Gungave = Shojo? What is wrong with this world!?
Title: Gungrave
Summary:
For Brandon Heat, death doesn’t matter. Driven by his need for revenge, he returns from beyond the grave to cripple Milleneon, the huge mafia organization that uses undead monsters as its enforcers. His ultimate goal will be to destroy Harry MacDowel, the leader of Milleneon and, at one time, Brandon’s best friend…
I know this isn’t the usual type of anime I watch. I watch cute fluffy anime (well, that contradicts those opinions I’ve put on my blog about the other animes I’ve watched so far but it’s true). But the thing that got me to watch Gungrave was Brandon. I’m not going to lie people. I saw him and thought, damn that boy is hot! When I saw the series on sale on rightstuf, I grabbed it so I could have some quality time with Brandon XD
Now that I’ve creeped you all out thoroughly, on to my thoughts of the show!
If I had to say anything, this was like a shojo. Now before you guys go scream at me that your testosterone level is being threatened by my comparison, give me a second t explain. I say shojo because this anime was very emotional like one. I don’t mean Brandon is blushing 24/7 over his crush or watching a fireworks event alone in a classroom with said crush (that’s actually very disturbing to picture XD). What I mean is this anime hits every emotion possible: friendship, betrayal, loyalty, sadness, happiness, anger, etc. One minute you’ll be telling Harry to go die in a ditch, the next you’ll be smiling at the happy memories of the past that then make you sad because of what’s going to happen in the future. Even the ending is a tearjerker. I would have bawled at the ending had I not seen the video game ending. That helped placate me from turning into a snot dripping cry baby.
I found the characters to be fleshed out quite nicely. Of all the characters, naturally Brandon was my favorite. Not just because of his looks (but I’m not denying that was a major part XD) but also for who he was on the inside. He was very loyal to his friends and put them before him. Brandon never said much but that was okay for me (him being eye candy was definitely a good move). I liked the other characters too, both good and bad. Even Harry. Just a little. Not too much because of what he did to Brandon. Damn bastard.
Even though this anime is kind of old, the animation was pretty up to par. The only thing I didn’t like too much was Brandon/Grave’s fighting outfit. WTF. He looked like a fruity cowboy. I know some guys have no taste when it comes to fashion but come on Professor Tokioka. A cowboy outfit? Purple? Is there another reason there was never a Mrs Tokioka besides the fact Millennium was hunting you down (might explain why Grave was sometimes randomly naked in his…chair refill station thing…>_>).
Overall I enjoyed Gungrave greatly. It takes awhile – about 4-5 episodes – before things really start to suck you in. But if you endure the beginning, you’ll be most greatly rewarded…or so I think ;)
Spoils 