Customer Reviews

Speed Grapher, Limited Edition

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've seen this entire show in Japanese, therefore I can't comment on the DVD extras or dubbing.

Saiga, the main character, is a famous photographer who has spent most of his professional life taking pictures on the war front. It's made clear from the beginning that taking pictures of death and destruction turns him on. However, after getting injured, he is forced back to Japan by his boss. He gets bored in Japan, taking pictures of politicians, etc., until he discovers a secret club and becomes involved with the club's "goddess."

The following may be considered spoilers, although I'll refrain from giving away any of the serious surprises. The club's goddess is a beautiful and abused high school girl named Kagura.
Her genetic uniqueness is only explained towards the end of the series, but she has the ability of granting certain individuals their deepest "desires". These people are referred to as Euphorias. For example, a professional dancer gains the ability to bend and stretch his body however he wants. Saiga, who is passionate about taking photographs, gains the ability of making anything he photographs explode (wouldn't that suck though? he can't take pictures anymore...well he doesn't seem to mind). He rescues her from the club and the two of them end up on the run while Suitenguu, the club's leader, sends Euphorias after them to bring her back.

Some people criticize the art, but it's not that bad either, and the characters are great. They're well developed, well-drawn and at least in Japanese, the voice-acting is terrific. Suitenguu is by far the best villain I've encountered. In my opinion, toward the end of the show he completely upstages Saiga.

The show has some flaws. I almost stopped watching during the first episodes. The scenes of what goes on in the club aren't exactly graphic, but they're still sexual and a little discomfiting. NOT something to watch or recommend to people who aren't already into this kind of anime. There's also some very bad Engrish spoken in some of the early episodes. The engrish gets a little better though, as the show progresses. Even if you don't like it right away, you should watch at least through the first three or four episodes before making a decision.

Fans of shows like Berserk, Gungrave, Basilisk, Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, Gantz or Bleach should definitely check this show out. Despite its flaws, it's one of my favorites. It takes a little while to get into, but it's well worth the effort. Did I mention that Suitenguu is the best villain EVER?

Speed Grapher, the first disc, really gives you lots of images, flavors and lots of background story while never slowing down in the story itself. I happen to be a fan of Monica Rial so I really enjoyed hearing her in another different character.
The story is very much for adults, I would say some adults might not even be able to handle it. Lots of sexual suggested scenes (hints of bondage, S&M, extra) and some very interesting bad guys. To say the least.
Twisted and evil, most of this world is a darker copy of ours. Take all the greed, hate, passions, trash, mix it into Hell on earth and you have Tokyo in this setting. The rich get richer and the poor get to serve the rich. If they are lucky.

Speedgrapher had my attention since the moment it was announced to have been acquired by FUNimation. I knew it would have the type of story that would appeal to me, that being dark and mature, and it was made by the company that has become my all-time favorite anime studio, GONZO. Now, after seeing this volume, I will say I'm a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong; Speedgrapher wasn't bad. It had everything I expected of it, minus one thing, that being the animation. Unfortunately, that could be an important factor for a lot of people.

The art (the cover of the DVD) for this anime is misleading, like those cheeseburgers in fast-food restaurant commercials. It makes the animation in Speedgrapher look about five times better than it really is. To be completely honest, the animation itself wasn't even that bad: it was like a mix of Burst Angel and Gankutsuou. It was only bad when the characters were moving. They lacked fluidity and every action seemed a bit choppy. It looks like something made in the early nineties with a mediocre budget.

The story, though, is really what carries the anime, so I was able to put the bad animation behind me. Speedgrapher is about a photographer named Saiga who is aroused by death and destruction when seen through his camera lens. As a war photographer he got all of this he wanted, but when the war stopped and he was sent back to city life, he lost his interest and became embittered with the dark dealings of the city of Tokyo. However, during a paparazzi job, Saiga discovers a beautiful young girl named Kagera who inadvertently grants Saiga a wish he never knew he wanted, and that is the power to destroy with the flash of his camera. Yet he also gains something else from this girl: a muse. Unfortunately, Kagera is the idol of an underground club that caters to all of the rich folks' ugliest desires. In order for Saiga to save this girl he must become a target of some of the most powerful men and women of Tokyo. But for his muse, Saiga is willing to do anything.

The story mixes a bit of the carnal with a lot of bloody violence and comes together okay despite the bad animation. Saiga and Kagura, the two main characters, have just enough flaws, idiosyncrasies, or whatever to be likable, and the bad guy, though ridiculously dressed, presents enough threat to the characters that the conflict seems genuine. Not a perfect plot yet, but it's still early in the series and things begin to head in a good direction by the last moments of this volume.

As for the box set, I would have to say that it's only worth it if you're a perfectionist. At forty dollars you're not getting too much. The three art cards are only a littler bigger than playing cards, and the contained art book is thinner than what I'm used to getting from FUNimation's other releases. In fact, besides the collector's box, the one thing I actually enjoyed the most was the box that kept the DVD in place. It's surprisingly artistic and I now use it to hold other swag I got from other anime in the past.

Now, for the DVD. FUNimation is well-known for putting everything possible into a DVD of release of their anime. Speedgrapher 1 is no exception. While it contains a lot of the anime norm (previews, text-less credits, art gallery), it has an interesting cast audition feature that lets normal folk get a glimpse into the world of voice acting. This DVD also contains a preview of GONZO and FUNimation's next release, Basilisk.

I'm going to say this:if you like the flashy animation that has become common in most modern anime, you're won't like Speedgrapher. The animation is dull and the character models are generic. But if you like classic anime as well as new stuff, the animation in this won't bother you at all. Also, if you enjoyed GANTZ or Elfen Lied, consider this the next best thing to those dark and mature titles.

If you enjoy twisted stories than this is for you. Add a little (kinda) loli-girl romance and a dude that can blow stuff up with his camera b/c of a wicked case of pink eye, makes for an interesting story.

Tatsumi Saiga used to be a photographer that journeyed to the remotest parts of the world to capture shots that put his life on the line but ever since being injured in a wartime gun battle, he's been living the life of a newshound taking pictures just to make a buck. By the looks of his unshaven face and unkempt dress, you can tell he's not really excited about the subjects his boss assigns him to cover. His life becomes more interesting when he infiltrates a secret club attended by the elite of society, from politicians to crime bosses, they're all there to experience decadence and sin, both legal and illegal. When Saiga interrupts a ceremony in which he is kissed by the "Goddess" of the club he finds that his camera has become a weapon that can destroy whatever it snaps pictures of! It seems the goddess wants to escape and she granted Saiga the power to help her. But the Club isn't about to let her go without a fight.

One thing that automatically made me critical of this anime is the fact that the main plot, that of a secret sex club attended by the city's elite, was lifted or ripped off from the Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman film Eyes Wide Shut. Even to the point of Saiga dressing up as one of the masked club members. So, starting off, Speed Grapher is derivative to the point of copyright infringement. Another thing is that the show's attempt to be "sexy" doesn't work too well because it is not well-animated. Sexy to me is defined by movement, whether it's a shake, or a suppleness, or a sleeky sensualness. The character's movements here are so blocky, ESPECIALLY in a club scene where a 2 second loop of women feeling themselves is repeated more than once made me think of Gatchaman when you see the same buildings being destroyed over and over again, or the same henchmen being killed more than once. There wasn't a lot of care or effort put into this show. Once you get past the cliched plot, Speed Grapher gets more interesting as it introduces more characters. I really like Hibari Ginza who is very funny because she's a cop who has her boss grovelling on his knees and is constantly shooting someone a la Miami Guns and then saying it was self-defense. Katsuya Shirogane, another superpowered human given powers by the goddess gives a new meaning to the word "psycho" and makes Jack Nicholson's Joker look well-adjusted! So I guess in terms of story and animation this anime is low, but in terms of interesting characters, it rates high. But that's not enough to carry Speed Grapher very far in my estimation.

For some reason I thought it was a boxset which included more than volume. I misread it and looked at the picture since it was big. When I first opened it, it looks awesome and has the older version of DVD case inside which was cool too! However, I am not sure what to do with the empty box/space inside, do I order more volume to put it in there? I tried to use my friend's other DVD case design with plastic case and it doesn't fit in that box. I am afraid that I might will have a heard time finding the similar DVD case so I could fit those in the empty box. It was cool Limited Edition though! I am sure it is probably almost one of a kind. I like that.

I bought this anime just as an off chance of it turning out to be something good, as I knew nothing of it, but I turned out to be quite lucky. Its very different, but very creative and not a typical, bouncy anime. Dont get me wrong, I love those too, but every now and then you like something out of the norm. This is it! 5 STARS!

SpeedGrapher is a film noir piece by Gonzo that exceeded expectations of what anime could bring to this genre. With deep complex characters and intricate storylines. This is one anime that just may match although not surpass the standard set by Cowboy Bebop and other mature anime titles.