Gungrave Complete Series Review

Gungrave is a 26 episode TV series that spans 7 volumes from Geneon. Although it is set in the sixties mafia scene, the story is part crime drama, part supernatural and part sci-fi action as well as simply a fine feat of storytelling. Gungrave begins in their present, with a man known as Beyond the Grave, called Grave for short, protecting a young woman and fighting hordes of undead monsters. Then, in the second and subsequent episodes, we are taken back to Grave's youth when he was known as Brandon Heat, a stoic and loyal young man scraping his living with some treasured friends on the street. Tragedy strikes the group and Brandon, along with his best friend Harry MacDowel, decides to join the largest organized crime group, Millenion. From there, we watch during the first half of the series, all the events that build up to the pivotal moment where Brandon is betrayed by Harry, and killed by him. The second half of the story is about the outcome of that moment of betrayal and its fallout as Brandon is revived from the dead as Grave, an undead man Hell bent on avenging those he loved and protecting the few who remain. It all culminates into a powerful confrontation between the two old friends as they finally meet again face to face so many years later.

This is an amazing feat of storytelling. Although the main plot is powerful, it is the meaningful subplots about the supporting characters and who they, along with the choices both Brandon and Harry make over the years, weave together to form and inescapable fate for them all. Part mob story, at times it feels like a Western with duels and stoicism found usually in such a genre. Add in the supernatural and science fiction aspects it could have been a messy disaster, but instead Gungrave does an excellent job of blending the different aspects to form a character driven story about love, betrayal and loyalty. The cinematic animation is enthralling. The way they chose to animate the pivotal moment between Harry and Brandon had me on the edge of my seat, making the moment palpably tense with equal parts suspense and dread. With such high quality animation and strong storytelling, Gungrave is a must see for those of you who enjoy a more serious, character laden anime. It ranks 8.5/10 kendo swords.

Rating: Rated 16 and up for violence (both of the regular mob and undead mob variety) and language.

Release Information: All seven volumes of Gungrave are available now.