The main character is a being called Grave (his longer name is Beyond The Grave as given to him by the man that reanimated him but more on that later), a nearly indestructible "man" armed by the twin guns Ceruberus after the mythological character from Hades and a coffin full of even more destructive weapons. In Gungrave 1, the premise was established that a couple of street punks, Brandon Heat (AKA: Gungrave), and Harry MacDowel, were both taken into a Mafioso-type organization known as Millennion. Harry uses his brains and Brandon uses his brawn, after a series of misfortunes that gave them little choice considering their goals in life. In Gungrave: The Sweeper (volume 2), the series continues their rise into Millennion as they handle assignments of varying natures, making a mark as valued employees.

In episode 5, Millennion, more is learned about the group which is essentially a knockoff of The Godfather but done with a bit more flare and style than usual. Brandon is content as a thug working in the collections department of the bookie operation and Harry is continually scheming and plotting to rise on the virtues of his intelligence, learning all he can as fast as he can, delegating certain aspects to a few well-chosen henchmen. In episode 6, Big Daddy, more is learned about the top man of Millennion, as well as the whereabouts of Maria, Brandon's long lost girlfriend. Brandon seeks her out and eventually finds Big Daddy a warm and inviting man, who shares freely his home, rather than seek to keep the two friends apart. Brandon becomes a favorite after saving the day while Harry continues on in his own style, involving Brandon on a few risky assignments that propel both of them much higher (and much faster) than anyone would've believed. The following episodes, 7) 5 Years Later and 8) Family, each show how the duo eventually move from valued employees (out of 8000 employees, only about 144 are considered "family") to family. While the fireworks of supernatural revenge have yet to begin, I could see the storm brewing on the horizon and liked what I saw as the series did something few others take the time to do; tell the story first and leave the flashy stuff for later. Heck, by this point in time, I'd have been happy for the story to continue like a crime drama and forget about the coming science fiction type stuff but I think you'll agree with me that such matters only enhanced the overall series.

The technical values combined with the fantasy elements and complex story make for a great ride that will come to an end all too soon, going far beyond the cute Playstation shooter game it started off from. Rather than bore you with lots of spoilers and gibberish, I'm just going to tell you I think the show was worth a rating of Highly Recommended, even before the grand action truly begins. If you enjoy shows that focus on the writing, and not the flash, so early in the episodes, I think you'll find this one of the better written releases of the year. I can hardly wit until volume three comes into my greedy little paws so I can see the next chapter in the saga.

Picture: The picture was presented in 16:9 Anamorphic widescreen color in the originally shot 1.78:1 aspect ratio. It looked crisp and clear with the kind of darker color scheme that suits the material. I saw no compression artifacts and the only grain seemed intentional as it signified a flashback of importance (helping me to keep track of the key plot elements). The animation style used was sometimes minimalist in how little movement took place or in how many frames per second were employed but unlike the videogame, such moments often, if not always, convey more than the overly busy styles of other shows.

Sound: The sound was presented with several choices for the consumer, including an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track, a Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital track, and the superior 5.1 Japanese DTS track that really shined as I listened to it on a friends top of the line set up. There were the usual English subtitles available on the Japanese tracks and I honestly enjoyed the dub as much as the original (although enhanced) Japanese tracks. The show really made great use of the back channels and the special effects employed were good enough that a blind person would've been appreciative of the care that went into it. As far as the dub track went, the voice actors seemed talented in how they handled their roles too; something that many anime lovers find rare these days. Try both of the 5.1 tracks and you'll see why I liked them so much but I had no problems with either.

Extras: The only extras were some trailers, a videogame preview, conceptual art, and a textless opening and closing.

Final Thoughts: Gungrave is one of those rare anime shows that starts off with tremendous entertainment potential and employs top notch production values to enhance the DVD experience. As the show continues, I see more of what I was hoping for, solid writing, good animation, and a wealth of reasons why I enjoyed the show. Will it jump the shark when the later elements are added or will it soar like I believe it will is anybody's guess but at this point, I thought it took a lot of chances that paid off handily, making it one of my favorite anime releases of the year.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime article!