GUNxSWORD Volume 7: Last Rites

GunxSword ends well. I knew it would, because through and through it was a well plotted road trip adventure. In the beginning, it might not have felt that way, seeming like it was going to do the standard anime thing and waste the first eight episodes on throwaway plots that are just lame vehicles for character introductions before getting on with the real show. That happens a bit here, only, almost all of that throwaway stuff comes back. That loop around really delivers an efficient pay-off.

DVD Back Cover Blurb: At the bottom of the universe, on the planet named Endless Illusion, a man adorned in a tuxedo has scoured the wild lands…to finally accost the clawed man responsible for the murder of his bride. Outnumbered and outgunned, Ray, Pricilla, Carmen99, Joshua, and the Eldora Four make their last stand at the Claw’s stronghold; however, Van is still missing in action, while the Prison Planel Destroyer system has already initiated. As Wendy confronts her brother Michael for the last time, will everyones’ sacrifices and suffering have been in vain?

I’m trying to make the storytelling in this anime sound a little smart, but really I’m just trying to come up with a different way of saying, man that was cool. When the last little cameo loop around appeared I was clapping. I had a lot of fun with how this road trip played out. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil GunxSword’s ending for you. It is the uncommon anime that ends well, which is all you need to know.

The last three episodes are all about getting to the claw before he can finish the last step and complete his dream. Everyone digs deep to find that last bit of energy, strength, and courage. For everyone that means something different and each character is given time on screen to find it, which is cool for fans of each character. It always sucks when your favorite character gets short-changed or left on the cutting room floor. No. All the guys going against the claw contribute.

As can be expected from a set of episodes dealing with saving the world from a nutjob with a messiah complex, the material concentrates on the giant robots beating the snot out of each other. But, it’s not all combat and drama. There’s a bit of funny too. It is Gun Sword after all.

In some ways, while Gun Sword borrows familiar anime things, it feels a little different. Gun Sword really stayed away from a lot of internal monolouging, staying outside of the character’s head far more than most anime where the lead character is a robot pilot fighting to save the world. Still, even though we get the tip of the iceberg view most of the time we somehow get to know these characters and that’s what makes the show really work for me. I know them by watching them and being with them, not because they monlogued it to me. So that when we are pulled inside some of the characters in this volume, it felt a bit more personal. I loved the end of episode 24.

If you dropped it early on, I urge you to give it another chance.

The English Dub for GunxSword

Gun Sword was directed by Liam O’Brien, who also plays Ray Lundgren in the show. I believe this was his second spin in the dub director’s chair and he delivers another excellent dub for New Generation Pictures.

The on screen action gives all of the characters a moment to really shine and each of the actors hit it out of the park, well except maybe for the old men who make up the Eldora Four. What are you going to do with oafish old-timers? Actually, they were pretty funny, so they did their job doing the intentionally cheesy thing. Overall, Gun Sword has a well-balanced cast and it becomes extra apparent in this volume during the battle. Sometimes when the cast doesn’t feel as well developed as it could, the deliveries of the actors can often feel lumped together as if each of the characters were all part of a single hive mind. O’Brien as director made the voice of each cast member distinct and made sure the actors had someplace to go that wasn’t already occupied, which so helps enhance what happens on screen.

Dave Vincent of course rocked out as Van (check out the really cool extra on the dvd). I like the intensity of Van’s rage when he goes nuts as he goes after The Claw, who was nicely evil. I pretty much liked how all the cast sounded…Fasalina…mmmmm…. Ahem, but, the real awesomeness of the cast was Jen Sekiguchi as Wendy, who matched up very well with Vincent. She brought a nuance to the character where I could get a good sense about what Wendy was thinking or feeling. Aside from some really great work (especially in this volume and volume five), I’m going to miss listening to the next episode reads. There was a sadness about them that was strangely appealing.