Speed Grapher (スピードグラファー, Supiido Gurafaa) is a 2005 anime series, created by GONZO Digimation and Toei Animationnote , and with character designs by Yusuke Kozaki. The series ran for 24 episodes from April to October 2005. The series was licensed for release in North America by Funimation in 2006 and aired on IFC between March 7 and August 15, 2008.
It starts when the cynical and jaded Intrepid Reporter Tatsumi Saiga is sent to investigate a fetish club for the richest in Japan, whose "goddess" is a teenager named Kagura Tennouzou. She's an odd, waifish young girl with the power to give people super-powers coming from their desires, obsessions and fetishes; when she kisses Saiga during their first encounter, and right after his cover is blown so everyone is after his head, she grants him the power to destroy anything he takes a photo of, related to the sexual pleasure he gets from photographing something really interesting.
His curiosity piqued, Saiga decides to learn more about Kagura and her powers. When he does, he vows to free her from the Roppongi Club and the Tennouzu corrupt group, led by Kagura's ruthless mother Shinzen Tennouzu and her mysterious right-hand man Chouji Suitengu, who cruelly use the girl for their own purposes...
Speed Grapher contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents:
- Shinzen underfeeds, slaps, belittles, and pimps Kagura to Suitengu, as revenge because Kagura's father ran out on them when she was pregnant.
- Two people whom Suitengu deals with also abuse their kids. He even kills one of them when he offers his daughter as a sex slave for him, unknowingly angering Suitengu's.
- Miharu's Stage Mom contributed greatly to her being a cold assassin.
- Age-Gap Romance: Kagura is 15, Saiga is 33. Which is probably why they decide to wait five years before getting back together (seeing as the age of majority in Japan is 20, as opposed to 18 in most of the world).
- A God Am I: One of the minor Euphorics is a lightning-using priest with a god complex. He provides his (extravagant) church for Suitengu's wedding.
- All Men Are Perverts/All Women Are Lustful: A part of the premise, since the series deconstructs sexual liberation among other things.
- Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The Funimation release has Shutter Speed
instead of "Girls on Film". - Amazing Freaking Grace: Sung by someone who is very obviously not Kagura, in episode 5.
- In the dubbed version, Monica Rial sang it, while in the subbed version, another singer sang it.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: When Suitengu plans to marry Kagura as a contingency plan, one of his henchmen points out that marrying 15 year olds is against the law, and if he tries to file the application he'll probably be arrested. Suitengu replies that they'll simply fudge the date on her birth certificate.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Saiga to Kagura in episode 24.
- Bob also sort of declares his love for Saiga once or twice, though this is more for comedic effect.
- Anti-Villain: The Muggle majority make many of the villains seem pleasant by comparison. The ones who last longer over the course of series show a surprising decency.
- Chouji Suitengu is a HUGE bastard, but he genuinely cares for his henchmen and shows a softer spot for children since he thought his sister died. In any other series, Suitengu would probably be one of the heroes, considering his Start of Darkness and the fact that he wins in the end.
- Miharu, as well. She works for Suitengu and assassinates people, including an attempt on the main characters, but when the show delves beneath her exterior, she turns out to be rather sad and pitiful.
- Apocalypse How: Suitengu's plan succeeding results in a low-end version of the "Societal Disruption" variant. As shown in the Distant Finale, Japan has reverted back to a trade system hosted by medieval-style market places on account of the economy collapsing completely, but everyone seems to have adjusted to the change just fine.
- Asshole Victim: The Crapsack World theme provides a lot of these.
- Author Appeal: Several of the Euphorics have a One-Winged Angel form that incorporates spiders — probably to up the creepiness.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Saiga mostly faces hard-to-be-photographed Euphorians, but once he manages to do so...
- Badass Longcoat: Saiga himself, though he doesn't always wear one. Suitengu also rocks a nice white fur lined version.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Suitengu achieves his main goal of creating a worldwide depression, but it isn't a Downer Ending — life simply goes on, while Kagura and Saiga find happiness.
- Big Bad: Shinzen Tennouzu, the head of the Tennouzou Group and Roppongi Club, as well as the abusive mother of Kagura, who sends Chouji Suitengu and his minions to capture her after she escapes with Saiga. Until Suitengu kills her and eventually reveals he has a much grander plan in motion that he used her for- mainly, to bankrupt Japan and eliminate the corrupt upper class, especially Prime Minister Kamiya who drove him to it in the first place. And he wins, freeing Japan from the evils of greed.
- Blessed with Suck: Saiga's superpower make everything he photographs explode, keeping him from following his passion for photography. And in the end, it renders him blind.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: The Villain Balls start rolling beyond the story's ability to steer them or their ability to drive the story, leaving it behind.
- Break the Cutie: Kagura. It can be said, to a degree, a full-blown Break the Cutie process that finished in a Despair Event Horizon is what made Shinzen the horrifying person she is.
- Capitalism Is Bad: Every character with a decent amount of wealth is a corrupt power-abuser who cares more about money than anything else in the world, several characters give speeches about how money corrupts and kills people and causes wars, many of the Dark And Troubled Pasts involves greed in some way, and to top it off, in the end Suitengu destroys nearly all of Japan’s money, ruining the current and bankrupting the whole country, which will have a negative effect on the world’s economy, and this is portrayed as a good thing.
- Catchphrase: Ginza's "Self-defense!" She stops using it after her boss uses the same phrase while attempting to cut off her legs.
- Child Soldiers: Suitengu started as one of these.
- The Chikan: A guy grabs Kagura's ass on the subway, though she just giggles and thinks the guy was just "tickling" her, and didn't realize the guy was a pervert until Saiga told her afterwards.
- Chrome Champion: Madame Kouganei can change into diamonds.
- Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends: Ginza hooks up with Dr. Ryougoku in the end.
- Clip Show: Episode 16. An internal audit illustrates the club's profits and losses over the course of the series.
- Cool Car: From Saiga's Maserati Shamal and Ginza's Maserati 3200 to Suitengu's Pagani Zonda.
- Corporate Conspiracy: An interesting example of an ideological Corporate Conspiracy. As part of his plot to take down Japan's upper class, Suitengu uses the Tenogu corporation to contaminate products with the Euphoric Virus, causing the murder rate to skyrocket.
- Corrupt Bureaucrat: Seemingly every single person in the Japanese government and from what is shown/implied of other countries — possibly all politicians — see Crapsack World.
- Crapsack World: Literally everyone in the series with any power or fame belongs to the secretive Roppongi Club. Almost everyone in the series is bought off or blackmailed by the Club.
- A broader description would include the severe corruption of the police, the ability of the wealthy to literally get away with murder (and with ease, too), and the fact that lives are essentially bought and sold on a regular basis. And a constant statement is that only those with money are truly free in this society.
- Creepy Ballet: 'The Rubber Gimp', a ballet dancer who became obsessed with being flexible. He became so unhinged, that he broke a little girl's arm for 'being too stiff'.
- Cursed with Awesome: Most Euphorics rather enjoy their superpowers, usually not minding the downsides. As the Euphoric virus physically manifests a person's fetishes, and most of the Euphorics weren't nice people to begin with, this makes perfect sense.
- Deconstruction: Heavy deconstruction of the ideas of sexual freedom and fetishism, among other themes.
- Depraved Dentist: With drills and other dentistry devices as his power, even.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Loads and loads of this in a Crapsack World where a debtor can be shot for being a few thousand yen short, or even less. In one of the early episodes, a man is hanged for being ten yen short of his 300 million yen membership fees to the Roppongi Club.
- Distant Finale: As the credits roll, there's an epilogue set 5 years after the ending that brings us up to date on the fates of both major and minor characters.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Given that Euphoric powers are tied to sexual desire, it's kind of interesting that Saiga eventually goes blind from using his too often.
- The Dragon: Tsujido, to Suitengu. Suitengu himself, to Shinzen, at least until he's forced to kill her.
- Dressed All in Rubber: Katsuya Shirogane's body becomes a rubber gimp suit when he kills people.
- Eagleland: Major type two. America launches missiles at Tokyo at the end of the series to kill Suitengu, who is "evidence" of the biological weapon experimentation program of which America had a part in sponsoring. Judging by the accent, the President is definitely George W. Bush.
- Only in the dub, though, which would mean that any connection to George Bush is more likely the result of the American dubbing company than the Japanese production company. In the original Japanese version, the American politicians speak their lines in English, but use Japanese voice actors to do so. Their accents, therefore, are impossible to link to any real-life US politicians.
- Ending Theme: The softly incredible (1st) ending theme evokes lounging in bed with your lover on a Sunday morning.
- Evil Debt Collector: Suitengu and his minions were the victims of them in the past, but also act the part themselves to anyone who is in debt after enjoying the Roppongi Club.
- Evil Versus Evil: Suitengu against some of the leaders of Parliament including the Prime Minister himself.
- Eye Scream: At the end you just see blood gushing from Saiga's eyes, and afterwards they're closed or covered by sunglasses; which would imply that his eyes exploded.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom: Used to cover Saiga's escape the first time he enters the secret circle.
- Fan Disservice: Considering the source, this is to be expected...
- This is series that can even successfully show a Girl on Girl Is Hot scene with both parties being attractive, yet it still comes off as horrifying and depraved due to the context while still being played totally straight.
- Fast-Forward to Reunion: At the end of the series, Kagura, now an adult, comes back to Saiga and embraces him.
- Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: No doubts. Genetic engineering is what created both the Euphoria Virus and the Euphoria Catalyst present in Kagura's body.
- Going for the Big Scoop: Had Saiga not snuck into the club, he would not have Suitengu and his people after his ass indeed.
- Good Wings, Evil Wings: Suitengu has evil ones, produced by using his Bloody Murder power.
- Guns Akimbo: Ginza Hibari wields two gold-plated handguns.
- Guns Are Worthless: Due to superpowers and Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy. Even Hibari comes down with A-Team Firing a few times.
- Healing Factor: Part and parcel of being a Euphoric is that the body can regenerate any damage taken to it... so long as the brain is intact, as the virus is controlled by subconscious impulses from the brain.
- The Hedonist: Every single member of the Roppongi Club and most Euphorics, in both cases to the most despicable extreme possible save for very few exceptions.
- Hookers and Blow: Members of the Roppongi Club are often shown with women draped over them, who they are generally abusing in some way. One episode shows Makabe and Niihari partaking in this to celebrate, but without the abusive part (again, this is a series where the major villains are more likable than minor ones).
- Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Ginza. "SELF DEFENSE!" BANG! She gets better.
- Hollywood Density: Suitengu gives Tsujido, Makabe, Kokubunji and Niihari suitcases full of gold.
- Honor Before Reason: Saiga is willing to do anything to free Kagura, despite clearly knowing it'll bring him nothing but Hell.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Saiga.
- I Gave My Word: People tell him repeatedly to give up, but Saiga will stop at nothing to give Kagura her freedom.
- Also, the reason why a BSOD-ing Ginza didn't kill Kagura despite clearly wanting to do so in the end is because Saiga asked her to save Kagura.
- Intrepid Reporter: Saiga, just Saiga.
- I Owe You My Life: Tsujido, Makado and Niihari were rescued from slavery and torture by Suitengu. Also, Saiga owes his life to Kagura and her Kiss of Death. Much earlier, Saiga believes a certain music box melody saved his life on a battleground he got trapped in. Turns out it was Suitengu's.
- Improbable Weapon User: A normal photographic camera becomes lethal once Saiga takes a hold of it.
- Karma Houdini:
- Ginza. The fact that she betrayed Kagura back to her mother and Suitengu then threw Saiga in jail after raping him is never mentioned or acted on afterwords.
- You could also count Niihari, since thanks to Suitengu's machinations, he ends up as possibly the wealthiest person in Japan. This isn't a case where the audience feels that bad, since the character is sort of sympathetic. Not to mention, his end goal is to build a monument to honor his dead friends and savior, which is rather noble. The methods he's shown to accomplish this, however... not so much.
- Kiss of Death: If Kagura kisses you and you don't have the Euphoria virus, you're as good as dead.
- Level-Up Fill-Up: Saiga got one when he received the Euphoria factor from Kagura.
- MacGuffin Super-Person: Kagura, the daughter of a supermodel-turned-financial-superpower, can also turn people's fantasies to real superpowers with her kiss. The entire series is about rescuing her from her family, and then from Suitengu.
- Mad Artist: Saiga, to an extent. The dentist from Episode 8 is seen carving a tiny statue out of Kagura's molar.
- Made of Diamond: A literal example with Madame Kouganei from episodes 5-6.
- Made of Iron: Euphorics in general seem to get a major toughness boost, even accounting for their Healing Factor. For example, when facing off against a Euphoric dentist, Saiga gets multiple drills straight through either arm, and is still able to activate a specially prepared camera to blow him to pieces. They do feel pain, but their susceptibility to it seems to go down the longer they are infected.
- Magical Camera: Saiga has a power that lets him blow up anything he shoots with his camera, although the magic is in himself rather than the object.
- May Contain Evil: Suitengu used the Tennuozu MegaCorp to distribute products that contained a chemical that would lower people's inhibitions, making them more violent.
- Money to Burn: Suitengu smokes cigarettes wrapped in 10,000 Yen (~$100) bills — chain smokes, and has a habit of tossing one aside half finished and lighting another one.
- Monster of the Week: A new Euphoric pops up every few episodes, and is dealt with just as quickly. Surprisingly, this keeps the story moving at a good pace. Plus, all Euphorics are elite members of the Roppongi Club, and so they're being deliberately contracted to kill Saiga and recover Kagura.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Ginza admits she'd love to kill Kagura. She doesn't go through with it.
- Nasty Party: In the final episode, Suitengu invites a bunch of particularly important, and corrupt people to the Roppongi Club and then blows it up with them inside.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Euphorics are pretty tough to begin with, but if a Euphoric's power involves heavily manipulating the makeup of their body, then they become all the tougher. They will still die if their brain is pulverised or their head removed, but one needs to account for their flesh and bone being replaced by, say, rubber or diamond.
- No Endor Holocaust: Suitengu's master plan concludes with him effectively collapsing Japan's economy. Despite the massive fallout such an event should've had, Japan in the epilogue is shown having rebuilt just fine with no mention of the suffering the economic collapse logically should've caused.
- No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine: Kamiya offers this to Kagura.
- No Range Like Point-Blank Range: "If the picture isn't good enough, you're not close enough!"
- The Nose Knows: Tsujido's primary ability, part of turning into a big wolf monster.
- Not So Stoic: One of the otherwise stoic mooks hunting Kagura covers his ears and trembles when the crazy dentist is killing a girl in the next room.
- Nostalgic Music Box: Frequently played by Suitengu.
- Not Allowed to Grow Up: Kagura, who's injected with a strange substance that stunts her growth on a regular basis. As of age 15, she still hasn't had her first period.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Ginza's diminutive, cowardly, and kind-of-perverted boss turns out to be The Mole for the villains, is one of the evilest characters in the series, and has a fetish for women's legs that he pursues by cutting off with a chainsaw - including the legs of his wife and daughter.
- Obfuscating Disability: Suitengu spends a short time pretending to be wheelchair-bound after Shinzen shoots him in both knees. He drops the act at his earliest opportunity, as it annoyed him to act so confined.
- Ominous Pipe Organ: The wedding theme is Toccata and Fugue in D minor.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Dr. Nishiya compares having the Euphoric virus to being a vampire — especially the modern kind, wherein vampirism is actually given a scientific explanation. Like vampires, euphorics have some impressive benefits to their powers, but also some quite negative drawbacks. Also true, but unmentioned, is how both exhibit the Interplay of Sex and Violence.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: As shown in the final episode, Tsujido's full euphoric form involves turning into a wolf.
- Pet Homosexual: Bob, Saiga's friend and neighbor, who also is one of the few completely decent people in the series, doubling as Saiga's Only Sane Man friend, which Saiga does appreciate (though not romantically).
- Pet the Dog: Believe it or not, Shinzen can be very kind and sweet to her mentor Goutokuji...
- Suitengu's pardoning of the father of the girl who offered to pay his debt with play money. Killing the guy when he offers to sell his own daughter is both this and Pay Evil unto Evil.
- Playing with Syringes: The source of Suitengu's powers. Also includes a Bloodbath Villain Origin when people try to cover up the experiments by shooting at the tank he was stored in in Weapon X style.
- Power Perversion Potential: Played with, invoked and inverted. In essence, Euphorics gain superpowers because of their perversions, and specifically based on their perversions.
- Prime Minister Evil: And how!
- Punch-Clock Villain: Tsujido, Makado and Niihari. They're not evil per se, just owe their lives and freedom to Suitengu.
- Psycho for Hire: Suitengu and several of the Euphoria.
- Rabid Cop: Ginza, a rare female example.
- Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain: Euphorics can take a hit, but they die if their head is removed.
- Replacement Goldfish: Suitengu sees Kagura as a replacement for his dead little sister, Yui. Saiga lampshades the trope when he directly asks this question in the Grand Finale.
- Re-Release Soundtrack: Due to royalty/distribution issues, the intro removed Duran Duran's "Girls on Film" in the American and European releases and replaced it with an instrumental track.
- Running Gag: Tsujido does lose a car at least once an episode.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: Suitengu and Ran Yurigaoka.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Many of the corrupt officials do this.
- At the upper echelons of the Tennouzu Group and clientele, this combines with Screw the Rules, I Have Connections! and Screw the Rules, I Make Them!. Saiga is naturally stuck with every inversion up to Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!.
- Self-Defense Ruse: Played with. Hibari Ginza is a Rabid Cop who loves to hurt criminals, and her personal Catchphrase is to say "self-defense" as she shoots/punches/stabs them, even if there is no way in heck the circumstances would allow her to claim such a thing (like being in a room full of fellow cops). She still never ends up dealing with any consequences to said Police Brutality at any point of the series.
- Sex Is Evil: Well, fetishes are evil. The series seems to be on the fence about whether vanilla sex is bad, but if you've got a sexual fetish of any sort, even one that sounds utterly harmless (diamond fetish, tattoo fetish), you're going to do horrible, horrible things to satisfy it. This is part of an overall anti-perversion moral, hammered home brutally. Saiga, and to a lesser extent Tsujido and Suitengu, appear to be inured.
- Sex Magic: Subverted. Kagura Tennozu has to be chaste and pure to develop Euphoria virus/powers as "The Goddess". During the time she's a captive of Suitengu and the Tennozu Group (before and after being rescued by Saiga), she's given chemical substances to delay her growth and postpone her first menstruation, which will result in the loss of her powers (presumably because once puberty happens she'll have sex).
- Shadow Archetype: Suitengu has some of this in relation to Saiga, as both have very similar perspectives on the world; they just act on them very differently, and have an even closer bond in sharing a Meta Origin ( both contracted the virus allowing them to become Euphorics on the same island — Saiga as a photographer; Suitengu as a young soldier). There's also Ochiai, who was someone Saiga considered an inspiration, but turns out to be evil, a fellow Euphoric, and keeps pulling a "Not So Different" Remark on Saiga during their fight.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Saiga has to do this occasionally, though more often than not he just ignores the people implying he's with Kagura.
- Shout-Out: To Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. Compare the orgy scenes and the outfits of those who partake in them.
- Sinister Minister: The priest marrying Kagura and Suitengu is a lightning-using Euphoric with a god complex.
- Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace: Kagura tries that when Shinzen is about to marry Suitengu. It does not work.
- Pulled off successfully by Saiga a few episodes later when Suitengu tries to marry Kagura, with the help of a few cameras... Though it didn't do much good other than getting her away from Suitengu as the paperwork required for marriage was already done before the ceremony. So Suitengu actually succeeded in the marriage.
- Spit-Trail Kiss: When Kagura kisses Saiga in the first episode.
- Split Personality: Kagura seems to have no recollection of her acts as the "Divine Goddess", except in her nightmares.
- Spoiler Opening: Quick clips that give more than foreshadowing view of the episode's action.
- Stalker with a Crush: Ginza.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Saiga's power is to get whatever he takes a picture of to blow up.
- Tears of Blood: Saiga, during his last fight with Suitengu.
- The victims of Seiji Ochiai and his sound manipulation power.
- Suitengu, when he Mercy Kills Yui.
- Techno Babble: Gisha-sensei was enthusiastic.
- Terrible Trio: Tsujido, Makabe and Niihari fit the personality and physical requirements for one. And they would be a full-fledged TR, were this series a comedy... but since it's NOT, they're competent and a genuine threat to Saiga and Kagura for most of the series.
- Thanatos Gambit: Suitengu knew he didn't have long to live and planned on his complex being destroyed with himself inside. Also in the complex is tons of money and investments, and since there's been lots of shady deals by powerful people, destroying the building means destroying Japan's economy and subsequently inducing a massive financial crisis, and this happens exactly according to plan.
- The Virus: The Euphoria virus.
- This Is a Drill: Dr. Mizunokuchi of episode 8.
- Transformation Horror: Saiga, Suitengu and Tsujido are the only ones that don’t go bonkers when they use their powers.
- Unflinching Walk: Saiga away from Ginza shooting at him. Granted, she was having a hard time bringing herself to hit him.
- Weapons of Their Trade: Saiga is a former war photographer who now worked in a gossip magazine, but always being loyal to his camera. When he got powers from the Euphoria virus, his camera now becomes his Weapon of Mass Destruction, blowing up the whole place where he shoots a picture.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Miharu.
- Wife Husbandry: Kagura suffers this. More deliberate in Suitengu's case, but the plan gradually grows on Saiga.
- Wing Shield: Suitengu uses his blood wings to block bullets.
- Woman Scorned: The true reason (aside from jealousy) why Shinzen is so cruel to Kagura is because she has believed for at least 15 years that her husband and Kagura's father, Dr. Kazuki Odawara, abandoned her right after their marriage, when she was still pregnant with Kagura. It turns out she was wrong. The guy was late, and then died days later, though it's ambiguous if he was murdered or if he committed suicide over the fact he didn't make it in time.
- Which she learned just as she was dying, causing her to leave the world regretting pretty much everything, especially how she'd treated her only child.
- Word Salad Title
- Xanatos Gambit: Suitengu's marriage ceremony with Kagura. The paperwork was already completed and so there was no point if someone interupted it. If someone did, then he could justify any protective brotherly feelings for his Replacement Goldfish. If someone did, then he wouldn't feel bad losing her to that person. Considering that he deliberately spares Saiga at the end, the latter may be the case.
- You Are Too Late: The Well-Intentioned Extremist variation- while Saiga manages to prevent Suitengu from killing Kagura (or at least talks him out of it), he fails to stop Suitengu from killing the movers and shakers of Japanese society and literally blowing up the world economy — but both are treated as a good thing. Also worth noting is that Saiga only lives because Suitengu decided to save his life before carrying out his Thanatos Gambit.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The diamond lady. The henchmen had clearly seen what a liability her demand for diamonds had been, and so were unsurprised by the execution order.
- You Killed My Father: The Group generally preemptively addresses this by paying off the survivors. Suitengu personally advises a boy whose father had failed a payment deadline on how he should go about holding up his end of the Prepare to Die part.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Saiga only has six months to help Kagura before she dies of her illness. And even less, with everyone chasing after them.
