DVD Corner

Gungrave- The Complete Series Blu-ray Review

“Gungrave” had the potential to be better than it is.

In this 26 episode anime series, the story mainly revolves around Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowell. In the past, the two worked together as friends in a gang before eventually joining the Millennion criminal organization (think the mafia). Once they began working for Millennion, however, their friendship began to deterioriate and Harry beame power hungry. To no surprise, Harry winds up killing Brandon. You would think the story would end there, but it doesn’t. Cut to the future in which Brandon is back from the dead as a super soldier of sorts thanks to a Necro-Rise prokect that resurrects the dead. Now, Brandon (who has trouble remembering his past) is on path to seek revenge against those who wronged him and protect a young fugitive named Mika from the Millennion (which is now led by Harry). Other plots in the series (from the past and future) include Brandon’s romance with Maria, a war with the Lightning gang, the Necro-Rise project (and monsters emerging from Necro-Rise project), the Superiorization project, conflicts within Millennion, Millennion (and Harry) wanting the revived Gungrave dead.

While I appreciate the fact that “Gungrave” has a clear and concise story arc from start to finish, I can’t say it was told. Had the story focused entirely on the mafia elements, it might have been more engaging. As is, the story falls apart once the entirely forced supernatural Necro-Rise plot device is introduced. To me, the supernatural elements really distract from the overall story. It felt as if the writers were pandering to the audience by introducing monsters and undead characters into the story simply for the sake of action (which is entirely unnecessary).  

As for the mafia elements, it all felt a bit clichéd once it was over and done with. Granted, it was the most engaging part of the story, but it’s clear the writers just mixed a bit of Luc Besson films with “The Godfather” trilogy while throwing in your typical “former friends turned enemies” plot into the story. Basically, it’s a “been there, done that” plot that could have used a dose of originality.

Video/Audio:

The widescreen 1080i picture quality is not the best I’ve seen in terms of anime Blu-ray releases. I noticed lines on some scenes and I found the animation to look a bit bland at times. Only the colors really benefit from this hi-def release.

This set contains English and Japanese DTS-HD 5.1 audio tracks. The English track packs a punch during the action scenes, but the English dub is lousy voice acting wise. Also, I found the levels to be off. The dialogue sounds low while the action and music blast forth on the speakers. For me, the Japanese track is the way to go as the sound levels are consistent and the voice acting is superior.

Extras:
* Trailers for “Casshern Sins,” “TO,” “Ga-Rei-Zero,” “Trigun,” “Afro Samurai,” “Evangelion,” “Eden Of The East,” “RideBack,” “Noir,” “Samurai Champloo,” “Shiguri Death Frenzy,” and Funimation.com.
* Textless opening and closing songs.
* 10 promo videos.

August 15, 2011 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Gungrave- The Complete Series Blu-ray Review