Final Thoughts+Theme Discussion of Gun X Sword
GunXSword is a series that I ended up really enjoying, much to my amazement.
As an anime, it's not incredibly original. Much like some other TV shows, the far-future ends up looking quite a bit like the Wild West, complete with cowboys, saloons, etc. (Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Firefly) The world was originally an Australia-like penal colony of a world that's been abandoned by Earth and left to it's own devices, and has since reverted into a bunch of small towns that are mostly lawless but otherwise friendly.
Despite the general lack of technology, there are mechs. The main character Van is a skilled mecha pilot, and when not kicking ass, otherwise lives his life as a simple drifter, who has a habit of falling asleep on benches and weirding everyone out by eating food with lots of mustard and ketchup. It turns out that he's searching for the mysterious Claw man, a man with a prosthetic Claw hand, and joins up with a young girl, Wendy who is also looking for him. (The Claw man kidnapped her older brother.)
As it's revealed early on in flashback, the Claw man killed Van's bride-to-be on their wedding day. He wants to revenge her death. I don't want to spoil things too much, but things really develop onward from there.
Originally, I was watching just because it was entertaining in a slightly cheesy and overly dramatic way: the small touches and catchphrases, from the sash that can turn into a sword, Van flipping his hat from right to left when he becomes serious, and the way he says "Wake Up, Dann" followed by awesome mecha-tastic ass-kicking.
So when it went from cheesy, episodic fun to a thoughtful and dramatic conclusion, I was surprised.
In every anime I've seen before this one, revenge is equated with an obsession with the past and inability to move forward. And similarly, Dreams are fantastic things, that can only be good, idealist things to aspire to and having a dream shows a strength of character. (and makes you a better fighter, naturally) In contrast, in GunXSword, it's not about whether it's for revenge, or if it's for a dream, but instead it's about the actions you take, and how they affect others. And similarly the value of empathy- a revenge that respects humanity is more pure and valuable than a dream that disregards it.
The hero is obsessed with revenge. But even though he wants to kill his enemy- a rare thing in an anime world of non-killing heroes- he does so out of respect for the past, and to honor the dead. And despite his initially selfish and personal reasons, he ends up quite selflessly saving the world.
The villain is obsessed with his dream. But even though he claims to love humanity, constantly proclaims that he desires peace and a world of equality, his constant means-justify-the-ends philosophy and casual disregard for the value of human life means he kills anyone who gets in his way. His desire for peace and equality sans true understanding of human nature results in a grand scheme to make everyone's souls the same- against their will. Disregarding the desires of the very people he claims to want to help.
Furthermore, I was also struck by the theme of intelligence, in one of the supporting characters, Micheal. He's smart, and skilled. But through his own desire for an idealistic world, his own ability to rationalize force as necessary, ultimately it means that he gets sweet-talked into helping with the villain's grand scheme. He desires something to believe in so badly, that he ends up falling for something he in heart truly opposed but did not realize until too late. To me this says to me that intelligence alone is not enough to do good- without morals, it is too easy to do evil instead of good.
Overall, it ended up being a woefully under-appreciated anime. It started off a bit too generic, a bit too much filler, but once the main plot began developing, it ended up having quite a bit of depth and a fantastic conclusion. Which is more than I can say for many series out there. (If you're new to anime, I'd still recommend starting elsewhere with something more original, but otherwise GunXSword is an enjoyable show.)
As an anime, it's not incredibly original. Much like some other TV shows, the far-future ends up looking quite a bit like the Wild West, complete with cowboys, saloons, etc. (Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Firefly) The world was originally an Australia-like penal colony of a world that's been abandoned by Earth and left to it's own devices, and has since reverted into a bunch of small towns that are mostly lawless but otherwise friendly.
Despite the general lack of technology, there are mechs. The main character Van is a skilled mecha pilot, and when not kicking ass, otherwise lives his life as a simple drifter, who has a habit of falling asleep on benches and weirding everyone out by eating food with lots of mustard and ketchup. It turns out that he's searching for the mysterious Claw man, a man with a prosthetic Claw hand, and joins up with a young girl, Wendy who is also looking for him. (The Claw man kidnapped her older brother.)
As it's revealed early on in flashback, the Claw man killed Van's bride-to-be on their wedding day. He wants to revenge her death. I don't want to spoil things too much, but things really develop onward from there.
Originally, I was watching just because it was entertaining in a slightly cheesy and overly dramatic way: the small touches and catchphrases, from the sash that can turn into a sword, Van flipping his hat from right to left when he becomes serious, and the way he says "Wake Up, Dann" followed by awesome mecha-tastic ass-kicking.
So when it went from cheesy, episodic fun to a thoughtful and dramatic conclusion, I was surprised.
In every anime I've seen before this one, revenge is equated with an obsession with the past and inability to move forward. And similarly, Dreams are fantastic things, that can only be good, idealist things to aspire to and having a dream shows a strength of character. (and makes you a better fighter, naturally) In contrast, in GunXSword, it's not about whether it's for revenge, or if it's for a dream, but instead it's about the actions you take, and how they affect others. And similarly the value of empathy- a revenge that respects humanity is more pure and valuable than a dream that disregards it.
The hero is obsessed with revenge. But even though he wants to kill his enemy- a rare thing in an anime world of non-killing heroes- he does so out of respect for the past, and to honor the dead. And despite his initially selfish and personal reasons, he ends up quite selflessly saving the world.
The villain is obsessed with his dream. But even though he claims to love humanity, constantly proclaims that he desires peace and a world of equality, his constant means-justify-the-ends philosophy and casual disregard for the value of human life means he kills anyone who gets in his way. His desire for peace and equality sans true understanding of human nature results in a grand scheme to make everyone's souls the same- against their will. Disregarding the desires of the very people he claims to want to help.
Furthermore, I was also struck by the theme of intelligence, in one of the supporting characters, Micheal. He's smart, and skilled. But through his own desire for an idealistic world, his own ability to rationalize force as necessary, ultimately it means that he gets sweet-talked into helping with the villain's grand scheme. He desires something to believe in so badly, that he ends up falling for something he in heart truly opposed but did not realize until too late. To me this says to me that intelligence alone is not enough to do good- without morals, it is too easy to do evil instead of good.
Overall, it ended up being a woefully under-appreciated anime. It started off a bit too generic, a bit too much filler, but once the main plot began developing, it ended up having quite a bit of depth and a fantastic conclusion. Which is more than I can say for many series out there. (If you're new to anime, I'd still recommend starting elsewhere with something more original, but otherwise GunXSword is an enjoyable show.)