Line #18 Headscratchers/Gungrave


1	* Fancy cowboy outfit for Grave in anime and first game. In time of mortal life Brandon didn't show any habit of wearing fancy suits, so he wouldn't pick one for himself later, caring even less about fashion then ever. It also can be imagined that in second game Mika, being Grave's caregiver, can sew something fancy--but in anime and first game the only who could possibly do that outfit is Dr. T. And what just bugs me why an elderly scientist would ever use such style instead of something more practical.
2	** Some people have joked that "bad fashion sense" is another side effect of Necro-Rise. Or that Dr. T. is a fan of spaghetti westerns, and decided to dress Grave up for fun. Other than that, I dunno.
3	*** But I can understand crosses, at least in anime, Dr. T being The Atoner after all.
4	*** It's like a Tootsie Pop. The world may never know. And then people complained about Grave's O.D. costume being too "plain"...
5	*** Brandon [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic died for my sins]]? I'M SORRY BRANDON!
6	* What really bothered me was the revelation that [[spoiler: alien parasites were behind it all]]. I'm all for the series, but I was kinda hoping that it would be like Franchise/ResidentEvil (man-made viruses/bio-engineered viruses being a component of necro-rise). Did it just ''have'' to be [[spoiler: aliens]]?
7	** Well they weren't exactly subtle about it. The guidebook says that the Tower was there longer than anyone can remember, and implies that this isn't Earth. To this troper, that practically SCREAMED [[spoiler: aliens]].
8	* Not one really involving me, but a friend of a friend is bugged by Brandon's deadman name (Grave). "That's not a name, that's a sentence!" So my friend talks to me about it...and all I could really say was "...Because this is a Nightow series and it sounds cool?"
9	* Why does Brandon get called 'Beyond The Grave'? That name sounds so awkward. They never called him 'Gungrave'.
10	** Because that's not his name. This troper recalls Dr. T giving him the name 'Beyond The Grave' because his will to protect the ones he loves literally goes Beyond The Grave.
11	* If Juji is able to survive thanks to his meditation, why is he bursting in rage constantly?
12	** It's a breathing technique, not full meditation.
13	* Anime-wise, during the last episode, while Harry was yelling about Big Daddy 'stealing the most important thing in his life,' what exactly was he talking about? Granted, Harry was ranting and maybe I missed something, but that still confuses me.
14	** Brandon. Harry felt that Brandon had turned against him because of Big Daddy, thus he was forced to kill him. Not logical, but almost definitely what Harry had in mind.
15	*** Oh, well... That makes sense. Not sure how I missed that one. In retrospect, it might have been the different tenses in the sub and dub versions. ... So, does Brandon realize that Harry killed Big Daddy and Maria because of him?
16	* Big Daddy's portrayal in the anime is more that of a saint than a man who ran one of the most successful crime syndicates in town. It bothers me that Big Daddy is apparently absolved of the ruthless dealings necessary to become leader of the Mob, and make it a success, because he regrets his actions and Harry's are worse in comparison. Or can you really repent all the evil you've done while continuing to do it, just with rules about in-fighting and family-friendly picnics? Or, if he was basically a figurehead, does the fact that he's not actively running it make him innocent while he lives off ill-gotten gains and allows it to continue? ''The Godfather'' painted both Michael and Vito as family men, but made no bones about the fact that they were also murderers who were responsible for murderers. Their karmic deaths can thus be seen as a direct result of their criminal actions, no matter how noble their intentions; Big Daddy's death makes him look like an innocent victim of "Also, Harry's a bastard now. A ''crazy'' bastard."
17	** I think intentions are part of the mitigating factor. Harry was motivated purely by self-interest and power, Big Daddy was... vaguely interested in a greater good. Some modicum of order in an otherwise chaotic city. Someone's going to be on top, and people will die getting that person there. Someone relatively benign, not trying to stir anything up pretty much for the sake of stirring it up. Plus, we don't know the details to Big Daddy's rise to power. No matter how ruthless he had been, there's no way he was anywhere near as bad as Harry, who caused chaos and violence in order to move up, and when he reached the top he was pretty much a calming influence on the underworld. He certainly wasn't personally shipping out mutant freaks for the sake of starting wars. But still, good point. They gloss over what Big Daddy must've done, but I think most people will agree that it pales in comparison to Harry.
18	*** Short of the orgmen, Harry doesn't do anything that Big Daddy couldn't have and may well have done. Eliminate rivals? Par for the course. Absorb rivals? Ditto. Kill people? All in a day's work. Kill friends? Given the emphasis on the Code of Iron, and we ''see'' it being enforced, it's at least a possibility. Bioengineered zombie-men aside, the only "proof" we have that Big Daddy was a kinder criminal or that he was "good" for the city is the way he's framed. We only see Big Daddy ''after'' his ascent, and one of the points the anime makes is that becoming powerful makes you "legit": Compare the early-series gangs with Millenion. Big Daddy's uniting the Mob would have entailed Capone-era chaos, given how corrupt the city is/was and how other factions would have resisted; most of the conflict during Harry's tenure comes from other gangs and the Millenion splinter-group. If we're talking intentions, Big Daddy was at best practicing enlightened self-interest; he wanted to be at the top and so did Harry, both rationalizing that the city/Millenion would be better off if they led it. That said, the anime makes it clear that intentions don't matter as much as the result: Brandon ''intended'' to protect his friends, but wound up getting them killed. Harry ''intended'' to use Sherry, but wound up loving her. It comes down to "Big Daddy is the Ghandi of the Mafia and never did anything that a mob-boss would have to do" or "We don't ''see'' Big Daddy's climb, so take our word for it, he's basically Santa Claus." Harry's dealings with the orgmen may make him the darker out of the two, but I doubt it's as big a gap as the anime wants us to believe.

Context Headscratchers / Gungrave