Gungrave

With artistic designs provided by, Yasuhiro Nightow, also known for Trigun, with a soundtrack composed by Tsuneo Imahori, known for helping with Hajime No Ippo, Wolfs Rain, and Cowboy Bebop.

Gungrave.

Gungrave is two stories, an anime and a video game. In the first, released after the game, the story follows Grave, [a reanimated hitman out to right a great injustice]. The story jumps back a bit to introduce Grave's past as Brandon Heat, partner and friend to upcoming mobster Harry Macdowell, as their aspirations and connections with the criminal underworld begin to drive their friendship apart. The anime takes a decidedly more grounded, human approach, akin to a crime drama.

The video game was, suffice to say, decidedly more bombastic, hard-edged sci-fi. Taking place in a dark, urban fantasy world, the Syndicate, ruled by "Bloody Harry" has taken over the organization Millenion, and used its resources to produce incredible supersoldiers known as 'Orgmen'. The main character, Beyond the Grave, rescues a young girl named Mika Asagi, who bears a connection to Grave's past. Grave fights through old comrades and legions of mobsters until he comes face-to-face with Bloody Harry himself.

Both, I feel, were excellent. The anime had decent animation, not much movement, but when it was there, it counted, shadows were effective, a lot of quiet moments, the soundtrack phenomenal. It's more character-driven than the game, while the game was less heavy on drama and presented a much more straight-forward story (ie - Grave pursues Millenion's leader with the intention of putting a bullet in him, fighting through Harry's superpowered cult of personality along the way). The anime is lighter on the action, but the story, the character's and their motivations, their pasts, form a stronger narrative.

The game, unlike the anime, was followed by an even more chaotic sequel, Gungrave Overdose, which introduced sillier, if similarly tragic characters, Juji Kugashira and Rocketbilly Redcadillac. It's difficult to say which, if either, was the Darker and Edgier take between the anime, the game, and its sequel. Also notable is the obscene amount of Badass Mc Coolname from almost every character.

Long story short, this is an excuse to post this ending song, which is in my top 5 anime ending songs in existence.

If you haven't seen this on Funimation or Crunchyroll if it's there, give it a watch. 26 episodes you won't want back.

-gush, gushes more-

edited 28th Apr '16 11:35:58 PM by FOFD

The video game was back in the old PS 2' days. Still, incredibly stylish, and Nintendo Hard. Good luck finding a cop of it these days though.

edited 28th Apr '16 11:29:13 PM by FOFD

Lastly, Gungrave Overdose.

You can find used copies of both games for cheap prices on certain sites.

Which would you suggest to pick up first? Does Overdose give any spoilers for the anime or is it still in game continuity?