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The land of Endless Illusion is a lawless place where heaven
and hell collide, spewing forth degenerates of every type.
The land is full of Coleridge dreams, whilst the urban areas
are morally corrupt and violent. Through this land roams a
wanderer with a past. Van is looking of The Claw Man, the
man who killed his wife. His lonely existence is changed when
he meets Wendy, a young girl who has lost both her parents
and her brother. Together they travel Endless Illusion in
search of answers...
Gun
X Sword (the "X" is silent) is a twenty
six episode anime series from 2005. Directed by Taniquchi
Goro (Planet ES, Code Geass), from a script
by Kurata Hideyuki (R.O.D TV) with character design
by Kimura Takahiro (Godanna).
The first thing that you notice about the show is just how
gorgeous it looks. The animation is very reminiscent of the
work done by Studio Ghibli, which gives you an idea of the
level of detail and great colour pallet which appears here
- visually this is a high quality anime. The plot, however,
has yet to find its own voice. For fans of shows like Trigun,
you'll find yourself in very familiar territory, so familiar
that you wonder that the similarity in the protagonists names
- Vash becomes Van - isn't all coincidence. Even the long
trench coat look is repeated.
The Planet of Endless Illusion is a cross between the Wild
West and a more contemporary environment, contemporary except
for the introduction of the mechanised fighting suits.
Episode one, Tuxedo Blowing in the Wind, introduces
the main characters as Van enters the dusty town of Evergreen,
only to stumble across an old fashioned killing. Wendy, a
young girl, is facing off the local thugs, in her quest to
find out what happened to her brother, who disappeared a week
previously. Following her rescue, and the rescue of the town
from the psychotic Lucky Roulette, Van and Wendy leave town
to start their adventures together.
So, not a bad opening episode, the voice acting is credible
and the overall impression is that, whilst yes, we've all
seen this before, it's too early not to give the show a chance
to turn its back on its Trigun big brother and find
something that is uniquely its own.
Episode two, Funny Stream, and the action moves away
from its western roots to explore its urban sci-fi themes,
when Van and Wendy arrive at Bridge City where they run into
an old friend of Van's - Camen 99. When Wendy is abducted
Carmen helps Van get her back.
The
second episode starts to show the growing relationship between
Van and Wendy. Wendy is obviously enamoured with Van while
he tries to do the hard man stand-offish gig, which, of course,
the audience can see straight through.
Episode three, Heroes One More Time, and Wendy and
Van pitch up at the Pink Amego restaurant where, due to their
exploits in the previous two episodes, they are hailed as
heroes by a group of old timers, who spend their time reminiscing
about the past.
The ultimate episode on the DVD is And the Rain Kept Falling.
Poor old Wendy is still dragging Van around, having fallen
into a fever following a fight. Wendy, desperate to find him
some medicine, goes off to find some help, little knowing
that Van can heal himself and her angel of mercy trip will
end badly for her.
Extras for the disc are a little above average for an anime.
For your hard earned dosh you get the TV commercials for the
first two episodes, a limited art gallery and the creditless
opening and closing sequence.
Audio is either English or Japanese 5.1, with a Japanese stereo
track and subtitles thrown in for good measure.
Overall,
a good introduction to this new show let's just hope that
as it progresses it doesn't just turn out to be a Trigun
or Cowboy Bebop clone.
Charles
Packer
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