Speed Grapher

Speed Grapher This Series has a lot of Adult Subjects such as: Corruption, Greed, Power, Action, Sexploitation, Blood and Gore. So before u even give this series a try u should be careful as to what u are in for. General Thoughts: This is a relatively old Series exactly a decade old by the time of this review. However it does necessarily mean u should not give this show a try. As it has a lot to offer if u stick around to watching it till the end. Story: 7.5 ,The Story is about this Former War photographer who is now making a living as a freelancephotographer journalist named Tatsumi Saiga who has found himself investigating a secret fetish club for the Ultra wealthy called Roppongi Club. He tries to photograph the club's "goddess," a 15-year-old, exploited girl named Kagura, but is discovered. As he is about to be killed, Kagura kisses him, granting him the ability to destroy anything he photographs. Saiga soon discovers that Kagura's body fluids, like her saliva, in combination with a certain "virus", can give people bizarre abilities relating to their secret desires, fetishes, and obsessions. Club members strive for the honor of becoming "gifted" via Kagura's power. Saiga soon becomes entangled in this secret underground society and the powerful and corrupt Tennōzu Group mega-corporation that operates it. He attempts to free Kagura, a move that puts the two of them on the run from the Tennōzu Group and blood-thirsty members of the club with bizarre and often horrifying special power. The plot itself I found to be entertaining and it really engages how those with power and control can really become corrupted by that authority and wealth they outline and how they use it to their advantage. It is also set as a cat and mouse game where the main 2 protagonists are constantly on the run as they try to escape the Clutches of the club members and the corporation. There is also a revenge story that builds as the story goes which would finally reach it’s climax at the end. The story itself is not exactly the greatest as there are time where it would seem a bit silly and the scenarios a bit repetitive but that it actually improved over time especially towards the second half. Characters: 9 What really drives the series is not as much as the story but the characters that are within it. All of who have such complexities in their personalities and histories that all in one way or in another intertwine with each other that makes the story progression even more worthwhile. Even the one off villains are given some form of development and background that would give the audience time to see as to what drove them to these actions and the reasons behind them. If not u can even sympathize with them to some extent no matter what the justification was. The 2 main protangsts are also great because there chemistry works so well. There interactions and behaviour towards another is built up slow and progressively that in the end nothing would seem so forced or overdone. However the real character that has been built up so well and done so right would be the main villain, In order not to give away spoilers all I can say is this, What he started out as one way would find himself different in another. Art and Animation: 7 This is probably the series main real weakness, Even for a series that is over a decade old, the art and animation is not exactly the greatest as with other series that have also come out during that time. At times it might seem a little foggy or a bit hiccuped and the frames might a little to stiff at certain scenes. However it is not exactly the worst either. Despite the outdated animation and art it is still good, particularly the animation sequences that reflect the dark and twisted atmosphere that the story focuses on as well as those special moments where the focus on the characters feelings or to reflect their emotions with the animation background in which in those cases they work wonderful. Soundtrack: 9 The series features a wide variety of music types which range from classical music such as moonlight sonata, to quire music such as Amazing Graze to a jazzy, action oriented sound track that makes it so compelling. Most of it actually is a combination of Jazz mixed in with piano and acoustic music. The classical music is mostly used in scenes to reflect situations that would fit with the appropriate tone that the music is known to accessories with. It defiantly keeps up with the overall scenes and situations that makes watching the series even more worthwhile. Bottom line: 8 If u are a looking for a good show that focuses on corruption and greed as well as fun action and good character build up and a good old revenge story than I would defiantly recommend you Speed Grapher. It is not a series that would win high praise or a lot of attention but it is a good show to watch if u like the sort of genres that I have mentioned as well as to give something a try when u have some free time .

In all my years of watching anime I’ve encountered some really strange shows that left me scratching my head. But in all this time, despite the Boku no Pico‘s and the Kodomo no Jikan‘s, and even the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures, I’ve never encountered anything quite as strange as Speed Grapher, a Gonzo anime from 2005. And this isn’t a strange anime in that it’s inherently difficult to understand or presents itself as wacky comedy, it’s strange because it’s just really fucking weird. Our hero is named Saiga, a famed war photographer. Working for a newspaper in Tokyo, he gets caught up in a club whereJapan’s richest and most powerful go to have sex, eat, drink; indulging in depravity. Saiga winds up being captured by these people and is going to be executed when a young girl falls from the sky named The Goddess. She kisses him and gives him apparent superpowers. He can use his camera to make things blow up by snapping a picture of whatever it is. Anyway, he saves the girl, gets caught up in a plot to destroy Japan, and spends the whole series battling a bevy of strange enemies with superpowers like his, while also protecting the girl. There’s biological weapons, gray area bad guys, and lots and lots of really creepy sexual tension. And this is where I find that the series really excelled: the bad guys. Each bad guy had a superpower related to his or her fetish or addiction. There was a dentist who got off to kissing a tooth he pulled. He turns into a spider person with dental equipment at the ends of his legs. There was a guy in a gimp suit who had elastic abilities. There’s a guy who’s made out of speakers who tweaks his nipples to turn up the volume. It’s really freaking funny and I don’t particularly know if it was supposed to be. I spent more time laughing at this series than I have at any anime I’ve ever watched. So if you’re looking for a comedy, you have one here. The entirety of the bad guys is supposed to apparently represent the greed and corruption of the Japanese government, a notion that will be jammed down your throat more often than you’ll like. Especially toward the end, the message is so loud and spelled out in such simple terms that you’ll want to bang your head against a wall. “GOVERNMENT IS CORRUPT! OKAY! GOT IT!” Another bang your head theme is how often the Goddess, whose real name is Kagura and has the ability to give people the superpowers, is kidnapped. If you’re looking for a strong female lead, this series is not for you. Kagura is weak, whiny, and entirely depends too much on someone to save her. A portion of the series is dedicated to her and Saiga escaping from the bad guys, but a majority is spent with Saiga saving her ass. The interaction between these two is interesting though and the few reviews I’ve seen for this show either call the character development between these two one of pedophilia or one of brother and sister. I didn’t feel romance in any way brewing between the two characters, but it’s easily misconstrued as Saiga’s girlfriend gets completely jealous of the two anytime she sees them together. This makes the relationship out to be something creepy between a thirty-some year old and a fifteen year old. But nowhere in there is there sexual tension. He loves her, she loves him. If any romance was to be had it’s one-sided from Kagura’s end considering she spent all of her life bottled up in her house with very little outside interaction. So it’s pretty easy to understand if she loves the guy who saved her. That said, I should bring up Ginza, the cop whose in love with Saiga and the character who gets my Seal of Best Character award. She’s a sort of yandere, threatening to kill Saiga if he doesn’t fuck her and such. But she’s got a more compassionate side that the series gives a little time to shine. She’s also hilarious, calling out any act of violence as “self defense”. The biggest problem with her is her outfit. Do Tokyo police not have regulation outfits? She’s basically showing off her thong. That is not regulation anywhere lady. And finally we have the bad guy, Suitengu. At first he’s a bad guy, later he’s in the gray area. He has a terrible past and back story and he has white hair, glasses, and a coat, so you know he’s a conniving, evil person. In the grand scheme of things he’s not a memorable bad guy, especially compared to the weirdos Saiga battles to get to him. But he served his purpose and became a little more three-dimensional toward the end. Issues with the series are plentiful, the main one with the story, for me, being the pacing. It starts off pretty fast-paced but the middle slumps a little and the end is protracted and drawn out to get to a slightly satisfactory conclusion. The formula also gets dull. A bad guy is played up then goes to face off against Saiga. Then when that bad guy’s dead, the next one shows up. So it can get a little stale which might be why I felt the middle wasn’t as exciting as the beginning. Another problem is the music. And it’s not the actual music because the OST is fantastic, blending haunting piano with the jazzy action-movie music of the eighties. It’s the overuse of the same five or six songs. It’s obvious this show wasn’t made with a huge budget and the music really tells you that. The same songs over and over and over to a point of total annoyance. Plus, that damn piano gets stuck in your head. The dub is…edgy? There’s a lot of curse words thrown in pointlessly and lots of yelling. It’s a pretty good dub that could do with just a few less “fucks” thrown in to make it “mature”. The animation is dated and doesn’t hold up in any way. It’s low-budget and can look like total crap at points. It’s not God-awful, but it does make some still-shots laughable as hell. So where do I stand on Speed Grapher? When it started, I loved it. It was wacky, it was weird, it was original. But as it kept going it got mired in politics and giving off a message. It grew stale because of the formula but stayed fresh by introducing ridiculous bad guys. The characters were, for the most part, decent, but could use more fleshing out. And the ending wasn’t as spectacular as I was hoping it to be. Say one thing about Speed Grapher though: it’s entertaining as hell for all the wrong reasons. The inclusion of all these sexual deviants getting off to some of the weirdest stuff makes the show hilarious, despite the fact it’s trying to give us a message of greed and corruption. It’s an extended metaphor that is given in such a way as to make whatever message it’s sending a joke. Yes, political greed is bad. Yes the country is fucked up. But when you play up the Prime Minister to be absolutely evil then fight him as his head expands into a giant balloon and his tongue becomes spider legs, your whole message is destroyed. Metal Gear Solid could throw us messages because, despite the bevy of insane, weird, and otherwise unrealistic characters, there were still human characters and situations we could relate to. And I see a lot of Metal Gear Solid trying to come through here. It just doesn’t work. This is an entertaining, dark, and edgy anime. But it’s also not at all as smart as it tries to be, nor as serious. It’s hilarious, it’s weird, and it, ultimately, is one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. Especially Saiga baring his chest to show the ten cameras he has strapped to himself. If ever there were a laughable way to defeat a bad guy, it’s goddam chest cameras. Suggested.

Story (7.7) - It starts when Saiga, who was a war photogapher, started investigating an special underground group controlled by Suitengu, a survivor from an attack to an island in an attempt to erase some kind of weird experience. Only 2 people survived that day, suitengu and saiga. Thats where they got some kind of virus that allows them to have "superpowers". After finding out what the group was all about, Saiga decided to fight against them using his special ability, killing everyhing he photographs. Its a fine story, it started very well indeed, then by episode 12 it gets a bit worse, but still verynice. Art (7.2) - Art...Although not bad, i think it lacks in some characters design, also is not an aspect that got my attention. But its not that terrible,so 7. Sound (7.3) - Sometimes fits well, sometimes it doesnt fit so well. Besides that, the voices are ok, opening and ending are also ok, the big problem is just the other sound, from the ost some are good, other are not good, and as i said it in some moments the action doesnt fit perfectly with the music. But still ok. Character - (9.0) There it is.. i liked the characthers in speed grapher. After i finihsed i can say some things about all the most important characters in the anime, and thats positive. Another point is that the characters have nice abilities, and that turns it more interesting. Not perfect, but for sure one of the best aspects in my opinion. Enjoyment (8.0) - I liked! I seriously dont think i wasted my time..an anime with lots of action, with fine story and characthers..so i recommend.. Overall (8.0) - Not much left to say, basically its an average of all the aspects.

What if you had a gun? The entire premise and synopsis of this series is about a photographer who anything he takes a picture of dies... but this isn't quite accurate. Garnering several comparisons to Death Note regarding "supernatural object that kills people efficiently and powerfully from a distance" one may think they are in for another analytical thriller where the protagonist can carry out undetectable assassinations, or perhaps some sort of monkey paw-esque cursed object scenario where a photo is taken of a large group of people and they all start dropping dead 1 by 1 and he has to find a way toundo the curse before it reaches his loved one who was in the picture. This series is nothing like those scenarios that may have been brought to mind. The titular camera upon interacting with the supernatural powers will fire a ballistic concussive blast directly forward at the first thing in its line-of-site. Literally like a gun. It isn't a special "cellular lifeform degeneration" effect that leads to certain death either, several characters receive multiple 'shots' at point blank range and continue to remain alive. Like a gun. This anime is largely about political corruption and conspiracies so perhaps if it was in a setting where the protagonist has the only 'firearm' trying to take down legions of bad guys without being mobbed down knowing a single mistake would be certain death, sadly that is not the case. Every episode has easily 12 bad guys who all have guns and have no qualms shooting them. The supernatural element draw of this anime is immediately nullified. Granted they do follow up with some interesting limitations of the camera shots ability - it won't focus correctly in fog, if something is transparent it can't be focused on, there needs to be adequate lighting before a picture can be taken, etc. I'm writing this review 14 years after the series came out so I'm being mindful of conventions in the medium that may now seem dated. It comes from an era where studios were getting experimental and finding what works in this field and the products can be hit or miss sometimes. I finished this series feeling like I really wanted to like it but I just couldn't. I'm told this genre of anime is considered "ecchi" - there is a lot of sexual content, and a lot of dark themes. However instead of coming off as mature and distinctive it just comes off as weird and out of place. A criminal mastermind couple will be talking about their next step in their mafia empire and then the guy will just grab a boob out of nowhere. A fugitive who escaped numerous hitmen and survives deadly injuries passes out and the detective who takes him to the hospital starts licking his face. It's not erotic, the mood isn't there, it often just feels thrown in to be edgy. There was one scene where it was used effectively but it was in tandem with bribery in exchange for sexual pleasure and abandoning your moral duty so the complexity of everything made it more effective than just 'random boob'. The characters are hit or miss. The main protagonist Tatsumi Saiga is the main character and the series won't ever let you forget it. In the very first episode we get to see how all the women want him, but he's too cool with his cigarettes and being the only male to have a popped-collar shirt. Even the men want him too, in case you forgot that he's super awesome. He isn't given any real flaws so it's hard to relate to him or truly care about his struggles beyond a surface level. Hibari Ginza is the main police detective who has a history with Saiga, but the writing seemed to forget to ever make her likable to the audience. I absolutely hated this character. Whenever she was getting shot at I hoped she would die, when she gets kidnapped I hoped she would stay gone. It is ridiculous how obnoxious this character ended up being. I think in 2005 she was intended to be a "sexy" and "cool" character similar to how Bayonetta is today but instead EVERYTHING just comes off as cringey. She's supposed to be a detective but constantly brandishes extremely flashy and gaudy gold-plated pistols that would be highly impractical in detective work. She constantly has tantrums and shoots people with no repercussions, including someone literally walking out of a hospital after recovering because they are interested in another woman more than her. The intros have her running a pistol slowly along her crotch and then licking the other one but as you learn more and more about her personality it just makes you think "gross" instead of "hot". Suitengu is one of the villains who has a fairly interesting and complex backstory (one of the parts of the series I did enjoy). Unfortunately it is lacking somewhere as we eventually learn that both Suitengu and Saiga share a common enemy at one point but instead of teaming up or even taking them down separately, Suitengu continues to fight Saiga for no explained reason. It's like that part of the storyboard got moved to a later episode and they forgot that they have no reason to be enemies at this point. The real crowning character is Kagura Tennouzu. One of the only characters the series gives you reason to care about, grow on you, and actively want to be safe, taken care of, and overcome all kinds of obstacles to have a happy ending because she deserves to be happy just for once. She was the reason I watched the series to the end because it made me invested in her struggle. If you've ever known a kind person who tries their best in the world but keeps getting beat down over and over Kagura should remind you of them in some ways. A large focus of the plot is on a super rich crime organization that lets powerful people indulge in their desires to a supernaturally hedonistic degree. While this could have been done well, it comes off as very "monster of the week" style with each super power villain being dispatched in the very episode that are introduced, if not the very next one. There were some interesting ideas explored here (especially for a 24-episode series) like someone who loves diamonds gets the power to become pure diamond, someone who loves food gets the power to devour anything, etc. but they didn't get to be fleshed out much more than that which would have been fun I think. A lot of the bad guys seem a little TOO over the top - a guy that likes girls hands literally collects sawed off hands in a room, a guy that likes teeth literally collects teeth, a guy that likes girls legs literally collects sawed off legs in a room, etc. While there are depraved people like this we see too much of the same kind of depravity to be believable. A major complaint I have is that the series appears to only have 3 songs. I'm not talking about the 2 openings and endings, I mean the music that plays during the episodes. You will recognize the tunes quickly because there are literally only 3 and they play a LOT. I didn't realize how much it would be fine for characters to just speak without music playing in the background until I had to hear the same song over and over and over and over every episode. It feels like they were trying to be jazzy-artsy like Cowboy Bebop from a similar era but they didn't quite have the budget for it. On the other hand the sound effects are quite effectively used. Some of the high-pitched whirring used when a bad guy is using dentist drills had me physically wincing with sympathy pain. The disgusting villain that can devour anything made some super gross slobbering noises as he devoured stuff that left me feeling grossed out too. I don't have a strong closing summary for this anime in mind. I watched it because someone had recommended it as similar to Death Note (which I love) and this is nothing like it, so I created an account to give my perspective on this series. It is a very interesting attempt and you can see that the team gave it some effort at some points but overall I can't recommend it.

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