Speed Grapher

Synopsis:

After receiving a tip about an underground club that caters to ones most bizarre and perverted desires for the right amount of cash, Tatsumi Saiga, a freelance photographer, decides to investigate. Saiga's lead proves to be true and after sneaking into the secretive establishment he also realizes that most of Japan's most powerful people are satisfying their lust for the strange in hiding from the public. As Saiga witnesses a bizarre ritual taking place at the center of the club he decides to try and get a closer look and notices a young girl (15 year old Kagura Tennozu) being lowered from the ceiling towards a a short pudgy looking customer in the center of the establishment. Saiga is in complete awe of the girl and decides to take a picture while the moment is right, however, he is immediately discovered and attacked by security and also the clubs patrons. As the young girl decends to the ground during all this commotion she kisses Saiga and awakens something within him, a bizarre desire and with the next picture Siaga takes... causes an explosion. Not one to question his new found power, Siaga escapes from the underground pit of hell taking the now confused girl with him to discover the truth behind whats happening to him.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 24


Review:

Take a picture and shit explodes, wow... talk about a lame superpower. Anyways, Speed Grapher did initially have my attention with it's gritty depiction of an underground club that caters to corrupted politicians and government officials by exploiting their hidden desires all for money. But once Siaga snapped a picture and it caused an explosion I found myself asking... "This? Are you kidding me?" I instantly lost almost all interest in the show as it not only had a ridiculous protagonist but it turned into a cat-and-mouse type of show of the Tennozu family taking Kagura back from Saiga and then Saiga turns and rescues Kagura again putting them both on the run from the Tennozu family once more. As this goes on for the remainder of the series it only barely touches upon it's gritty feeling the introductory episodes presented making it a rough ride to even to see the series through to the end.

Now even though Speed Grapher isn't all that great, I gotta admit that the character presentation is actually very well portrayed and manages to answer any nagging questions you may have. You learn the truth behind everyone, where they came from, where they are going and why they are the way they are... including the antagonists. But, this anime tries to put Saiga's enemies in a positive light towards the end of the series which seems out of place because at this point you already have a hatred towards these characters and the attempts at viewer sympathy towards the enemy are unwarranted leaving you wondering how long until they just die and get off your screen.

Speed Grapher is one anime that manages to shoot itself in the foot early on making the remainder of the series a lackluster experience that I myself was even tempted to hit the 'stop' button on my DVD remote. The only things that kept me moving on through all the episodes was to see if Saiga gives in and admits to being a lolicon and Ginza, the smokin' hot detective that abuses her power of authority to try and claim Saiga for herself, no matter what it takes. But, in the end as with all Gonzo shows, everything tries to end on a positive note which in this case makes almost no sense as it could have benefited more had the series stayed true to it's original roots.

Speed Grapher (opening)

Recommendation: |Low|

Media type: DVD
From: FUNimation Entertainment
Spoken languages: Japanese;English
Subtitles: English

*Note - The opening here is the original opening from the series that is done to Duran Duran's Girls on Film but FUNimation failed to obtain the rights to use the song and the opening for the DVD version was replaced by some cheesy synth music that's just plain crappy.