Ani-Mania: ‘Gungrave’ Revisited

Death doesn’t matter. Only revenge…

Back from the grave, and back from the oblivion so many Geneon titles were consigned to, Gungrave comes to us this week, courtesy of Funimation, in an all new complete collection. The series is from Yasuhiro Nightow, who was also the original creator of Trigun, and it explores many of the same themes, but with a much darker twist.

The beginning of the story is a jarringly bumpy ride, in which we meet Brandon Heat — or rather, the man who used to be Brandon Heat — until he died. He has since been brought back, and goes by a new name: Grave, as in “Beyond The Grave”. At least, that’s what the creepy old mad scientist tells us. Then Grave goes for a walk, some monsters show up, and the shooting begins.

From there, the series begins for the second time, and we get an amazingly deep back story on how Brandon came to find himself in this strange condition. This part of the story is pure crime drama, and very well done, too. It delves into how Brandon and his best friend, Harry MacDowel, went from being small time street punks to joining the mafia, eventually becoming more and more estranged as their paths in the criminal organization lead them further and further apart.

Although the series is relatively recent, being first released in 2003, Gungrave reminds me of a much older time in anime. Shows like this used to be the norm, and if you’re a fan of old school anime, Gungrave has it all: the emotionless, badass hero, complete with tragic past, lost love, catchy name, signature trademark weapons (the Ceruberus pistols) and a coffin full of guns, thrown in for good measure. There’s the mysterious organization, a damsel in distress, some random undead monster things — the list goes on.

This is the kind of stuff that lots of shows will make nods to, sometimes as an homage, other times as parody. Either way, in an era ruled by genre and convention, Gungrave is an original, and it feels vintage. Another place where this series excels is the story and character development. A lot of times, much of a story isn’t actually told, so much as implied or suggested. While there’s nothing wrong with that style, Gungrave is to be commended for actually investing the time to show these things. It makes for slow pacing that at times can feel a bit heavy, even ponderous — but the payoff is that when a major, or sometimes even a minor plot point is revealed, it has that much more impact because whatever the characters go through, the audience is going through it with them.

If you’re a fan of Trigun, you’ll find much to recognize here. Brandon/Grave comes across a lot like a darker version of Vash the Stampede. While he was never as happy go lucky as Vash, he has that same sense of duality, in this case divided between his former life and his slow but steady descent into crime and madness.

In his life before voicing Brandon Heat, Kirk Thornton (credited as Ron Allen) was also the voice of Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho. He would go on to play the part of another stoic badass: Jin, from Samurai Champloo. Abe Lasser (Wolf’s Rain) plays the older Harry MacDowel, while Tony Oliver (Fate/stay night) gives voice to the younger version of Harry. Michael McConnohie (Vampire Hunter D) turns in a handful of performances Deed, Scott, and the aging crime lord, Big Daddy.

Gungrave comes on seven discs, in the standard thin pack, and was scheduled for release earlier this week. If you like older style action, or find yourself in the mood for a weighty tale with some serious plot, check this series out.

That’s all for now. If you’re in the St. Louis area, don’t forget that this weekend is Natsucon, with special guests Chris Patton and Christina Vee. The website for the convention is www.natsucon.org. Look for a con report, and more reviews coming up next week.