Forum - View topicREVIEW: Speed Grapher DVD 1
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sionEmber
 Posts: 20 |
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I saw the first 4 episodes of Speed Grapher at A-kon, and I disagree with the review 95%. The blood and sex was what actually kept me on my seat, and the other audience members must have felt the same way. Some people think Full Metal Alchemist is an awesome show and others think its boring. Preference is what it comes down to....and what's the deal with the box? Does it look really cool and pretty? I can't find a picture of it at the right stuff website.
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wildarmsheero
 Posts: 55 |
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I don't think I'd want to sit through Speed Grapher ever again. The second half rocked pretty hardcore, but shitty animation and a poor opening act make me wonder why anyone would spend money on it. Shame, too! So much potential! Such awesome character art and a cool concept! Too bad Gonzo gave gave it to their C-Team.
Wow, I actually agree with Zac for once. Maybe I have to kill my self now. |
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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Wow, if the beginning part of Speed Grapher already earned a C/C+, I can't even imagine what grade the later DVDs are going to get as the series moves into its "freak of the week."
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11315 Location: Frisco, TX |
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No smoke, just an explosion with a small ring of fire and droplets of blood flying into the air and raining down with loud thuds. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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^ Ah, thanks.
The "freak of the weak" thing is only for about 5 episodes or so during the first half of the series. The latter portion of the series is much better, actually. |
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Azathrael
 Posts: 745 |
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First time I actually read a review from top to bottom. Very good read, too. I believe it was as accurate as how I would've reviewed Speed Grapher. But with much better writing skills.
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Cloe
Moderator
 Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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I'm exactly the opposite. I'm not drawn to action series at all so when I first heard about this title I thought "snooze-fest," but the review was so funny and well-written that it made me really, really curious to see the show for myself. I'm going to rent this, just for the fun of it, mainly due to Zac's review. |
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DKL
 Posts: 1956 Location: California, USA |
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I actually wanted to see this because Taliesin Jaffie worked on the dub (he was in Fort Worth)...
at least, I remember hearing that he co-directed with Chris Bevins ... anyway, Taliesin is doing Beck, so I'm pretty sure that will be great This actually sorta reminds me of Gantz (the whole guilty pleasure thing, which was fun) I might wanna check it out (somehow) |
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Ranma824
 Posts: 456 |
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I'm gonna go a little further and say I disagree with 97% of the Review  Seriously though, you can't go into every show expecting a certain storyline or assume relevence. I didn't get to see the last several episodes of this show, but Speed Grapher definitely delivers. And it's also better then the other Gonzo shows yet to be released, Basilisk and Trinity Blood (Trigun with Vampires  )
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18249 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Just finished watching the first volume, and must mostly agree with Zac's take on things. The artistry and technical merits are unquestionably far below Gonzo's recent standards; if this isn't the shabbiest-looking title they've done to date, I want to know what is.
While I find Saiga, Kagura, and that psycho policewoman and their situations interesting enough that I'll probably keep watching the series, I also did think the writing in the first volume was a let-down. There's a great gimmick here but it's being wasted on very ordinary, retreaded storytelling and a stale premise. (I found Trinity Blood's writing to be equally lacking, though, so GONZO's been cooling off after peaking with Last Exile and Gankutsuou.) The dub job is what ultimately saved the title for me, as it captures exactly the kind of tone GONZO was aiming for when they made the series. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6879 Location: Kazune City |
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I think I can sum up my total exposure to Speed Grapher as being the clip in AMV Hell 3 where spoiler[some crazy dentist does things to a girl's teeth that are definitely notcovered by her insurance policy
 ], and I didn't even know it was from Speed Grapher at the time. I'll watch GANTZ one of these days, but in general, graphic/violent/disturbing anime has to have some sort of a balancing factor to be appealing to me, like the gritty visual and experimental storytelling of Texhnolyze, the war lessons of NTHT, or the cute girls / emotional backstory of Elfen Lied. If that balance isn't there, I'll usually pass a given anime up in favor of something lighter/cuter. So, I shan't be buying Speed Grapher, but neither will I steal it.
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mufurc
 Posts: 612 |
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Garasu no kantai/Glass Fleet which is not only shabby, it's the worst anime I've seen in a long, long time. If the absolutely abysmal animation wasn't enough, the story is so stupid it hurts, the characters are either superfluous or two-dimensional poseurs, but all idiots, the action is silly and the "comic relief" is not funny at all (unless stuff like knocking glasses off a character and having him search for them desperately makes you laugh). Really, the whole thing is so bad it's embarrassing. (And to add insult to injury, it's a joint production between Gonzo and SATELIGHT, of all studios.) |
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JoeC
Posts: 6 |
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I've never posted here before but I felt the need when I saw this awful one-sided review. Give us a break, this is almost as bad as when I read the movie reviews in a local paper (Tucson Weekly) where the reviewer hates everything that isn't artsy-fartsy.
I've agreed with this reviewer alot in the past but this one is just plain wrong. I've watched this show and yes, you can't take it completely seriously. I never got the impression that it was supposed to be taken seriously though. Its a comedy in many ways. (See the character Bob for example) I would use the old line that, "It's so bad its great!" but I didn't think it was bad at all. It's not a masterpiece theater, but its not supposed to be. Seriously I think your being way too critical. Some times you just got to enjoy the sex and violence for the sex and violence. Every one I saw this show with loved it. Of course we are all demented. What's the point of having cheesy looking characters if you can't have them be killed off violently? |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18249 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Just because a series has one character for comic relief, or a couple of mildly funny scenes, does not make it a comedy. Speed Grapher is absolutely not that - or at least, it's not intended as that.
And although I agree with you to a point about the sex and violence, JoeC, this is hardly a good example to support your case. You want good graphic content that's used well? Look at Elfen Lied or Kite or Ninja Scroll. All are not only far more graphic but use it much more impressively and effectively. Speed Grapher just looks like a cheesy wannabe. And I would point out, guys n' gals, that Zac didn't totally condemn the series. He did say it was interesting despite its problems and might work for some people. And he's right about that. But let's not mistake this for being a top-quality series just becase it can be interesting. |
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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I have nothing against slow, cerebral series (Haibane Renmei and Texhnolyze are in my top five), but this series sounds like it has more problems than that to begin with. Right now I'm in a phase of watching alot of lighter, mainstream series simply because most of the manga I read is generally dramatic and often a bit slow. That doesn't mean I don't love dark, cerebral thought-provokers, but when I get the choice of seeing an anime that may or may not be mediocre and seeing a movie like "The Virgin Spring," I'll pick the later and wait to see if the anime improves. |
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