Gungrave Anime - Blog Posts

I’d be happy to elaborate! Aside from Brandon, deadmen (guys who get necrolyzed) appear to retain their memories for the most part though it’s never stated whether it’s because they were still alive during the process or not. For the most part they look human, sure, but if their mental state starts to deteriorate they can…mutate.

As long as you have a strong mental fortitude you can pass yourself off as human. You also might can some weird abilities like being able to turn your limbs into weapons or something. I can definitely see you pulling off a ‘knives for legs’ look. Oh, here’s a picture of the bros!

Before and after the betrayal! Reminds me of you and Jimmy… Brandon is even missing an eye (because that’s where Harry shot him)!

Y’know Curly, you kind of remind me of a character from one of my favorite video games. His name is Brandon Heat and he also has a best friend named Harry MacDowell. The two had known each other since they were kids, both orphans. When they get older shit goes down and the two decide to join the mafia after they both suffer the loss of their other friends. Harry wants to reach the top of the organization (climb the ladder) while Brandon is just happy that he can still remain by Harry’s side. But the longer Brandon remains in the organization, the more he has to make sacrifices. His hands become bloodier and he slowly numbs his emotions so he isn’t constantly wracked with guilt. He even denies himself from having a potentially happier life with the woman he loves because Brandon still feels responsible cares about Harry. Long story short, Brandon is forced to point his gun at his remaining friend from his life before the mafia. But he can’t bring himself to kill Harry. How could he, after everything they’ve been through? Unfortunately for him, Harry’s time in the mafia made him colder, more paranoid. Harry doesn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. In the end, Harry cares more about his ascension to power instead of the bond he had with Brandon.

Don’t worry though, Brandon comes back! Through a process called ‘necrolyzation’ he returns from the dead as an undead killing machine to take revenge on Harry! Hooray!

Whew! Sorry for yapping for so long, I am very passionate about this game if you couldn’t tell. I didn’t even get into the other aspects of story. But I do want to ask you a question Curly. If you had the option to undergo the process of necrolyzation right now, would you? You’d be stronger, more resilient. The process is even more effective if the person is still alive, you might be able to regenerate your limbs! Would you be willing to give up what little humanity you have left to save your crew? Would you be willing to become a monster to save everyone?

(WARNING!: Possible side effects of necrolyzation include severe memory loss, blood replacement every two months, and the need to dress like an edgy anime character.)

…I was nodding along, thinking I could see the resemblance, until we got to the “undead killing machine” part. I’m not quite there. Hah. That’s an unfortunate story…

No need to apologize. Uh… I don’t think I understand the process enough to make that decision. When you say I’d lose my humanity, would that mean becoming a mindless killing machine? Or would I still control myself and the change would be purely physical? If it’s just physical I certainly wouldn’t mind. Gotta be better than this, yeah? Even with the blood replacement and memory loss… As long as I remember enough to stay myself and protect the crew, I don’t… I’d power through.

despite everything...

it's still you

Gungrave spoiler!! (I guess)

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Oops, I forgot to post it! Here’s the drawing I did:

Ideas that I want to discuss on this blog

This isn’t in any order or anything this is just a bunch of thoughts I’ve wanted to talk about regarding this lovely series.

Trigun/Gungrave narrative & themes comparison: On a scale of "love and peace" to "kick their ass"

Brandon Heat is a combination of both Vash and Wolfwood

Is Bunji Kugashira similar to Nicholas D. Wolfwood in certain aspects besides appearance?

Vash & Knives vs. Brandon & Harry: Expectations of trust/loyalty

Bunji Kugashira's hangups about brothers (first Juji then Brandon?)

What's the history between the Kugashira brothers?

How canon is the Gungrave anime to the first Gungrave video game? Was Overdose supposed to bridge the two (appearance of Sherry???)

Why isn't there more Gungrave/Trigun crossover content?

Tsuneo Imahori is so good at music dude: How the Gungrave soundtracks create another layer of atmosphere & emotion

What the fuck was up with Gungrave VR & Gungrave G.O.R.E.?

How and why is Rocketbilly Redcadillac?

I want to see more hijinks with Juji and RB, they are sooooo

Why is Juji not in G.O.R.E.? (Sad but probably not canon idea that he was eventually overcome by the SEED in him)

What it's like to be a deadman aka why don't we let the Gungrave cast experience body horror too

Madhouse wanted the Gungrave anime to be a spiritual successor of the 1998 Trigun anime

Will there ever be another entry in the franchise after G.O.R.E.?

Trigun and Gungrave say aliens are real folks (maybe canon maybe not)

Beyond the Grave & Vincent Valentine: Two ultra sad goth bois that just want to take a nap in their coffins

Feel free to make your own post for any of these ideas or something. As I said before my activity on this blog is going to be pretty inconsistent so don’t expect anything from me anytime soon. Then again just last night I started writing a short little Juji story but I don’t know when I’m gonna finish it. I also plan to do fanart but motivation to draw has honestly become more evasive than wanting to write. If you have any questions or suggestions I’d love to read them in the comments or tags at least. See you guys later!

Wouldn't you, Harry?

simpler times

On the subject of Harry MacDowell

I’ve been rewatching the Gungrave anime with my sister and during the ‘Harry’ episode I had a sudden thought. Does anybody in the Gungrave fandom (at least on this site) actually like Harry? I don’t mean like as in ‘he’s a standup guy’ or whatever. I mean from an antagonist/character perspective does anyone find him compelling or interesting? Do you think he fills his role in the story well or do you think they could have done more with Harry? I’d love to hear any thoughts on this. Could be about his anime and/or video game incarnation.

(This was an April Fools Joke) The old Gungrave games suck so much. I so HATE OVERDOSE!! The short runtimes, horribly written characters, terrible voice acting, and not to mention Brandon. Like Juji said, he’s just a puppet for Mika. And I also hate Juji. Oh, and the anime? Even worse. It was so lazy and not introspective. Ugh. I totally love Gungrave Gore. Like, the graphics and game mechanics are insanely intuitive. And the new soundtrack? Amazing. Ditch the old left-head and right-head album. The characters too and the pacing—-especially the pacing, is so action-focused and totally make everything believable. I hate divulging canon, too, like all my aus and headcannons? It was all I lie…. My favorite character is Spike! Obviously! 😡

Oh, and FF7? I HATE cannon divulgence. I like the cannon and I HATE any ships of the characters. And I HATE Cloud SO much—like—-so unrelatble and rude! I only draw Cloud because of the fans’ influence….and any Cloud head cannons will NOT be tolerated! I am a strict OG lover! 🫡

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Oops, I forgot to post it! Here’s the drawing I did:

A mini doodle of Gungrave. :)

Awwww, I love them so much. Not very proud of this one, but oh well. 🤷‍♀️

Gungrave brain rot…..that’s all I’ll say. 😂