bullet or chain can separate them? Gungrave is an amazing story about not just death, but what people can do with the lives they've chosen to live.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Two street punks find their friends dead thanks to a mobster. With no direction in life, they both join a Syndicate called Millenion. They rise through the ranks as they both provide a strong backbone to the syndicate; ambition on Harry MacDowell's side, and power with Brandon Heat. The two quickly receive the honour of becoming part of the Syndicate's "family"; a prestige status within the mob. However, things change when a smaller gang experiments with the idea of using zombies to overpower Millenion.
You can pull many similarities of Gungrave with a lot of other animes out there. Most of the scenes, especially the later emotional ones, will have you saying "This is just like this this and this anime". The story isn't terribly deep; in fact, you could probably see what's happening a mile away. Oddly enough it would be wrong to label it slow, even though you could put the pieces together yourself.
No plot twists, somewhat predictable story, makes you kind of wonder, why do I hold Gungrave so high then?
The characters. You can have the greatest plot twist in the world and several just as deep plot twists following suit, but if the characters are bland then its impact loses a lot of effect. In reverse context if you have an average story with great characters, it's still going to be a great anime. The portrayal of Harry MacDowell's ambition is executed in the greatest manner. There's no better example of a power hungry person who takes more than he can handle than Harry.
Brandon Heat is a very mysterious character. He rarely talks and he's the shows' main character. Often he dwells into his own inner monologues about his role within Millenion. I find it annoying that most animes have these strong silent characters for the sake of having a strong silent character in its cast. Brandon Heat is the most down to earth and realistic strong silent character you'll ever know. Most of the early episodes build both Harry and Brandon's character, and they do a great job in terms of pacing and quality.
The supporting cast is also one of the best I've watched in an anime. Their characters are so great and the show does a great job of developing them. What I like the most is that they fill their roles quite well in context of the story. They're not only there for you to like, and it's a nice change to see characters that you've grown some attachment to actually die. Though Gungrave makes it feel like the deaths were appropriate. It doesn't kill characters for the sake of providing some blood, nor do they keep characters alive unnecessarily like most shounens do.
While I've never been a fan of mafia or gunfights in general, Gungrave's incorporation of zombies and supernatural abilities make the fights very entertaining to watch, and the great productions just add to its glory. The soundtrack is also very good; fits the mafia environment very well.
If I could compare Gungrave to any one anime, it would be The Twelve Kingdoms-even though the settings and theme are like apples and oranges. Great character development, good productions and soundtrack, awesome pacing, though what Gungrave is lacking is a truly awesome and kickass story. Nonetheless you won't find a lot of gangster movies or shows that even compare to Gungrave. It's a great watch if you're not a whore for action that fast forwards in each episode to the fights.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Plot is similar to a lot of other anime -, hero's friend betrays him, after a long time the hero returns to get revenge, hero has to fight through friend's goons in order to get to friend. Much like Berserk, Cowboy Bebop, and Trigun just to name a few.
What sets this apart and which I appreciate is that the build-up to the betrayal. No single episode flashback to some traumatic event. It's slow and deliberate, in a good way.
Another thing to appreciate is that there are no episodes unrelated to the main story line, so you're never left sitting through a bunch of "random encounters" (to use an RPG term).
The characters will piss you off at times for being stupid, but for the most part they're good about saying either "I know this is stupid, but I'm going to do it anyways" or they reflect remorse over their choices eventually.
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1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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|
Carlo |
2007-11-09 03:36:11 |
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| A pretty good anime. I didn't find it brilliant, but I really liked it and watched it all in one super long sitting. My big problem with it is the first episode. I really didn't like the first episode, which I had watched several months ago and decided to skip this one until recommendations made me change my mind. The episode is pretty cheesy and it seemed like Gungrave was just going to be a badly written video game turned anime, but I was wrong. Starting in chapter two it becomes a very well done mafia story, which takes place in the past before episode one. This is the best part of the story. If you like mafia-type stuff, it's great to see it in anime. Unfortunately, we eventually return to episode one, which is the worst episode in the series. The transition from past to present is terrible. It gets better though. Fortunately, though, it gets good again quckly enough. Once Grave starts fighting bio-engineered mutant versions of his past mafia friends it gets pretty fun to watch even if its not as strong as the first half of the series.
Really, it would have been a near flawless anime if it wasn't for that very important episode 1 (and 18) that made the flow of the story so clunky.
I highly recommend skipping episode one and starting with episode two. Episode one is shown again as episode 18 so you won't miss anything. Still, I would recommend this anime to anyone.
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Sinai |
2007-10-10 02:02:14 |
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| There are an endless number of parallels you can draw in Gungrave to other stories you've seen before. I was going to compare it to The Count of Monte Cristo, or as anime fans may know it, Gankutsuo. The similarities are striking, and there are some useful analogies to be made.
And then I realized that I was entirely missing the point. Gungrave isn't about revenge or betrayal, and that very fact is what the central conflict the story revolves around.
I know this. Brandon knows this. And by god, the audience knows this. At no point are the character's motivations deeply hidden, mysterious, or any of that BS. Early on life, incredibly early on, every character of note has a crystallizing moment which tells them what the meaning of life is. And they're not afraid to tell anybody...the audience is flat out told by the character themselves what drives them at least half a dozen times.
And there's certainly no guessing game with the plot. Halfway through the first episode, you know for a fact that the linchpin of the story is the complete and utter betrayal of Harry MacDowell killing his best friend Brandon Heat. You know what happens. You know why it happens.
What's left to tell then, you might ask? Well, of course, the visceral thrill of a few fight scenes, but more importantly, the emotion. The tragedy. The could have beens.
And the stunning execution of this is more than enough to watch Gungrave in its entirety. Gungrave has more than it's share of flaws and mistakes in its production, but nowhere, absolutely nowhere have I seen the clash of ideology and humanity done better. Each major character pursues his ideology with a perfection that is awe-inspiring. Some falter, some do not. The truly haunting part, the question answered in the beginning and asked at the end, is that whether they sacrificed humanity for ideology, or ideology for humanity, it all ended in despair.
If Mika really and truly ever comprehends the burden put upon her shoulders, the vast weight from the knowledge that her life being the entire output of so much effort and suffering, I pity her. Even the tiny fragment she directly witnessed is a harsh cross to bear.
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5 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Before watching this anime, I have already received good reviews about it so I was already expecting a lot. Honestly, Im not into the mafia-gang genre but this anime changed my mind completely. At first I watched about 2 episodes a day until I got to episode 7 or something. Then I started watching as long as I can. This anime is addicting. The storyline isnt cliche. It isnt just full of gang wars and bloody fist fights. Its about the survival of the fittest and how being drunk with power can make a person shun love, friendship and humanity.
This anime is incredibly emotional. The story was well conveyed and the characters are unique and likeable.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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animeff |
(2007-05-04 12:02:53) 2007-04-28 17:30:14 |
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| based off a video game? impressive. gungrave was one of the best animes i've seen in a while. (redoing this review, can't penalize -1 animation for disliking bob's face, and adding more info)
i did not have the opportunity to watch this series straight through but i wish i could have. i watched the next episode at every chance i could. hooked from the start.
i wouldn't hesitate to show my non-anime-fan friends this. i'm that confident in it.
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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|
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Despite public opinion, this anime is not just Trigun, Noir, Berserk, or some other combnation of other animes. The reason why you'll see people making these comparisons is obvious, but don't let that potentially sway you away from this anime.
In watching the first episode, I almost turned off the series, because I wasn't looking for a sci-fi action series. But, in a similar fashion to Berserk, the first episode is towards the end, and then it goes back to the past for the second episode to tell the story of how this came to be. So, for the next 17 episodes or so, you are given an impressive story of the rise of two thugs through the world of the mafia. The ambitious Harry wishes to rise to the top of the ladder, in his quest for absolute freedom, and with him goes his best friend Brandon, who we know becomes the character "Grave". As we also know, there will be the coming betrayal of best friend, another similarity to Berserk (but then, many animes have the theme of best friends turning against each other), and from there, the following 8 episodes are so become a very different anime. To be honest, I actually liked this more than Berserk (the anime, rather than manga), quite possibly because it actually has a resolution. However, the science-fiction aspect was a little forced, and I think the strongest reason to get to the end when the story stops being about the mafia and more about semi-random monster battles is your ties to the characters. The story that you are told up until Brandon becomes Grave is definitely the best part of this series, and alone makes it worth watching. While it is somewhat of a clash of genres and might not fully satisfy you in the end, particularly when the character Mika, from the first episode, returns as a particularly whiny and annoying main character, it is definitely worth it for what comes beforehand.
Do not judge this anime on the first episode alone. Watch to at least the second, if not the third, before making a decision. Personally, I think you'll be pleased if you do.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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J Jacket |
(2007-03-19 17:54:24) 2007-03-16 11:53:10 |
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Mixing Trigun with the Godfather couldn't be any better.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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voltz |
(2007-03-02 13:19:07) 2007-02-17 11:44:59 |
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| This is a brilliant anime and one that will hold anyone. Number two after berserk IMO.
This isn't just one of those animes where every episode will be unrelated and a repetition of similar ideas and events etc. The story arc is continuous and follows two teenagers, initially just punks, as they go on to become important figures in a syndicate. Their respective characters and subsequently relationship and change as new possibilites arise. The storyline is touching and absorbing and the anime plunges deep into the hearts and minds of the characters; one of the very best. The characters have their strengths and flaws, and at some points, one can;t help but get emotional whilst watching!
It's about ambition, determination, friendship, morality, trust and betrayal. You'll get hooked and end up watching as many episodes as you can back to back. The action is cool as well.
The first episode would actually take place quite clost to the end when considered in the timeline of the anime, so don't get thrown off. In fact, after watching the first two or three episodes, one wonders as to how Harry and Brandon have become enemies (as depicted in the first episode),
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Sergio |
(2007-01-09 14:26:41) 2006-12-15 10:04:31 |
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| Average |
5.7 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Vaya, vi Gungrave y al fin me di cuenta porque tanta gente compara este anime con Berserk, pero bueno, revisemoslo en cada aspecto:
La animacion, nada del otro mundo, pero tampoco es muy mala, esta en un nivel aceptable, teniendo en cuenta que he visto series con mucho peor animacion como el primer stage de Initial D.
Las canciones no son nada especial, la verdad las canciones no son nada memorables, sobre todo la del horrendo opening sin inspiracion quer tiene la serie.
La historia para quienes no han visto Berserk tal vez se les haga muy buena, pero desgraciadamente vi Berserk primero y pues la verdad es como comparar el estiercol con el chocolate.
La razon es que usaron el planteamiento basico de Berserk, de la relacion de amistad y de odio de dos amigos y que la serie empieza casi desde el final, mostrando un protagonista cambiado por las heridas y la traicion de su amigo.
El argumento tiene un serio defecto y ocurre cuando al protagonista es revivido y combate a los "malos" a punta de pistola y poderes sobre-humanos. Digo, al principio parecia un anime medio decente de mafiosos y los buenos momentos de Harry y Brandon, pero luego en el ultimo tercio se transforma en un bodrio mucho peor que Spriggan, un tremendo agujero en la trama que no supieron tapar muy bien.
Ahora los protagonistas para nada son Gatsu y Griffith, no, Brandon Heat es casi un vegetal que apenas articula palabra alguna y que cuando es revivido utiliza un traje morado bastante ridiculo, comparable al de Lloyd Christmas en Dumb and Dumber (el traje con el sobrerote que usa cuando una anciana la roba sus cosas) y Harry es un simple maleante que traiciona a sus amigos sin razones en verdad convincentes.
Obviamente al estar tan inspirado en Berserk y ver que no supera a esta, no me quedaron ganas de volverla a ver, aunque el final me parecio bueno.
Al faltarle mucha originalidad y tomar mucho de otros animes y no tener un sello caracteristico, puede caer muy facilmente en el olvido con el paso del tiempo.
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0 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I thought the storyline was very good. I was pretty confused during the first episode, I saw was a killing machine and a bunch of white zombies battling for no apparent reason.
Eventually, the anime introduces the background of the characters and how the main character became a killing machine. Brandon Heat has a unsatiable thirst for revenge and a natural talent for killing for two reasons: from betrayal and practice.
The main character does have a sweet side for a girl.
The anime becomes a bit dramatic when it takes an unexpected betrayal occurs. Some of the characters are extremely short term, the minute you get too attached to a character his/her life ends.
The sound is one of the best features in the anime. The gunshots are really vivid and the voices fit the characters quite well.
Like most animes (most great), gungrave will give you a lasting impression.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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|
|
| Average |
9.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Gungrave is an incredibly smooth series that can be quite well described as sci-fi-noir.
It combines a Godfatheresque story with some interesting sci-fi themes and a healthy dose of gunfighting action and an inspiring jazzy musical score. You'll have to try very hard to find any flaws in this one.
Two thumbs up. Way up. Anyone that likes gangster series, gunfighting or sci-fi should definitely give this a go.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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corventus |
(2007-07-29 18:39:53) 2006-11-04 11:23:56 |
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| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Amazing anime. Everything is so well thought and proyected to the watcher. Gungrave is a surprasingly good anime because when you watch the first episode you think that its gonna be some psi-fi anime with some guy dressed like a dark cowboy, but the story is so much more complicated than that. The elements that Gungrave offer are: honor, mafia, gruesome monsters, very deep characters, moral value (in the mafia!? just watch the anime, you won't bealive it) and some awesome action, problebly more, I just can't recommend this one enough.
EDIT: after watching it again I decided to give it a perfect score. Why? cause the flaws aren´t really as harsh as I thought. One of the few anime I can watch more than once and that itself is marvelous!
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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petran79 |
(2007-11-30 06:38:12) 2006-09-15 14:39:39 |
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| Average |
5.0 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
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Before I decided to watch Gungrave I only knew that it was based on a mediocre video game, was about the mafia, had similarities with Berserk (though Berserk is fantasy, judging from the last manga volumes) and Noir and was one of the most popular animes.
Now I hesitate to watch animes based on videogames (but I like to play videogames based on animes a lot) and I dont plan to watch titles like Hack/Sign, Disgaea or Ragnarok. No matter how good Gungrave was some videogame elements appeared from time to time, especially in the action sequences in the last episodes. The hero has to face 4 arc-villains and in some short action scenes the result was very predictable. THe final episode didnt impress me that much either.
The past arc is rewatchable, though it doesnt reach the level of similar series or films and it looks kinda mediocre and improvised.
the action scenes are short and hardly spectacular. Noir was much better in that respect, combining them with amazing musical score. Instead here there are only some uninspired manouvres and shooting some Orcs and Superiors that reminded me that I should rewatch Ninja Scroll to see how that type of action should be appropriately executed.
Animation wasnt anything worth remembering. Coming from Madhouse I expected much better. Probably they wanted to keep some money to produce the video game's sequel. The design was a little better but something was wrong with the shadows and tones.
The musical score was listenable. The SFX werent as good as Noir. Could have been much better too.
As for the characters...Ignoring the fact that Brandon never talks (typical videogame feature, though he utters a few words even if I seriously doubt he talks in the video game) all the others were good concerning the voice actors. My favorite character and with a difference was Bunji. The voice actors were very good, I have to admit, but the characters themselves were just too uninspiring. Who would take characters seriously with names such as Balladbird Lee and Poundmax Bob. Later when something occurs to them their characterization turns to worse
For me Gungrave is overall an overrated title but perfect as a serious introductory anime. Expect to like it the first time, but rewatch value is very low since it is done to boost the games and its sequels sales mainly. It could have been much better if it wasnt that tightly connected to the videogame.
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0 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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