Gungrave
Publisher
Geneon / MVM
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
24 eps/25 minutes
Year
2003
Gungrave Volume 5: The Protector
By otaku_kei
15th May 06  It has been almost six months since the last volume of Gungrave hit the shelves, has the extended wait been worth it? So much has happened already in this show. The epic sweep across the rise and fall of the pivotal figures in the organised crime group Millenion is reminiscent of the backbiting and betrayals of all good gangster stories in popular culture. Brandon and Harry have gone from street punks, to the top tiers of the organisation before the bonds of loyalty were sundered by greed and betrayal. This has led to the sundering of friendships, and the complete reorganisation of the Millenion group. Brandon's death and resurrection through the necrolysation process has given birth to the undead force known as Beyond The Grave! And this now draws the show full circle to the opening episode where zombie vigilantes war with the Orgmen of Millenion... The fifth volume of Gungrave replays the events of the shows opening episode, as seen from the perspective of Mika, Maria's daughter. We find out about Maria's fate, and how Mika came to be under the protection of Dr. T and the resurrected Brandon. The plot then follows the events of the opening episode are all replayed, but this time with the added poignancy of just what it took to bring all these characters to this point. This show then moves on to what happens after Grave destroys the Orgmen in the graveyard. In the years that Brandon has slept in this state of suspended animation, Millenion have tightened their grip across the world through the use of the Orgmen and a new weapon: the Superiorised! With several of the board members of Millenion offering themselves up for this new process, Ballardbird Lee and Bob Poundmax find themselves on a collision course with their own doom! Gungrave certainly has taken its time getting into its stride. The opening volumes suffered from a lack of a central core with which to connect, but over time the characters have grown and developed and managed to get under the audiences skin in such a way that we know their wants, desires, ambitions and motivations. These characters have grown so much that even when committing the most despicable of acts you still end up rooting for some of these scumbags. Each character has their own story, each story then layering the whole series with relationships and connections that rival even the greatest of gangster tales. By the end of this volume you find yourself mourning the loss of characters no matter which side of the war that they find themselves on. For Nightow fan's amongst you though this latest volume of Gungrave gets to showcase more of his outlandish and grotesque designs. Nightow's design work on Trigun allowed him to give full vent to even the wildest of designs, and with the Superiorised Nightow gets to do it all over again. You may find these new designs suit you, but for some viewers out there the radical changes to the characters that have been Superiorised may be jarring. This latest volume has been well worth the wait, and has succeeded in reinvigorating a show that had been left on the shelf for a bit too long. Once again you will find yourself caught up in the Machiavallian intrigues of Bloody Harry's rule and the explosive action as Brandon Heat attempts to dismantle the organisation that he helped to put on top! For those of you who have kept the faith, it was not in vain. The only tragedy of this latest release is that I have now got to wait for the next volume.
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English Language 5.1; Japanese Language 5.1 & 2.0; English Language Subtitles; Production Art Gallery; MVM Trailers
Release information: OUT NOW
Notes: Gungrave continues to benefit from the quality and attention that MVM and Madman lavish on all their releases. A shame really that the extras are little more than filler material and add nothing to the quality of the disc.
-- otaku_kei 15th May 06
Gungrave Images  
|
