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Hint for the day: never watch an anime at the same time your playing the video game.

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Gungrave

The Sweeper

Review by Matthew Anderson

26 Episode TV Series

Company: Geneon

Running Time: 100 minutes (4 episodes)

Region: 1

Rated: R (Violence, language and Adult situations)

EXTERNAL EXAM

Time has certainly flown for good friends Brandon and Harry. Rescued by the Millennion crime syndicate, the two of them have been put to work running numbers, roughing people up, what ever needs to be done. While Brandon worries about his girlfriend Maria, Harry begins to move up in the ranks, bringing along an eclectic group of ambitious new Millennion members.

When Brandon attempts to contact Maria, he is brought before "Big Daddy", leader of Millennion. The two of them become fast friends, and after helping the leader out, Brandon also begins to move up in the ranks.

Now, deep in the heart of Millennion, these two friends find themselves in the middle of a rather nasty turf war. They must make a choice, stick with the family, or die.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: This is one sharp looking transfer. There are no pixels, wrinkles, or blemishes anywhere to be found. This is the benefit of digital based animation. Many of the technical errors of the past are gone.

AUDIO: The 5.1 English track is quite loud. It has an aggressive mix, with sounds coming at you from all speakers. During the action segments, the sounds of gunfire are so clear, you will find yourself ducking for cover.

The Japanese is in Dolby 2.0. It is a clean track and no noticeable hiss is detected. Again, it has directionality, but just doesn't have the "oomph" the 5.1 did.

I do not have a DTS receiver, so I can not comment on the Japanese 5.1 track. I really wish I could afford it.

EDITS: Clean open and close are used. No other edits have been noted.

EXTRAS: Nothing really exciting. We have the clean close, original Japanese video game promo for Gungrave Overdose, and that's it.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: You would think an anime based off a video game would have no plot what so ever. In this case you would be wrong. Yosuke Kuroda story is very similar in tone to "The Crow". It's a dark, moody piece, where the motivations of the characters are clearly defined. While it lacks the non stop action of the video game, it has a hell of a lot more depth.

ACTING: Both sets of voice actors do a fine job. As this is a "gangster" flick, they play their parts pretty cool. No one really stands out, but you will recognize many of their voices.

FAN SERVICE: Nothing in the panty shot category. The are a lot of references to "The Crow", with the obvious being the name of the character. We start to see more of the characters from the video game, and I'm sure the Org Men are coming very soon.

FINAL EXAM

Hint for the day: never watch an anime at the same time your playing the video game.

Upon my first viewing of "Gungrave: The Sweeper" I was very disappointed. Where was all the cool violence that was in the first episode and in the video game? Why are we still following Brandon, Harry, and Maria in the past? Where are the Org Men? Who are all these other guys joining the cast? Let's get this plot thing out of the way, and kick some ass. Fortunately, my son had just beat the game, so I put the DVD back on my review shelf, and waited until I got it out of my system.

Going back to volume 2, I discovered that I had missed out on a very entertaining tale of ambition, desire, danger, and excitement. It's not "The Godfather", but it has a lot of drama, and doesn't rely on constant action to further the story.

The first episode on this volume starts at a fairly leisurely pace. We see Brandon, now relegated to running numbers, and roughing up people who don't pay up. He's still pretty quiet, and he prefers to use his fists instead of guns. Harry, has dropped off the face of the Earth, and Brandon's beloved Maria is no where to be found. It isn't until a chance reunion with Harry does Brandon's life start to change.

After the first episode, things start to pick up. Covering a span of five years, we see our two buddies rise up in the ranks of Millennion. While Harry schmoozes his way to the top, Brandon becomes one of the best hitmen in the organization. He even impresses Bear Walken, his mentor, and a very powerful leader of the mob. At the same time, "Big Daddy" takes a shine to young Brandon, and allows the young man to see Maria at his big estate. While Harry would have used this situation to advance even further, Brandon does the opposite. He refuses to abuse his relationship with the boss, and instead spends his times fishing and talking to Maria.

The last two episodes have Harry and Brandon finally being accepted into the inner circle. Harry, smooth as ever, becomes very friendly with Bear's daughter, much to her fathers chagrin. For Brandon, his introduction to one of Bear's friends is the catalyst to what becomes one of the most heart wrenching episodes of the entire series. Here we see that while blood may be thicker than water, your ties to Millennion are absolute.

While episode 5 is pretty light on the action, episodes six and seven really pick up the pace. There are several cool gun battles, with Brandon showing his mad skillz! He can even sniper a guy who has his curtains closed, and is hiding on the floor. He does the crossed hands shooting, has a million guns hidden on his body, and can still whoop a guys ass with his fists. He is the ultimate bad ass!

The master animators at Madhouse have done it again, thanks to the superb work of directors Cindy H. Yamauchi and Masanori Shino. The animation moves smoothly and has a level of detail few titles these days have reached. It's even better than the Ninja Scroll TV series, and that was some good stuff.

Yasuhiro Nightow and Masanori Shino's characters designs are beyond cool, their wicked. The weapons in this series make the "Jackal" and the "Harkonnen" guns in "Hellsing" look like pop guns. Their use of stylized religious symbols on the guns and equipment is inspired. I have got to find me a "Gungrave" art book right now!

"Gungrave: The Sweeper" takes the series way beyond a simple game tie in. It's an interesting story full of human drama as well as hard hitting action. While it starts a little slow, it will quickly overpower you with it's style, great animation, and solid writing. Just remember, it's not just a game anymore!

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