MovieChat Forums > Gangureivu (2004) Discussion > How did you meet the show? (Spoilers all...

How did you meet the show? (Spoilers allowed, be aware)

posted 18 years ago by helios_eclipsed
26 replies | jump to latest

I'm just fishing for a good discussion here, but also to tell the funny story of how I was introduced to the show. Feel free to share any thoughts at all in this thread :)

I had only heard of this show by name, and knew nothing about it. A 20 second clip I caught once indicated it had something to do with the mafia, and there were guns, just to confirm the validity of the "Gun" in "Gungrave." The first part I really watched, I thought, hey, some skill went into the production of this show. It turns out that it was the episode in which Harry kills Brandon. The next one I caught turned out to be the second half of the last episode, where Grave sees all his dead friends. Even without knowing who they were at all, I could still figure certain things out, and the way it was made, with Graves' shifting perspective, seeing the younger and older versions of Harry, really impressed me. Of course, these were the best parts of the entire series, but watching the rest really made them better, and there certainly were other worthy scenes as well.

I'm curious to hear other such stories, or to find out how some people ran into this show at all. I'm not a huge anime fan, and have only gotten into a few series. I wonder how other people who may not have seen any other shows might hae run into this. Also, I have recommendations for people who might like to try new things like this, and I am interested in hearing any you might have! Hope to have some replies!

"...and everything under the Sun is in tune, but the Sun is Eclipsed by the Moon...." -DSotM.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] helios_eclipsed 18 years ago

Oh, I'm on top of the Bebop front, no worries. That was my first, but you're right, it's atypical of a lot of anime. So it's hard to tell what series are worth checking out. Just glad I gave this one a shot.

Only other one I've liked as much was Neon Genesis Evangelion, though of course for completely different reasons, as it's a very different show.

"...and everything under the Sun is in tune, but the Sun is Eclipsed by the Moon...." -DSotM.

[–] freefall79 17 years ago

I got the first disc last year as part of a box set of 10 dvd's of 10 anime shows like techolyse and habiana remnai the first disc only. and after watching all the others i finally saw this and was amazed, never having seen the game i thought the anime and i'm on disc 4 now where the big transition occues. i thought it was amazing

Thunderbirds Aren't Slow

[–] Pritcher 18 years ago

Hey, recognized your name from another thread so I figured I'd comment here.

A friend of mine recommended this to me a while back and trusting his judgment I blindly picked it up and dove in. Such good friends I have :)

I really liked this series, especially the first half before Brandon was killed. His and Harry’s separate rise through the Millenion organization was cool to see and was different from most other anime shows I’d seen.

When Beyond the Grave took over the show it seemed like a different beast altogether but it was still very good. Some people didn’t like the ending, but I thought it was incredible. So sad and touching how Brandon had lost everything, his love, his friends, even his life, all because of Harry’s greed and ambition yet in the end he was still willing to die, again, to protect his friend. I think the guilt Harry felt from that and the guilt he felt ever since he killed Brandon were a much greater punishment than if Brandon had simply killed Harry. Great show.

Cowboy Bebop and NGE are also definitely in my favorites pile. As far as other recommendations, hmm…

Well to stick to more or less the same area this show falls in I’d say check out these if you haven’t already:

-Trigun- Made by the same guys as Grungrave. It’s different, much more comedy, especially in the beginning but it gets pretty intense later on.

-Berserk- It’s brutal and tells a good tale. The ending might leave you scratching your head though. I recommend watching it then checking some fan sites to fill in the gaps the ending leaves. Or read the manga if that’s your thing.

-Elfen Lied- Nyu is an innocent and adorable little girl/Lucy is a psychotic vixen killing machine. They’re the same person. It’s like watching a cute little bunny rabbit go on a murderous rampage; what’s not to like? Very cool show, extremely graphic content though, watch the opening scene and decide if that's too much for you. You can probably download it or catch it on YouTube or something. This also has one the greatest opening themes ever in my opinion, (Cowboy Bebop’s is strong too though).

I could name more in many genres but I’ll end it there for now.

-Pritcher

[–] bladeoftheimmortal2003 18 years ago

went to my blockbuster and found em there, loved every minute of it...

[–] ghostintheshell_71 18 years ago

I came across GUngrave cos I'm already a fan of Trigun, and on DA there is an artist I watch who draws fanart from both shows.

I recommend Trigun, Hajime no Ippo (Fighting Spirit in English), Samurai Champloo and Fullmetal Alchemist above all else.

Boycott shampoo- demand the REAL poo!

[–] barbazu 18 years ago

Saw couple episodes on Tv . altough seemed boring since i started to watch from middle and was hard to understand i decided to get it so i can watch full story

[–] helios_eclipsed 18 years ago

Yeah, yu haveto see it from the start... just make sure you watch the first 2 episodes together, not just one. Some people have been turned off by the first one, thinking it would just be dumb action or something. But the second episode is EXTREMELY different. You might even think it's another show. My point is, stay with it for a few episodes from the beginning to see if you like it. It's different than it first appears.

But yeah, the same thing happened to me. I saw some (important) parts in the middle that made no sense to me, but which looked interesting enough to give it a chance. So I picked it up, and am very glad I did. One of the top shows I've ever seen.

"...and everything under the Sun is in tune, but the Sun is Eclipsed by the Moon...." -DSotM.

[–] SystemShock2 18 years ago

Do Brandon and Harry kill each other at the end? I thought they were killed by the gunmen storming the building.

[–] helios_eclipsed 18 years ago

(Just to say it, BIG F#$@IN' SPOILERS!!!)

They get shot plenty by those guys, but they hold them at bay long enought to chose to kill each other. Seriously, did you see the episode? I mean, there was the whole sequence where they make their peace with each other, painful though it is, they pick up their guns, point them at each other, and there's a shot of the guns with the sun behind them (the whole "Freedom" thing), and then it fades to white as you hear the shots (.... I THINK you hear the shots. I know sometimes they don't bother... but they definately do shoot each other. The men had been pulled back, by orders of the new head of the organization. Mika had asked them to stop.

So yes, though they were definately going to die anyway, from all of their injuries, they shoot each other to end it all, friend to friend.

"...and everything under the Sun is in tune, but the Sun is Eclipsed by the Moon...." -DSotM.

[–] SystemShock2 18 years ago

Thanks Helios, I didn't remember those final shots.

[–] mel_inish 17 years ago

I believe they killed each other as well. It just makes the story, I think.

As for how I found out about this series. I've been a Hellsing fane for a while and when I finally joined with Neyflix, it got recommended. I added the first disc only. After I watched it I actually bought the box-set from Best Buy. This is the best anime I've ever watched. I don't know if 5 stars are enough. I balled my eyes out at the end and when Harry killed Brandon the first time. I literally broke down after that episode.(I'm a loser I know, but I've only ever broken down in a few movies. American History X was the first.)

I highly recommend this anime, even if you aren't an anime fan I think you'd enjoy it.

[–] aceboogy212 18 years ago

I saw the entire series on G4.
A time when that channel was great. Now it sucks.
It was dubbed but i grew on dubbed anime because it was the only thing i had access too. Pretty good but thats only because i have low standards for voice acting. I consider it a masterpiece. Definitly must see this one.

[–] erevain 18 years ago

my little brother was watching it on DVD in my room when I came home one night.
he borrowed it from someone.
there was a party at our house then,
so I went out to entertain some of the guests.
my little bro didn't come out of my room the whole night.
so after the guests have left, I went in asked him if it was that good that he wouldn't come out.
of course he said yes... so I settled down and watched it with him.
it was right about where that guy... (I forgot the name, the one who's always saying "this is the battlefield") hesitated shooting Harry 'cuz Brandon was aiming at him. So I thought "cool", let's watch this...
I asked him what's it about and he gave me a vague summary...
when Harry shot Brandon, I was totally hooked... 'cuz I was not expecting it...
then the Robots and undead came, I almost gave up watching.
But the thought of Brandon getting his revenge made me continue.
The last few episodes were special as I haven't seen Brandon and Harry during their punk days.
I finished the series at about 4 A.M. while my little bro was sound asleep next to me. hehe....

[–] K3RI 17 years ago

i found out that Nightow has made something other than Trigun... that was enough of a recommendation :D

[–] ffxi-aion 17 years ago

I first watched Gungrave 2 years ago...long time. AnimeNfo had Gungrave high up on the sites anime top 200 list, so I decided to download it. It's been my favourite anime ever since. :)

http://www.animenfo.com/statistic/top.php?type=anime - Gungrave is currently 22nd in the top 200 - you guys should check out #1, it's another cracker!

/off topic: Does anyone else own the Gungrave series box set? I imported the £50-60 box set (£70-80 with import stuff included - still cost less than it would to buy the series over in the UK!).

[–] buckleyrw-1 17 years ago

I was watching G4 at my grandma's house (because we didn't have it), and I saw the episode "Family". It was pretty interesting, even though I was confused about the character's relationships to each other. I decided to rent it from Netflix, and needless to say, I was blown away by how good the entire series was.

[–] fullmooninu 17 years ago

Read somewhere it was awesome.

Turned out it was not. I saw episode after episode, hoping for the "awesome" ones to start.

Then i waited for the ending.

Turns out it's actually one of the worst i ever saw. But then again i only go after the good stuff.

Still, this is very bad in the sense that it changes what the expectancy of "a good anime" should be. Cause it's not. Not by a long long shot.

[–] chris-murray3 17 years ago

Each to their own, this is my personal favourite anime ever, so oh well.

[–] DRAPTORJ 17 years ago

And what, praytell, makes good anime to you?

Fine, its not an awesome anime. Its an incredible piece of film art. There.

My mistake...four coffins.
My Film Site:http://www.strikeaposefilms.com/