Gungrave requires pimping.

[Wervyn]

Hello all you folks out there in TV land. Some of you may remember me as that guy who said some stuff back when Trigun was making its initial debut. Chances are, however, that most of you don't remember me at all, so hey, I'm Wervyn, I'm just getting this off my chest so I can go back to lurking.

The last time anyone said anything about Gungrave (vis-a-vis Adult Swim, anyway, it's seen some mention in the Video Games forum, in particular) was over two months ago, so I think I'm probably safe bringing this up again. Let it be known that back then Gungrave TV was relatively new, and some disparaging things were said about it. Let it be further known that the people who said these things are utterly wrong, and are probably communists as well. What I'm getting at is that ever since that one scene in the fairly recent episode 14, I have determined that this series needs a whole lot more exposure. Specifically, I must do everything in my power to get people who might be even remotely interested in this sort of thing...well, much more interested. Because quite simply, Gungrave is the most overlooked anime currently coming out of Japan, and I won't stand for it.
For the uninitiated, Gungrave chronicles the exploits of best friends Harry McDowel and Brandon Heat as they go from street punk nobodies to Mafia executives. Then Harry kills Brandon in a bid to assume control of the Syndicate, and the already pretty crappy world proceeds even further into hell. Some voodoo magic/technology later, Brandon is back as an undead ass-kicking machine bent on revenge. Got it? Now imagine that rather trite sounding story, except a billion times cooler. It's sort of like that Cowboy Bebop prequel we've always wanted to see, with Spike and Vicious as partners in the Red Dragon, except that Vicious is a smooth-talking blue-eyed charmer, Spike is a silent but effective killing machine instead of a sardonic, devil-may-care killing machine, and Julia...well, Maria fills approximately the same role.
So basically, I'm kickstarting a discussion about this series. That is, what is its suitability for Adult Swim in the future (for once, I don't think there are going to be any problems regarding an AS vs. Toonami debate here, but you never know), and how much you enjoy following it as it comes out (or how much you WOULD enjoy following it if you weren't such a moral, upstanding citizen). There you go. Now back to lurking.

"Posers, I was doing it before it was cool."

[bassist]

I'm am injured by your lack of compassion for women of the night and their trade...

And what's wrong with being a communist? They're not trying to force you to conform to them, and, unlike capitalists, they aren't trying to take your money and be better than you. In fact, commies want what's best for everyone, all at the same time.

You may want to edit that post to include spoilers where you discuss the plot. And be forewarned that there will be angry people screaming about you comparing anything to Bebop so positively.

As for discussing Gungrave, it's not on AS, so doesn't this belong in either the Anime or General Animation forums? EDIT: Good point. Question retracted.

[Tienshin]

As for discussing Gungrave, it's not on AS, so doesn't this belong in either the Anime or General Animation forums?

Actually the Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi thread is still on the front page is this forum, and the Last Exile thread went on for a quite a few pages and only in the last few days dropped to the second page, so I would say this thread is inbounds*.

As far as Gungrave, I have only read a few snippets about it here and there. But from all accounts that people have given me its pretty cool stuff. Interestingly enough, Geneon has pounced on the license, and if they move as quickly with this property as they did with Last Exile, the DVD's will be out later this year. After that I would guess Geneon would want to find a network for Gungrave shortly thereafter.

*Has no actual authority to say anything

[Wervyn]

I'm am injured by your lack of compassion for women of the night and their trade...

*Wervyn frantically searches over his post in the hopes of discovering what this might be referencing, but comes up empty.*

And what's wrong with being a communist? They're not trying to force you to conform to them, and, unlike capitalists, they aren't trying to take your money and be better than you. In fact, commies want what's best for everyone, all at the same time.

It's a joke, old soul. Of course, you knew that. And while we could get into a long discussion about the merits and flaws of Capitalism and Communism, I'm sure, this is neither the time nor the place.

You may want to edit that post to include spoilers where you discuss the plot.

I don't think that will be necessary, the short description of the plot I gave doesn't actually cover anything that isn't either plainly given to you in the first and second episodes, or fairly easily inferred from them. One of the neat things about the series is that you know, from the very beginning, that Harry is going to kill Brandon and Brandon is going to be back for revenge. It's watching them go from being some of the closest friends you'll ever see to that final state that has made the series fascinating so far. Of course, I'm certainly willing to discuss the spoilerific parts of the series, too, like when

Spoiler:

made you look, haha

or

Spoiler:

made you look again!

And be forewarned that there will be angry people screaming about you comparing anything to Bebop so positively.

Ironically, when I initially heard of Cowboy Bebop, ever so long ago, I automatically assumed that a series with such a ridiculous name couldn't possibly be worth watching. Now, of course, it's one of my top five. I'm glad I didn't repeat that mistake with Gungrave, making assumptions based on the game reviews. </tacit condescention.>

"Arrogant bigotry, or clever disguise?"

[TacoHunter]

Hey, is Kuroneko-sama in Gungrave?

[Wervyn]

No, while that would be charming and amusing, there's really no room in it for a gag element. Humor is something that is conspicuously absent in Gungrave, I think to its benefit. And when it is there, and it IS there at times, it always has a rather bitter edge to it.
Fear not, though, loyal Trigun fans, there are some subtle nods to Nightow's first big series here and there. I'm firmly attached to the notion that Gungrave takes place on a Gunsmoke of the distant future, despite the lack of hard evidence and several possible points to the contrary, and am constantly hoping to catch a glimpse of Vash in the back corner of a camera pan, getting sloshed at a bar.

"You have to say the character's full name in every episode, otherwise the viewers might get confused and forget who's being addressed."

[bassist]

*Wervyn frantically searches over his post in the hopes of discovering what this might be referencing, but comes up empty.*

It's the title... Pimping is such a derogatory term...

[Youko Recca]

It's the title... Pimping is such a derogatory term...

Hope this doesn't keep you up at night .I have yet to play or see this so I'll state opinions later.

[ohmrbill]

Everyone must have their sarcasm detector off today...

[Artimus Gigan]

Everyone must have their sarcasm detector off today...

That's not true, I never had mine on to begin with...

[thefncrow]

You may want to edit that post to include spoilers where you discuss the plot. And be forewarned that there will be angry people screaming about you comparing anything to Bebop so positively.

Well, the structure of the series really doesn't make any of these spoilers. Episode 1 is set in a future time, and then 2-17 follow what builds up to episode 1. So, when you're watching the show, you already know what's going to happen, thanks to episode 1, and what this all is going to wind up as. The outcome is predetermined, you know exactly what is going to occur, but not how.

I have to post here to give it some more props. This show is incredible. Episode 1, by itself seems pretty mediocre, but once you start picking up the story, if you go back, it makes a lot of sense and is a lot better. The series really hits its stride about episode 6, and just doesn't look back until episode 17. It might not work well on Adult Swim, though, seeing as how the show is really so serious all the way through. If you want comic relief, well, you're not going to find much of it here. This is a serious crime story, with some very cool characters, and some really nice gunfights.

Its a very good series, and is really not getting the hype that a series as good as this is should. I'd say a lot of this is due to the first episode, and how it seems like its another lame action anime in the same vein of Hellsing (supernatural creatures, lots of gunplay, and a story which is merely serviceable). However, if you can get past episode 1, you get a story which is just incredible, and I recommend it to anyone.