Speed Grapher: Vol. 3 (Review)
Friday, 30th October 2009, 15:27

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Introduction
Tatsumi Saiga was an acclaimed war photographer back in the Economic Bubble War. It was a war that further deepened the divide between the haves and have nots, the rich got richer, and the poor became doormats. Tokyo is the city where the rich walk over the poor with impunity, and it’s Tokyo where Saiga now practices his trade, no longer able to leave the country. But he’s suited to this decadent capital, a man who can only be aroused when he has his camera in hand. He works as a freelance photographer, when he isn’t being the plaything of Detective Ginza, a woman who needs a gun in her hand to get sexual pleasure. You’d think that they would be perfectly suited to each other, but Saiga wants more, and his pursuit of a killer story leads him into the depraved underworld, a secret club under Roppongi. It’s here where he encounters a teenaged goddess named Kagura; it’s here where he obtains an amazing new power. Now when he looks through the lens of his camera and clicks the shutter, whatever he snaps explodes.

Four more corrupt episodes are here on this MVM disc.

9. Into The Bath
Dr Ryogoku reckons it will be a week before the DNA analysis is complete, which means that Saiga and Kagura have to stay on the run for at least that long. They need somewhere to run to, which is when Kagura comes up with a clue, a photograph she has of her mother with a mystery man. It’s a man who could very well be her father, so they decide to go to where the photograph was sent from, Nagano. It’s a trail that leads them to an abandoned military genetic research facility. Meanwhile back in Tokyo, Ginza is on the trail of Saiga, surprised at the strength of her feelings for him. She’s even willing to trade a petty criminal for information from the Tennozu group. It’s just a shame that he’s worthless.

10. Suitengu Cometh
Ginza gets her break by keeping an eye on Suitengu. For every attempt to recapture Kagura has failed, and when Tsujido calls again, claiming to have located the two fugitives, Suitengu decides to take matters into his own hands and retrieve Kagura personally. It turns out that Suitengu does have abilities of his own, only no one has seen them and lived. But where Suitengu leads, Ginza follows, and she makes a deal with Shinsen Tennozu that she will give back Kagura if she can have Saiga. She isn’t too pleased at the idea of Saiga running around with a teenaged girl. Saiga and Kagura arrive at the genetic research lab, hoping to find some clue as to what is happening to them both, but Suitengu and Ginza aren’t too far behind.

11. Mother Critical
It was fun while it lasted, but now Kagura’s back with her mother, and Saiga is receiving the tender ministrations of Ginza. It isn’t long before Kagura is on the receiving end of her mother’s ire, and it’s only Suitengu who comes to her rescue. Of course he wants her out of the way, being re-educated in the offshore facility, while he lays some romance on Shinsen, speeding up his timetable to take control of the Tennozu group. Suitengu’s clientele are getting impatient as well, waiting for the club to reopen. They have to make do with second-rate orgies while they wait. But Suitengu’s plans are coming to fruition.

12. Left Hand Lullaby
Kagura’s not all that eager to lose that independent streak, and she takes advantage of a perverted scientist and blackmails him into releasing her. The problem is that she has only one place to go, back home to mother. Tennozu has just lost its major backer, and that’s one reason for Shinsen to move her wedding forward. Suitengu’s about to hit the jackpot, but then Kagura shows up. At the same time, Suitengu has his goons start tying up loose ends, which means erasing Saiga from the equation. A spider mutant shows up at Ginza’s flat, only to find that Saiga isn’t there, just an irate woman with a couple of big guns.

Picture
Speed Grapher gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, and it’s par for the course for anime on DVD. You have your NTSC-PAL conversion issues, although not too many of them, the image is clear and sharp throughout, and the animation is smooth and detailed. It’s a Gonzo product, so expect smart looking characters, a blending of traditional 2D and 3D CGI, and plenty of bang for your buck. In fact the characters in Speed Grapher are a little edgier than usual for Gonzo, certainly suiting the decadent nature of the story, and it seems the animators went to dominatrix school for some of the get ups.

Sound
Audio-wise, you have the option of DD 5.1 English, and DD 2.0 Japanese, along with translated subtitles and a signs only track. I sampled the English, and it’s pretty much like every other Funimation dub, and yes, Monica Rial is in it. You can expect a little added profanity if you want to partake of that surround sound option, but as usual I opted for the Japanese audio, and had no complaints, apart from a couple of dubious English accents, and the clichéd effeminate guy. The biggest annoyance is the absence of the original Duran Duran theme tune.

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