Gungrave (2003–2004)

Creator:

Yasuhiro Nightow

Stars:

Kirk Thornton, Beau Billingslea, Steve Blum

Cast

Series cast summary:
Kirk Thornton	...	Brandon Heat (23 episodes, 2003-2004)
Beau Billingslea	...	Bear Walken (16 episodes, 2003-2004)
Steve Blum	...	Ballardbird Lee (16 episodes, 2003-2004)
Lex Lang	...	"Mad Dog" Ladd Carabel (16 episodes, 2003-2004)
Michelle Ruff	...	Maria Asagi (15 episodes, 2003-2004)
William Knight	...	'Dr. T' Doctor Tokioka, Butler Tokioka (13 episodes, 2003-2004)
Tony Oliver	...	Harry MacDowel - 20's (12 episodes, 2003-2004)
Doug Stone	...	Alzac Tino (11 episodes, 2003-2004)
Michael McConnohie	...	Additional Voices (10 episodes, 2003-2004)

Storyline

---

Plot Keywords:

based on video game | twin handguns | grave | undead | crime family | 

---

Taglines:

Go Beyond the grave!

---

Genres:

Animation | Action | Crime | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

6 October 2003 (Japan)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Madhouse Studios, Project Gungrave, Red Entertainment

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Remake of Gungrave (2002)

User Reviews

An Anime that Reflects the Main Character

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.