A better tomorrow

// Synopsis: Two best friends start off as low level punks who rise to the top of a mob empire only to be divided by betrayal.

// Review: This anime is split into two halves: a flashback of Brandon and Harry starting off as simple and carefree thugs who quickly ascend to the peak of the Millenium organization, and Harry’s descent when Brandon returns from the dead to kill him. It’s quickly obvious that the production studio is the same that put out Trigun because of the animation (which is sloppy and lowly detailed), down to the monologue opening each episode.

/ The premise of the title Gun Grave is that first there is a lot of gun play in the latter half of the series; like Chow Yun Fat lots of gun play. And Grave because that’s Brandon’s new name when he returns from beyond the grave to seek revenge against Harry who killed Brandon and everyone he loved.

/ The story is very basic and plain. Not a whole lot happens. But the time in each episode is invested in tons of character development and shooting. By the end you have a sense that even the peripheral characters are whole and that you have a understanding of every single one of them. It was refreshing but at the same time lacked balance with plot, making it often plodding even though there was plenty of action. It gets bogged down by all of the female characters, who are naive, helpless, and think they are helping by putting themselves in harm’s way. I’m talking about Mika, the 13 year old girl who falls in love with Brandon (who was also her mother’s ex-love). Even Brandon’s character is a little annoying. They make him out to be the strong silent type, but that usually means not talking much rather than not talking at all. In the end you realize that the anime wasn’t about revenge, ambition, or the ideal of Millenium, but that Brandon and Harry realize that their greatest value was their friendship with each other.

/ Except for a couple of characters the dubbed voice acting was excellent. For anime veterans most of the voices will be recognizable. The action sequences were stylish, and the sound track had a cool jazz theme. But like I mentioned earlier, the animation is sub-par.

// Wrap up: Pretty much an artsy shooter anime. Lack of a good plot and crummy visuals held it back. But still a decent watch because of the characters.

Entertainment rating: 3