SPEED GRAPHER
In an age where subtlety has gone the way of the dinosaur...
Reveiw by: M.H. “Shouts embarrassing things in restaurants” Torringjan
Length: 24 episodes
Genre: Superpower, action
Watched: Entire series, subbed
Art is generally accepted as a sensory presentation intended to make a point or communicate an emotion of some sort. Having been to a few galleries in my time, I’ve got to say that I generally prefer my art of the subtle brand, where you actually have to think about it to get the point. When the artist starts beating you over the head with a blunt object, the art loses some of its appeal. While I usually prefer my fighting and superpower anime series to just be good, clean, mindless fun, I’m not totally against a little bit of mind candy to keep things interesting. Speed Grapher started out as the mindless action variety, but then went for the old hammers to make the point. It wasn’t just blunt, it was also very rusty.
Plot Summary: Tatsumi Saiga is an up-and-coming photographer who works for a local paper and made a name for himself taking pictures of life and death in the war. Ever since the war, though, he’s been searching for the perfect picture to fulfill his aching soul (for christ’s sake, just go into porn and be done with it). One evening while investigating a political figure for an expose, he stumbles across a secret club revolving around enjoyment of taboo activities. Like an idiot, he gets caught and his punishment is to kiss a strange girl who descends from the ceiling (apparently, the club is run by a people who fear cooties). After receiving this kiss, he finds that he has the special ability to blow shit up with his camera, and finds himself ass-deep in a conspiracy that runs through every facet of an extremely corrupt society. He wants to free the girl, but can he do it and escape with his 70-300 mm Telephoto-zoom lens intact?
Artwork: The theme of this series is corruption in society, so it’s normal to expect gritty, realistic artwork. It’s also a superhero anime, so it’s reasonable to expect some outlandish artwork when it comes to the superpowers and the battles. Thankfully, the artists were able to find a reasonable medium between the two, resulting in a pretty decent attempt. The animation is fairly vivid, with the sharp edges that you’d expect from a shonen series. However, the quality of the animation itself is a little bit lower than you’d expect from a 2005 series. The backgrounds are standard, nothing special about them. Overall, considering some of the other artistic outputs that have come from Studio Gonzo, it could have been better.
Music: Following the theme of the animation, here’s another average technical area. The music mainly serves to set the mood, and while there are moments where the music could possibly be enjoyable on its own, I find that I really don’t care enough to pick it up. I doubt there’s anyone who’s more happy than I am that in the Japanese version, the opening theme is Duran Duran’s “Girls On Film,” in an ironic twist of finally being able to find a song that’s actually related to the series but isn’t even Japanese. For some odd reason, though, Duran Duran decided not to give the rights to the company for the R1 release. It’s a shame, because I’d think that Duran Duran could use whatever money they could get at this point. Really, they need work.
Characters: I have never before seen a character with as many completely reprehensible characters featured in it as I have in this series. Tastsumi Saiga is a tough, determined guy who has devoted his entire life to photography. He eats pictures, breathes negatives, and gets boners off of taking pictures of life. Apparently, normal pictures don’t quite float his boat anymore, so as soon as he stumbles across this Goddess, Kagura Tennouzu, he decides he’s finally found his, ahem, “muse” and starts lusting after her picture. Of course, when he gets superpowers, he’s going to end up with something camera-related, so he gets to blow shit up. With his camera. You following? Good. Getting back to Kagura, she’s a high-school student (yes, a minor), who has been imprisoned by Chouji Suitengu, who’s got her mom wrapped around his little finger. She’s a quiet girl who yearns for freedom, but has no way to get it. Her captivity is a result of her ability to give others superpowers to improve their enjoyment of life’s good things. She’s worth a lot of money, and so Suitengu keeps her on an inch-long leash. Not literally, though, since that would be less kinky than creepy. Suitengu is a power-hungry, shady guy who prefers to control the world from behind the scenes. By using the secret club to expand his power, he can move freely without getting his hands dirty. However, it should be warned that when he does, watch out. These three main characters are surrounded by a cast of characters who are flawed to the core, and basically the only character you can remotely like in this series is Kagura. It's not that the characters are poorly developed, the main characters are given fairly complex backstories that give insight into their personalities. The problem is that while the enemies are pretty obviously bad by virtue of their blatant, extreme hedonism, the “good” guys are so morally flawed that I find it difficult to sympathize with them.
Plot: The superhero theme was handled fairly well here, as an explanation was given that didn’t involve radioactivity, insect bites, or birth on another planet (although I’ve previously discussed the use of scientific explanations for weird shit happening; they’re treading on thin ice). As for the use of the theme of corruption in society and the evils of materialism, I’m calling a foul for unnecessary roughness. I’m all for moral ambiguity normally, but in this case, the gray area is so close to black that there’s no room for argument. As I mentioned earlier, they decided on a message and decided within about five minutes that subtlety was a piddling concern. I enjoyed the novelty of some of the super-powers (aside from the stupid camera), and the action sequences were pretty well-planned out. However, the makers really tried to plug too much meaning into what’s traditionally meant as mindless entertainment.
CHICKS!! Well, I’ll show you what we’ve got, take it or leave it. We’ve got a shy, yet resilient quiet young girl who’s yearning for her own life in Kagura. The downside is she’s not legal, so I’d give it a couple of years before you try anything. It might not be a bad idea to invest in the future, though, since her figure gets shown off in her Goddess getup nicely, and she’s already starting to develop into a full woman. And remember, this is anime, so all females are contractually obligated to have drop-dead figures. Besides, any woman who can make your favorite activity better is good in my book! Kagura’s mother, Shinsen, is a cold woman who’s completely obsessed with money. Nothing redeeming that I can find about her character, but… god, she’s got a nice figure! I mean, if you’re in it for the looks alone, and don’t particularly care that you’ll be made into a nameless cog of a global corporate juggernaut, then this could be bordering on bearable for you!
Overall: This series has been well-received by fans, from what I’ve seen, mainly because it’s a superhero anime that appeals to the mature tastes of a population of anime fans. While the series can’t qualify as “high-class” or “light-handed,” there are certain enjoyable points to be found. The action sequences and the concept are pretty enjoyable, but the rest of the series could certainly have used a different vision. If you’re up for some good fights and haven’t gotten enough superpower series, and don’t mind your series ridiculously dark, then you might enjoy this series.
In a Nutshell:
+ Good fight sequences
+ Interesting superpowers
+ Interesting concept
+ Duran Duran feels like 80’s Night!
- Too heavy-handed
- Ummmm, who am I supposed to like?
- Mediocre technically
Final score: 6.5/10