Gungrave
Publisher
Geneon / MVM
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
24 eps/25 minutes
Year
2003
Gungrave Volume 2: The Sweeper
By otaku_kei
18th Jun 05  Having side-stepped the horror aspect of this title to focus upon the mafia story that is clearly the core of this show. When we left Brandon and Harry at the end of volume 1, they had just been accepted into the criminal group - Millenion. Picking up right where that left off, we find out just how this new turn of events is affecting this partnership. With Brandon using his physical talents to collect money for some of Millenion's loan sharks, whilst Harry is moving into the money-laundering branch of Millenion's operations. Splitting up our two central characters already shows that these two have very separate destinies ahead of them. As with all gangster movies/shows there are certain conventions that seem to be necessary to live up to and Gungrave hits them all. Yes there are the grizzled older mob members with hearts of gold (looking after your old age ma is a certain sign), or the mouthy, twitchy mobsters who speak at a million miles per hour. The head of the family is a nice enough guy who is only mixed up in crime to protect those he cares for, yet fiercely upholds the family code of honour and silence. Given that this disc covers a time period of five years we get to see how Brandon and Harry take on the values of this organisation. The already marked difference between the dangerously ambitious Harry, and the quiet Brandon allow for the foreshadowing that we know will end in tragedy for these two friends. This disc also expands upon the roles of certain members of the Millenion group such as Bear one of the strongmen of the organisation. By divulging the background to some of these vicious men we get to see mirrored in the old guard of Millenion some of the energy and actions of our central characters, as well as exposing as false the young bloods idea that they are bringing something new to the organisation. Harry and his compatriots are simply following a path that has been travelled before, and being hardened by their choices. This volume delivers a lot in terms of plotline, and yet never once slackens the pace that has made it so successful. For everyone who watched volume 1 we all know where this title is going, but that only adds to the tragedy that we can see unfolding. Sure some of these characters are despicable and yet knowing how some of their lives will turn out the viewer is drawn to them all the more, as we know our time is limited to try to understand these men. Once again of course the quality standard of this show is fantastic, and has clearly been a labour of love for the animation team as well as the writers. There is no lazy animation in this show, and the brooding long shots just lend itself to the dark direction that this show is set to take. But whilst this show is delivering a successful gangster yarn, it is almost too much to know that this is going to return to a horror/monster show. This volume certainly has made me think better of this show as it is focussing more on the characters (even if Brandon does remain an emotional vacuum), and I am looking forward to see how these characters are going to fall apart over the coming volumes.
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English Language 2.0; Japanese Language 2.0; English Subtitles; Production Art Gallery; Video Game Promo; MVM Trailers
Release information: OUT NOW
Notes: Once again visual and audio quality is top-notch, as has come to be expected of MVM releases nowadays. The extras are an amusing diversion but still are far too weak but add nothing to your enjoyment of this title. This though is no fault to MVM or Madman as they can only license extras that are available.
-- otaku_kei 18th Jun 05
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