Forum - View topicGun Sword.
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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GUNxSWORD
Not sure if anyone ever decided to watch this, but I bought the series on a whim some time ago and feel it's actually a very good adventure series. As much guff as people give it for being "derivative" and cliché, this is how a revenge story should be (unlike Claymore the anime). The characters and plot aren't particularly deep, but they resonate well with themes like lost dreams, accepting reality, and even some very subtle slice of life (though one would probably just call it more of a shounen feel). The production values are amazing. Art, animation, music; it's all extremely high quality and very consistent throughout the entire series. Even the dub is pretty good, especially considering a lot of the non-Japanese context (lots of Engrish words used in the original). Although, the only thing I don't really like is Michelle Ruff's Carmen99. Something about her voice in general (in any anime) almost always feels so.. pretentious and phony, falsely elated with the pitch of her voiced raised like she's trying too hard to sound cocky. Granted, her seiyuu counterpart in this one is Inoue Kikuko who is notorious for having that high, wavy, aristocratic voice. But if you've ever heard her speak normally (watch the interviews in Gankutsuou) she actually does speak like that, albeit a bit more quietly. At least it sounds natural, though. In fact, she actually lowers her voice a lot for her character in this one. The problem I have with most female English VAs is that this aspect is hard to pull off just because of cultural differences (language, body makeup of vocal chords, that sort of thing). Children's voices I can bear (though it's much easier to tell when they're faking it or straining too hard to sound like one), but unless it's a series where pitch won't really mess with inflection, and thus a character's personality/development, I tend to feel less-reassured on dubs with characters who might be affected by this (depending on the original cast, the group dubbing it, and context of the story/script). Anyway, aside from that one little blurb, the overall script and cast are still very well done on both sides. I would recommend it in either language. It's just that I happen to be more familiar (i.e. enjoy) a lot of the seiyuu who are involved in this particular series, but whatever floats your boat. There's some especially great dialogue towards the end. I'm not going to make this into one of those mini-review threads where I go all-out and make episode summaries and screencaps, but I just wanted to get out there that despite the really bad review given by Zac on Vol.1 a while back and the average user ratings, this really isn't a bad show if you can just sit back, absorb the atmosphere, and have fun with it. I wouldn't agree with the quotes given on the case saying it's up there in the echelon with Cowboy Bebop or Trigun (or even Black Lagoon) in terms of adventure series, but it's pretty close if you stick with it towards the end. It has a great resolution to the plot and characters if you like revenge stories, and I recommend you check this out if you need something that might feel a little.. different. Last edited by Tony K. on Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:28 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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Speaking as someone who actually bought and watched this series from the start of it's run, I've always been a bit suprised that so few people seem to have seen it. Putting aside whatever Zac said, and let's face it, that's probably best for at least a fair number of anime fans given some of his anime prejudices, Gun Sword is actually a good series.
I'm not going to go into defense mode on the English dub Tony. I'm a bit of a Michelle Ruff fanboy and I fear my comments would eventually turn into nothing more than name-calling. I do agree with you though that this series depicts the quest for revenge better than most. With Van and Ray, both are locked into their quests, both wanting to destroy the Claw, the man who took from each the person most precious to him. Watching the lengths to which they go, the sacrifice, it really does resonate. The themes are all well addressed, the plot swift and strangely deep in places for a series that at first glance doesn't seem to have much going for it besides it's very nice animation. If someone expects it to be EVA, they are idiots, but there is a decent story and a cast of interesting characters here. People you will actually care about. The path each character's story takes ultimately is very satisfying, even when you have to watch one character in particular die. It's rare that a series can make a death seem like a happy ending. Anyway, I'm just adding my own appreciation for a series that Geneon put a good effort into. |
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Maryohki
 Posts: 526 |
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On topic of Michelle Ruff, I agree that her Carmen99 was less than stellar, but I can't say she's always under expectations; her version of Anissina in Kyo Kara Maoh was awesome, IMO.
As for Gun X Sword itself, I haven't finished it, but I really enjoy it so far, and agree that it's unfairly given low ratings DX. |
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countchocula86
Posts: 159 |
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I think maybe people go into it with too high expectations? As Tony said, its not in the same category as some of the other high calibre series. But all in all its a lot of fun to watch.
I found, all in all, it was a great series because the varied characters. I mean Van isnt your typical hero (at least not mine, the way he acts at times) but that makes him all the more interesting. That being said, some parts of the series just kinda dragged on for me. But all in all I liked it. |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7410 Location: Maine |
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I think the reason why this series has such high expectations is because it often tries to present itself as the bastard love child of Cowboy Bebop and Trigun with giant robots thrown in. I enjoyed the series quite a bit, I think it flowed a bit better than the Trigun anime and its somewhat non-conclusive ending. Speaking of endings, without spoiling, I liked the way the ending was handled here, it's something I had first seen in the second season of Digimon of all things and rarely since.
Emerje |
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violented16
 Posts: 81 |
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I happily own this series and have watched it a few times. All the thoughts I had were covered in previous posts so I'm not going to repeat what they said. In particular though I agree with Emerje that the ending worked awesome for the series.
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Ryu19
 Posts: 23 Location: Boise,Idaho |
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Currently renting from Netflix and I love it so far. Van is an awesome character, kinda like Spike mixed with Vash. Wendy's okay and Liam freaking rocks. This is up there with Trigun for me at the moment. I hope it has a sastisfying ending.
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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Hmm. I dismissed this after the review of the firsts volume. Maybe I will give it a chance some time.
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Westlo
 Posts: 1684 |
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From the 16 episodes I've seen I liked it a lot more than Trigun.
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6900 Location: Kazune City |
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Hmm, I saw a little bit of this show awhile back (AKon 2006 maybe), and I wasn't too impressed with it. Then after reading various reviews, I decided Gun x Sword wasn't really worth my time, especially since it seemed to borrow from the Trinity Blood playbook of "take characters and elements from other North America - hit anime and meld them together."
Last edited by Zalis116 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 5:10 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Westlo
Posts: 1684 |
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You should check it out (I really need to finish it...) since it's a Goro Taniguchi anime and his stuff is generally quality. Ryvuis, Scryed, Planet ES, GunXSword & Code Geass are all at least 8/10. I personally think he's carried Sunrise since the Bones formation. (yeah I know gunxsword is an AIC anime and not sunrise seems they had some issue which obviously got smoothed up after code geass became sunrises biggest hit in a long time that wasn't gundam)
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Yeah, I'll admit the first volume is very deceiving, especially the first episode with that "Lucky" guy whose name I don't care to remember. And the rest of the volume suffers from repetitive mecha use as a means of resolving all their problems, though the Eldora Five thing was fun and campy (if you're the least bit sentimental for sentai). However, it really picks up in Vol.2 when they introduce Ray Lundgren (played very well by the always encompassing, bitter, sardonic, and angsty-voiced Sakurai Takahiro
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The series even starts to give a little background info on the side characters to help develop them as well. And no, they are not filler and actually do tie into the long scheme of things. The only real element that bugs me about the writing is that they had to sink to the level of the generic and put a freakin' beach/hot springs/fan service episode in the mix (ep. 17). Not that I dislike the fan service and comedy that comes along with those kinds of episodes, but it really throws things out of pace, especially at the point where they were at. |
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countchocula86
Posts: 159 |
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I think the believe that GunxSword is just a mish-mash of other successful concepts is what turns people off. And really, it isnt. Its its own anime, that just happens to be a combination of other elements.
Yea, its hard not to like the El Dorado guys, just for that pure campyness, but Ill agree Im not a fan of beach episodes. I mean I love girls in bikinis, but to be honest it needs to fit in with the rest of the series, and not be this 1 episode fan service thing. (Im tryin to think backspoiler[Was there like a group of women in the beach episode? And they had to get help from them or something? Because its possible then that the fansub I was watching censored the swim suits. Soooooo annoying!!] Ray is definetly my favourite character. he's so bitter, and at times it feels like he's willing to put himself out there and take wilder risks than Van. |
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Richard J.
Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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I do adore Wendy in this one though. And Fasalina is, as always, a truly awesome vixen. And there's actually some important stuff in the episode, although like all the filler-seeming episodes you don't really appreciate it until you've seen to the end. And yes, Ray is awesome. Gun Sword is a series you have to watch until at least the end of the second volume before you decide if you like it or not. |
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Emerje
Posts: 7410 Location: Maine |
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I'm pretty sure they're talking about the episodes with spoiler[the all girls island where the female members of the group have to compete in that gauntlet.] That episode didn't bother me as much as similar episodes in other anime, mainly because it was still a part of the main story and we got two somewhat useful characters out of it. Instead of senseless filler using fanservice for the sake of fanservice it's fanservice for the sake of the plot which is just fine by me.
Fasalina is a surprisingly nice character. Mild spoiler- spoiler[You kinda expect characters like her to not amount to much, but she quickly proves to be more than a handful (no, not that kind of handful). Her fighting ability is at one of the highest levels in the series, and how can you not like a deadly chick that pilots a giant robot with a stripper pole?] Emerje |
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