Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Gintokiee
This anime starts on a very different node making the viewer feel it something different but if you can skip the start ...
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This anime is a beauty something like "Rainbow"..its a graet story driven anime which is very tragic till the end it keeps you on edge because how wonderfully the anime potrays Frienship,Tragedy, Dismissal,Betralayl and love.it dosent sigh away from the fact that its an Injustice filled world where tragadies are the way of survival ....
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And how it effects the characters psychologically draining them and surviving in a criminal world .....it shows the whole journey of the villain and mc that it just breaks the viewer and make you care about what theyll do and any action they take whether good or bad you understand the way it was meant to be...More like a story or a…
Read at the sourcephiliwilly
Skip the first episode, seriously. I had actually dropped this anime partway through episode 1, and only came back after reading a review telling me to skip it.
Turns out I was missing out on what might be the best rags-to-riches arc in anime. The direction, storytelling, tone, dialogue, and character development is flawless in the first portion of the season. Episodes 2-14 are genuinely 10/10. The elevator scene was particularly memorable.
But after this arc is completed, there is a considerable drop in the quality of direction and animation. There wasn't as much suspense as the story unraveled and the world fell apart. The plot becomes a bit linear and unbelievable; less focus is given to the characters that made the first portion of the anime so good. Instead, the show steers more i…
Read at the sourceOnlyMeta
This Anime is the saddest thing that i have ever watched, i can't begin to imagine how many times it almost brought me to tears.
IF you think the perfect end doesn't exist, then i 100% recommend watching this.
The people who put anything but 10 are just clueless and did not understand the depth of this Anime, truly a shame that such a masterpiece is underrated.
Could've this anime been done in any better way, probably so, if the story was a bit more realistic like (Removing the non-humans you know what, and keeping everything else as is), this would probably transcend from being a masterpiece to a top tier Meta Anime like Monster, Death Note, Attack on Titans,Steins Gate and much more.
But this Anime as is, Is definitively the Best Drama i watched so far ( Sadder than Violette Evergarden )…
Read at the sourcemugens_sandals
Gungrave is a rags to riches story of two friends, Harry and Brandon.
This show starts off in the middle of a big action scene before jumping back in time, unfortunately it takes most of the series to arrive back to this more part of the story that I was hooked on.
The two main characters of this show are very cliche and play heavily into male fantasy, trying to be edgy/cool. This is par for the course for a show from 2003, so I don't think that can be entirely held against it.
I'll get the good out of the way first.
First, the designs of Grave, his weapons, and the superiors in the final quarter of this show are really a treat. Now and especially for their time the style and presentation of these things are the highlight for me.
Secondly, the themes of loyalty and betrayal are used…
Read at the sourceTheAnimeMobster
Gungrave – A Hidden Gem That Deserves More Recognition
If you’re looking for an anime that blends intense action, deep storytelling, and raw emotion, Gungrave is the hidden gem you need to watch. Overshadowed by bigger names in the early 2000s, this masterpiece delivers a gripping tale of loyalty, betrayal, and the cost of ambition.
What starts as a stylish sci-fi action anime quickly unfolds into an unforgettable crime drama, following the journey of Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowell—from street punks to high-ranking members of an underworld empire. The character development is phenomenal, with a slow-burn narrative that pays off in ways few anime manage.
Madhouse’s animation work is top-notch, and the soundtrack perfectly complements the show’s melancholic tone. The action is intense,…
Read at the sourceairenaishen
A long story of Brandon's bromantic devotion to Harry. This ultimate led to Harry murdering him, his benefactor, the woman who loved him, countless innocent and not so innocent people.
Even after Brandon is revived as an undead, he still ends up protecting the evil Harry, who was still seeking to murder the daughter of the woman who loved Brandon.
The story is probably written by someone with a twisted mind and necrolysed heart. You may enjoy this show if you have no sense of morality.
Story: 2
Art: 3
Music: 3
Voice: 4 Characters: 3
Protagonist: 1
Science: 1
Enjoyment: 2
If you're hoping to see any redemption towards the end of the show, you're probably not going to find it.
Read at the sourceBabineaux
IMPORTANT: Do NOT watch Episode 1, skip straight to Episode 2. Episode 1 is literally just a carbon copy of a later episode and it spoils basically everything, you're better off without it.
With that out of the way, Gungrave is an interesting anime that has a lot of strengths, but also a few weaknesses. This is because it has got two components to it:
1) A very watertight character-driven gangster story that takes up most of the anime, which is very much worth the price of admission.
2) While it's not quite correct to call it this, there is a point where I would describe the show as devolving into a Monster of the Week format involving fantastical elements that is unfortunately rather mediocre. However, as I say, this latter part is a minority of the anime's runtime, and the ending few…
Read at the sourceJastereich
Gungrave follows the lives of two friends Harry and Brandon from small jobs to organized crime. The story starts from somewhere in the middle and then comes back to the beginning. The plot revolves around the dynamics between these characters and their changes throughout the story. The fight scenes are not so thrilling but the show is fascinating to watch due to its balance between thrill and emotion. The characters are sketched out quite well, particularly Harry, however there is a bit of inconsistencies in their behavior. The animation is okay, but the sound has an average level with small changes in voice actors. All in all, Gungrave is a very good anime with an interesting stylistic approach that mixes genre elements of noir and sci-fi.
Read at the sourceAnime4PlayComBr
Imagine a tale of two orphans navigating a delinquent adolescence, facing dramatic losses, and having their fates intertwined with the mafia, ultimately recruited as future executives of one of the underworld's major organizations. This is the essence of Gungrave, an anime spanning a single season, not adapted from a manga but rather inspired by a video game title.
The story kicks off with Brandon Heat and Harry McDowell, longtime friends with distinct personalities and goals. Brandon takes on the role of an introspective protagonist harboring an eternal, platonic love for Maria. Meanwhile, Maria grows under the care of an adoptive guardian, a close friend of Big Daddy, the boss of the local Millennium mafia organization. She becomes a key factor in Brandon's continued involvement with th…
Read at the sourceghostboygabe
The stoic king of gangland tales of post-2000 anime. Action-packed but grounded, plenty of style with just as much sobriety, in many ways it feels more like one of its own major influences in the crime genre than a work inspired by them. Very similarly to the classic Westerns, wiseguy dramas and Hong Kong action cinema whose influences it wears on its sleeve, it's not about guns any more than it's about the people standing on each end of them; who they are, what landed them these roles, and if there's even anywhere to go from there.
The themes of friendship, loyalty, ambition and betrayal aren't exactly hard to find in this genre, in and outside of anime, but in the end it's the thorough commitment to these themes and the full extent of the drama they have the potential to entail that mak…
Read at the sourceJKrauser
For those who haven't watched Gungrave yet, I want to make a warning from the beginning. Skip the first episode. Because after the first episode, there is a time skip and you watch the past for about 17-18 episodes and see how the events came to that point. The first episode is confusing, but more importantly, it gives big spoilers. This is my humble recommendation for enjoyment value.
The theme and general setting difference between the first and second episode was so different that I could have sworn that I accidentally opened another anime. I have to say that there are big differences in the parts of Gungrave that tell the past and present.
To briefly summarize the episodes that tell the past, it tells how two delinquents and also friends living in the street life enter a big mafia org…
Read at the sourcexOsiriaRose
Gungrave has a unique flow to it that comes from being transcribed from a video game story and setting to an anime, and for the most part it navigates that pretty well. It can be very edgy at times with some over the top eye-rolling dialogue, but does what it sets out to do well overall. The strong parts of the show are it's narrative during the first section, and the payoff for it during the second. The art and voice acting (in the dub at least), however, are definitely the weakest aspect of the show, and are distractingly poor at times. Overall, I would only really recommend it to interested fans of westerns, action, and shonen.
*Light spoiler story synopsis*
The story is divisible into 2 major parts, past and present, following the main protagonist Brandon Heat. The first half of the s…
Read at the sourceEmcio0828
A classic in my eyes. Gungrave was the first piece of Japanese media I ever consumed as a kid. The original game on the PS2, despite being painfully simple, always intrigued me with the unique soundtrack, the concept of a gun wielding corpse, his unlimited bullet storage and the unique boss designs.
Story (9): Surprisingly, the adaptation from video game to anime series is seamless, with the series giving much needed context to the game. The main duo's brotherhood, their rise to power and the tragic love story of Maria and Brandon, provides good drama. The fact that we are able to see Grave's path from episode 2-26, gives the viewer detailed answers with the obscure themes both the game and episode 1 presented to us. Turning a soulless revenge plot to a complex crime drama.
Art (9): The…
Read at the sourcetriguned
I was spared and saw a few discussion threads ahead of time saying skip episode 1. I think if you don't, you will likely have completely different feelings about the show or it might become challenging. However if you do skip it like you should and start at episode 2, this will easily become one of the best anime's you've seen. I just finished it and I can't stop thinking about it. Outstanding, brilliant, spectacular are some words that come to mind. Sometimes I check the openings of show's I plan on watching first, then I decide whether to watch it now or soon. Gungrave's OP passed the vibe check so I watched that mf asap. As many have said, this show ranks among the likes of Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and even Berserk. Watch it asap and it is forbidden to watch episode 1, just for your own sa…
Read at the sourceBruhItsJustAnime
Gungrave is one of those anime that I never hear anyone talking about. With all the Shounen and Isekai genre animes out there that have supreme popularity with most people, ones like these sleep quietly in the dark until you happen upon them by chance. Either that, or you're old enough to have played the games growing up.
If you are old enough to have seen the games, or checked it out when it did turn into an anime and land on Blockbuster shelves, you are also old enough to appreciate movies like "From Dusk till Dawn" that come way out of left field. This anime is the equivalent of a blind reaction where you wont know what the hell just happened. Trust me when I say that it goes from 0-100 right f***in' now, and it doesn't stop until the end credits.
Do yourself a favor, and if you see t…
Read at the sourcenegrut
A very unknown anime, but with his small fanbase it is the most overrated anime I have ever seen (just see the reviews in MAL itself), its community treats it as a classic cult, which it COULD have been but is FAR from being. (Now if you don’t have the patience to read this book, scroll down to the final considerations where I summarize my opinions)
Gungrave starts with a HORRIBLE first episode, where he wants to give some taste of what will happen in the future but ends up just being bad and giving heavy spoilers of what we will see later. I highly recommend skipping this episode, because episode 18 is the same thing as this first one. (They tried to foreshadowing the same way as Berserk 97 but they failed)
Then the anime goes to a big flashback, which is where the anime shines.
In short,…
Read at the sourceMotokogummi
Not a deep review but I will touch the important aspects which is the Characters and Story, the show is simply fantastic on the Mafioso aspects from 2-17, yes. Skip first episode. Watch it after 18, both are same but you will notice a few different lines. Also it's better to skip the opening after you watch it once as well. Trust me you will enjoy the show this way.
The fact that show is insanely deep and made from a Sony PS2 title is mind blowing. I wish the games we have on PS4 and PC from Japan are this great as the Gungrave PS2, the golden era truly. Anyways let's get into it, at the end of the review I will say a few things slight spoiler territory, under Character and Story but yeah I cannot hold myself to mention what I felt. The show is too sentimental.
Art - Art style is simply…
Read at the sourceRamoVVolf
The early 2000's was an anonymous section in anime history with lots of hidden gems that precipitate in its large cesspool , lots of digging and searching may lead you to some of them.
In my case I came across GunGrave , a 2003 anime produced by Madhouse and had a fairly clear inspiration that meshed Trigun and Hellsing in an underground mafia organization setting so I gave it a shot! (You can't say that doesn't sound interesting)
Story:
GunGrave's story cuts the show in half just right after the 1st episode, the 1st section is the backstory of our characters and what led them to how currently things are with no flashforwards to the current events or anything, just pure backstory material for about more than 10 concurrent episodes, then the 2nd section is pure action, confrontation and s…
Read at the sourceAnimaniac2020
Gungrave, aka "The Godfather with Undead Monsters" is a remarkable feat of storytelling and animation that, despite itself, manages to keep its limbs from falling apart like a bullet-ridden Orgman.
That said, in a post-John Wick world, the the supernatural elements are wholly unnecessary and (if you're over 19 years old) detract from the deep, smoldering brutality of a lifelong friendship torn apart by betrayal and greed.
The John Wick movies fuse the revenge drama with some pretty over-the-top bullet battles that conveniently manage to miss the titular hero, however the lack of sci-fi elements keeps the story grounded. Gungrave could have toned down the excess and cemented itself as one of the greatest pure anime dramas of all time.
Episode 1 starts amidst the monster-filled chaos be…
Read at the sourcejstar414
This anime is by far the most slept on anime ever. It's hard to write a review because I don't want to give anything away. If you like anime, where the world progress with the characters then you will love this anime. The main cast of characters are phenomenal. They all have they're own desires and regrets which makes them so human like.You see this characters journey from punk kids,and watch them grow into old men. You watch their morality/ideology change as time goes on. By the end you're left reflecting on everything that went on. I know is very vague but I really don't wanna spoil anything. The action scenes are the only thing this anime I won't praise. They get the job done they aren't that good.
Read at the source
