Gungrave - DVD

Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowell grew up together on the wrong side of town — small-time thugs in a city controlled by Millennion, the vast criminal syndicate that runs everything. When the murders of their friends and the abduction of Brandon's love Maria drive them to Millennion's doorstep, they are taken in and begin the slow climb through the organization's ranks. Brandon is loyal, silent, and physically devastating. Harry is brilliant, ambitious, and charming — and his vision for himself and for Millennion grows with every rung he climbs. The series opens in medias res with Brandon already dead and resurrected as Beyond the Grave, a necrolyzed undead warrior protecting Mika, the daughter of Maria and Big Daddy, from Millennion's monsters. The full story of how Brandon got there — and what Harry became — is told in an extended flashback spanning 16 episodes, turning the series into a crime tragedy in the tradition of Goodfellas and The Godfather before returning to its present-day revenge arc.

Gungrave is a 26-episode series produced by Madhouse — the studio behind Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Metropolis, Chobits, Texhnolyze, Claymore, Kaiba, and Paprika — directed by Toshiyuki Tsuru, written by Yōsuke Kuroda (Trigun, Tenchi Muyo!, Excel Saga), and scored by Tsuneo Imahori (Trigun). It is based on the 2002 PlayStation 2 third-person shooter by Yasuhiro Nightow — the creator of Trigun — and aired on TV Tokyo from October 2003 to March 2004. The first episode drew widespread negative reaction from viewers expecting action; the series' actual content — a slow-burn gangster tragedy that devotes 16 of its 26 episodes to a character drama set years before the game's events — won enormous critical appreciation from viewers who persisted. Originally licensed in North America by Geneon Entertainment on 7 individual DVD volumes from March 2004 to September 2005, with artbox included with Vol. 1. Geneon ceased in-house distribution in September 2007; FUNimation acquired distribution rights and released a Viridian Complete Series DVD in 2009 and a FUNimation Complete Series DVD on July 19, 2011. A FUNimation Anime Classics Blu-ray was released June 28, 2011.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Toshiyuki Tsuru
Screenplay: Yōsuke Kuroda (Trigun, Tenchi Muyo!, Excel Saga, My Hero Academia)
Original Game: Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun creator; Gungrave, Red Entertainment / Sega, PlayStation 2, 2002)
Studio: Madhouse (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Metropolis, Texhnolyze, Claymore, Kaiba, Paprika)
Music: Tsuneo Imahori (Trigun)
Opening Theme: "Family" by Tsuneo Imahori
Ending Theme: "Akaneiro ga Moeru Toki" by Scoobie Do

Japanese Cast:
• Tsutomu Isobe as Beyond the Grave / Brandon Heat (older)
• Kenji Hamada as Brandon Heat (younger)
• Cho as Harry MacDowell (older)
• Kosuke Okano as Harry MacDowell (younger)
• Rie Tanaka as Mika Asagi (Steel Angel Kurumi, Burst Angel, Gundam SEED, Texhnolyze, Azumanga Daioh — Kaorin, Squid Girl — Chizuru)
• Akio Otsuka as Big Daddy (Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Night Warriors, WXIII Patlabor, Inuyasha films, Space Brothers)

English Dub Cast (Geneon Entertainment):
• Crispin Freeman as Brandon Heat / Beyond the Grave (Night on the Galactic Railroad, RG Veda, Descendants of Darkness, Captain Tylor OVA, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Shamanic Princess — Kagetsu)
• Tony Oliver as Harry MacDowell (younger) (Lupin III, Robotech, éX-Driver The Movie additional cast)
• Tom Wyner as Harry MacDowell (older)
• Wendee Lee as Mika Asagi (El-Hazard, Tenchi Universe, Gestalt, Kurogane Communication, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust)

DVD Volume Breakdown (Geneon Entertainment, 7 Volumes)

• Vol. 1 — Destroyer (Eps 1–4, March 2, 2004, $34.98): artbox edition includes collector's box; standard edition also available
• Vol. 2 — Militia (Eps 5–8, May 25, 2004, $29.98): Conceptual Art Gallery
• Vol. 3 — Betrayal (Eps 9–12, July 27, 2004, $29.98): Conceptual Art Gallery
• Vol. 4 — Millennion (Eps 13–16, October 12, 2004, $29.98): Conceptual Art Gallery
• Vol. 5 — The Protector (Eps 17–20, March 15, 2005, $29.98): Conceptual Art Gallery
• Vol. 6 — Superior (Eps 21–23, June 14, 2005, $24.98): Conceptual Art Gallery
• Vol. 7 — Necrolyzed (Eps 24–26, September 13, 2005, $24.98): Conceptual Art Gallery

DVD Features (All Volumes)

• 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
• Conceptual Art Galleries (Vols. 2–7)
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 / Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 / Japanese DTS 5.1
• Geneon Entertainment Previews
• Vol. 1 artbox holds complete 7-volume series; FUNimation Complete Series DVD (July 19, 2011) and Anime Classics Blu-ray (June 28, 2011) also available

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: ガングレイヴ (Gangureivu / Gungrave)
Runtime: ~650 Minutes (Complete Series, 26 Episodes, 7 Volumes)
Director: Toshiyuki Tsuru
DVD Release Year: 2004–2005 (U.S. Individual Volumes, Geneon Entertainment, March 2, 2004 – September 13, 2005); FUNimation Viridian Complete Series 2009; FUNimation Complete Series July 19, 2011; FUNimation Anime Classics Blu-ray June 28, 2011
Original Broadcast Date (Japan): October 6, 2003 – March 29, 2004 (TV Tokyo)
Publisher: Geneon Entertainment (original); FUNimation Entertainment (reissues)
Rating: 16+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Vol. 1 artbox holds complete 7-volume series. Geneon ceased in-house distribution September 2007; FUNimation acquired distribution rights. FUNimation Complete Series DVD and Anime Classics Blu-ray both available as later releases.
Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction
Themes: Crime Syndicate, Betrayal and Resurrection, Gangster Tragedy, Necrolyzation, Yasuhiro Nightow Creator

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.