Gungrave/Headscratchers

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Fancy cowboy outfit for Grave in anime and first game. In time of mortal life Brandon didn't show any habit of wearing fancy suits, so he wouldn't pick one for himself later, caring even less about fashion then ever. It also can be imagined that in second game Mika, being Grave's caregiver, can sew something fancy--but in anime and first game the only who could possibly do that outfit is Dr. T. And what just bugs me why an elderly scientist would ever use such style instead of something more practical.
    • Some people have joked that "bad fashion sense" is another side effect of Necro-Rise. Or that Dr. T. is a fan of spaghetti westerns, and decided to dress Grave up for fun. Other than that, I dunno.
      • But I can understand crosses, at least in anime, Dr. T being The Atoner after all.
      • It's like a Tootsie Pop. The world may never know. And then people complained about Grave's O.D. costume being too "plain"...
  • What really bothered me was the revelation that alien parasites were behind it all. I'm all for the series, but I was kinda hoping that it would be like Resident Evil (man-made viruses/bio-engineered viruses being a component of necro-rise). Did it just have to be aliens?
    • Well they weren't exactly subtle about it. The guidebook says that the Tower was there longer than anyone can remember, and implies that this isn't Earth. To this troper, that practically SCREAMED aliens.
  • Not one really involving me, but a friend of a friend is bugged by Brandon's deadman name (Grave). "That's not a name, that's a sentence!" So my friend talks to me about it...and all I could really say was "...Because this is a Nightow series and it sounds cool?"
  • Why does Brandon get called 'Beyond The Grave'? That name sounds so awkward. They never called him 'Gungrave'.
    • Because that's not his name. This troper recalls Dr. T giving him the name 'Beyond The Grave' because his will to protect the ones he loves literally goes Beyond The Grave.
  • If Juji is able to survive thanks to his meditation, why is he bursting in rage constantly?
    • It's a breathing technique, not full meditation.
  • Anime-wise, during the last episode, while Harry was yelling about Big Daddy 'stealing the most important thing in his life,' what exactly was he talking about? Granted, Harry was ranting and maybe I missed something, but that still confuses me.
    • Brandon. Harry felt that Brandon had turned against him because of Big Daddy, thus he was forced to kill him. Not logical, but almost definitely what Harry had in mind.
      • Oh, well... That makes sense. Not sure how I missed that one. In retrospect, it might have been the different tenses in the sub and dub versions. ... So, does Brandon realize that Harry killed Big Daddy and Maria because of him?
  • Big Daddy's portrayal in the anime is more that of a saint than a man who ran one of the most successful crime syndicates in town. It bothers me that Big Daddy is apparently absolved of the ruthless dealings necessary to become leader of the Mob, and make it a success, because he regrets his actions and Harry's are worse in comparison. Or can you really repent all the evil you've done while continuing to do it, just with rules about in-fighting and family-friendly picnics? Or, if he was basically a figurehead, does the fact that he's not actively running it make him innocent while he lives off ill-gotten gains and allows it to continue? The Godfather painted both Michael and Vito as family men, but made no bones about the fact that they were also murderers who were responsible for murderers. Their karmic deaths can thus be seen as a direct result of their criminal actions, no matter how noble their intentions; Big Daddy's death makes him look like an innocent victim of "Also, Harry's a bastard now. A crazy bastard."