Speed Grapher
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| Speed Grapher | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| スピードグラファー (Sūpido Gurafā) |
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| Genre | Drama, Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural | ||
| TV anime | |||
| Director | Kunihisa Sugishima | ||
| Studio | GONZO | ||
| Licensor |   Funimation MVM Films  Madman Entertainment |
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| Network |  TV Asahi |
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| Original run | 7 April 2005 – 29 September 2005 | ||
| Episodes | 24 | ||
| Manga | |||
| Publisher | MediaWorks |
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| Demographic | Seinen | ||
| Original run | September 27, 2005 – ongoing | ||
| Volumes | 3 | ||
Speed Grapher (スピードグラファー Sūpido Gurafā?) is a 2005 anime series, created by GONZO Digimation. The series ran for 24 episodes from April to October 2005. The series was licensed for release in North America by FUNimation Entertainment in 2006 and has been showing on IFC since March 7, 2008.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Speed Grapher follows the exploits of former war photographer Tatsumi Saiga, who investigates a secret fetish club for the ultra-wealthy. He tries to photograph the club's "goddess", a 15-year-old girl named Kagura, but is discovered. As he is about to be killed, Kagura kisses him, granting him the ability to destroy anything he photographs. Kagura's body fluids can give people bizarre abilities related to their fetishes or obsessions. The story develops as Saiga aims to grant Kagura's desire (her freedom), while on the run from the Roppongi Club and the Tennouzu Group mega-corporation that operates it.
In later episodes, we learn that Kagura's body fluids contain a chemical that activates the dormant Euphoria virus that is responsible for the transformation of humans into Euphorias, such as Saiga. This virus has the rare ability to attach itself to the victim's DNA and alter their body on a genetic level, granting them supernatural powers. Apparently, to become a Euphoria, the virus must be carried before absorbing Kagura's fluid. Failure to carry the virus beforehand results in death.
Speed Grapher is also an indictment of the capitalism and materialism of Japanese society. Kagura is the daughter of the wealthiest woman in the world, but she is kept prisoner and nearly starved. Her mother bribes any person who tries to help Kagura. The main villain, as a display of his own vast wealth and power, smokes cigarettes rolled with 10,000 yen bills. In a stark juxtaposition, the male protagonist of the series is a photographer whose lifestyle and beliefs contrast greatly with those of the antagonists. His self-sacrifice and personal indictment of greed is what ultimately saves him and those around him.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main Characters
- Tatsumi Saiga
Voiced by: Yuuji Takada (Japanese), Christopher Sabat (English)
The male protagonist. A veteran war journalist who somehow took a liking to it. His love for photography develops into sexual fetishism: he gets an erection whenever he takes exciting photographs. However, after returning to Japan, his passion seems to have died.
While investigating a secret club where rich and influential people meet to fulfill their most perverted desires, he receives a kiss from Kagura and develops the ability to explode whoever and whatever he photographs - Death by Photo. The effect of this ability depends on what type of camera and lens he is using (e.g., a telescopic lens has a more powerful effect than a regular lens). He can also psychically load film into his camera. He was infected by the virus on the same island that Suitengu was. Saiga uses a Nikon camera and what looks to be Nikor lenses (despite the title of the series, Saiga was never depicted with a Speed Graphic) .
Over the course of the series Saiga gets more and more protective of Kagura. First acting as a sort of teacher; teaching her things about the world. When anyone questions whether he is in love with her he casually brushes it off saying "it's not like that", or just ignoring the question altogether. In the final episode when Kagura says the world would be better if she and Suitengu were dead Saiga admits to her that he loves her and wants her to live more than anything. Five years after Suitengu's coup d' etat, a blind Saiga is taking pictures of the sunset, when a twenty year old Kagura walks through the laundry drying in the sun. He then says "Welcome back", and the two embrace and the screen moves up toward the sunset.
- Kagura Tennouzu
Voiced by: Kei Satou (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)
The female protagonist. Raised as the heir to the powerful Tennouzu Group. Has the ability to transform people infected with a mysterious virus into Euphorias (people with supernatural powers related to their innermost desires). She also has inoperable brain tumor, causing her to only have six months left to live. Associates of Suintengu and her mother have given her injections to keep her from reaching puberty.
Even though Saiga doesn't acknowledge his feelings about Kagura she has no problem expressing the fact that she wants to be at his side no matter what. When Saiga comes to terms with his feelings and Kagura sees how much he changes she often jokes about how "uncool" he's become, but nevertheless she still loves him. Before Saiga's fight with Suitengu he tells Kagura his feelings, which makes her very happy. Then tells Ginza to take Kagura to the island where Ryogouku is, so he can treat her right away. After five years she returns to Japan to be at Saiga's side.
[edit] Tokyo Police Department
- Hibari Ginza
Voiced by: Takako Honda (Japanese), Clarine Harp (English)
A vicious policewoman in love with Saiga. She is very jealous of him and does anything she can to protect him from harm. She has a joking habit of saying or threatening "self-defense" whenever she shoots or kills someone (usually while they're attacking her). She blackmails Saiga into having sex with her by stealing his camera and promising to give it back after. She is very envious of Kagura and makes a deal with Shinsen to recapture Kagura if she can "keep" Saiga. After returning Kagura she takes an unconscious Saiga back to her apartment. Ginza begins to become depressed when people tell her things about Saiga she didn't know. She really goes off the handle when Suitengu tells her that she severely underestimated the worth of Saiga and Kagura to the Tennouzu Group, after she tried to bargain for his life in exchange for a petty conman. Ginza eventually realizes that she cannot stop Saiga from loving Kagura and helps him to stay alive. Even though she is angry when Saiga tells Kagura he loves her she agrees to take her to the island where Ryougoku is to get treatment. When Kagura resists saying that she wants to stay with Saiga, Ginza states that she was heartbroken when Saiga confessed his love to Kagura. Though she can't let her die as a matter of pride, then swiftly knocks Kagura unconscious. It is revealed at the end of the series that Ginza does eventually find happiness with Dr. Ryougoku.
- Shiina
Voiced by: Jin Yamanoi (Japanese), Anthony Bowling (English)
Hibari Ginza's partner, he tends to be very scared of Ginza and as such tends to pretty much follow her orders without so much as thinking of telling her no. At the end of the series he finally becomes a photographer and takes Saiga's old job. In his new job he is degraded because his skills are inferior to Saiga's, even though Saiga is now blind.
- Chief Ekoda
Voiced by: Naoki Makishima (Japanese), Mike McFarland (English)
Chief of the Tokyo Police Department. He has an extreme leg fetish, he cuts off the legs of numerous women and proudly displays them in his house. Later he is caught by Ginza as a member of Suitengu's club. While a member he cut off his wife's and daughter's legs. He admits that he has always lusted after Ginza's legs. He tries to cut them off but Ginza breaks his neck with her legs. He is so crazy that even as Ginza was about to kill him he still had a smile on his face because he was so close to her legs and even yells "Tighter! Tighter!" as she proceeds to snap his neck.
[edit] Roppongi Club/Tennouzu Group
- Chouji Suitengu
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese), Christopher Ayres (English)
The main antagonist. Apparently he is only using Kagura and her mother to extend his influence and profits, but there is a hidden vengeance plan in his agenda. He is a Euphoria with the ability to manipulate his own blood and use it at will to attack and defend. He carries around a music box that belonged to his younger sister, Yui. His real name is Ueno Takeshi.
Suitengu once had a normal life with his family. However, his parents were deep in debt with the Tennouzu's Group's predecessors (the Ashikaga Group) and were murdered. Yui and Suitengu were seperated, the thirteen year old boy given to the mercies of a perverted and lecherous man before being sold as a child soldier while the five year old girl was sold as a prostitute. Suitengo grew up on the battlefield, told that every kill he made reduced his parents' debt and brought him that much closer to freedom. His last mission was infiltrating a research lab, but the facility was destroyed and Suitengu was severely wounded, even dismembered, in the destruction. However, he contracted the Euphoria virus as a result of this and was thus retreived and repaired by the research lab's remaining scientists so that they could preserve their work.
Suitengo despises the fact that his family and his life were ruined for money and as such secretly holds a deep hatred for it. Eventually he was reunited with his sister, but her state of mind had been shattered and he mercifully killed her to end her life as a prostitute. His ultimate goal was to take revenge on the Prime Minister who destroyed his peaceful life and punish people steeped in greed and money by causing the entire country to go bankrupt.
- Shinsen Tennouzu
Voiced by: Gara Takashima (Japanese), Pam Dougherty (English)
Kagura's mother and president of Tennouzu Group. Before that though, Shinsen had been an aspiring model who had been scouted by a woman named Goutokuji. Her body had been 'remodeled' by a doctor named Kazuki Odawara, whom she soon fell in love with. Despite her rise to fame, she chose to leave it behind and marry Kazuki. Shinsen had signed their marriage licenses and waited for several days for him to show up at a hot spring, but he never came. She then returned to Tokyo, left bitter by his betrayal and sees Kagura as the ultimate symbol of it. Though she seems in love with Suitengu, Shinsen realizes he was just a replacement for Kazuki in her loneliness. While incredibly cruel to Kagura and many others, Shinsen is incredibly kind to Goutokuji, whose injuries she believes are her fault. A different, more compassionate side is seen of her. Seeing Suitengu's true nature, Shinsen once again intended to leave fame behind to try and live a quiet life. She is strangled to death by Suitengu, using Kazuki's left arm. Before she is about to be strangled Suitengu reveals to her why his left arm always felt so loving by saying "You were always caressed by your true love's arm." In her final moments, she hears Kagura telling her that Kazuki had indeed come for her and she wasn't abandoned to which she gives a slight chuckle realizing how foolish she had been.
- Tsujido
Voiced by: Hiro Yuuki (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)
Tsujido is Suitengu's right hand man and accompanies him wherever he goes, often as a personal attendant. His Euphoria power is super enhanced olfaction, allowing to smell his enemies miles away (unlike most Euphorias, Tsujido does not require a physical transformation to be able to use this). He doesn't reveal himself as a Euphoria until the last episode while fighting Ginza, in which he transforms into a large wolf. Along with Makabe, he was abused by local Yakuza years before and saved by Suitengu. However, he had already had his nose cut off and was near death due to blood loss. He chooses to stay behind with Makabe to protect Suitengu when the building is under attack. Despite serious injuries, he manages to find and carry Suitengu to the generator's control room, where he dies alongside him as the main office of the Tennouzu group self-destructs.
- Makabe
Voiced by: Hisao Egawa (Japanese), Bob Carter (English)
One of the men who works under Tsujido, he is a big, tall, bear of a man, and doesn't talk as much as his partner, Niihari. Makabe tends to be more professional in getting the job done. When tracking Kagura and Saiga with Niihari and Tsujido, he often acts as the driver. He knew the two before Suitengu had met them. After being beaten unconscious by Yakuza, Suitengu appears and slaughters them all (save for one). With this, he feels great gratitude and stays behind with Tsujido to help Suitengu. During the assault on the main office, the ceiling collapses due to a rocket barrage and he dies protecting Tsujido from being crushed.
- Niihari
Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese), Robert McCollum (English)
The other henchman working under Tsujido. Unlike his more silent partner, Makabe, Niihari has a habit of talking a lot and speaking with profoundly foul language at times. He's mentioned failed relationships with women in his life; his mother betraying his father and himself and then his wife being overly greedy. Niihari was the first henchman that Suitengu met as he was outside the building Makabe and Tsujido were kept, nervously holding a sword as he was preparing to rescue them both. He is the only one of the Tennouzu Group to survive and in the end of the series, Niihari has become a successful businessman.
[edit] Euphorias
- Shirogane Katsuya
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), J. Michael Tatum (English)
One of the Euphorias sent by Suitengu to retrieve Kagura from Saiga, possesses the ability to stretch his body into any imaginable form. Known as the Rubber Gimp, he was a ballet dancer who was completely obsessed with the flexibility of rubber to the point of breaking a young girl's arm for 'being too stiff'. His head was blown off by Saiga using a piece of mirror to reflect his camera shot.
- Kaoru Koganei
Voiced by: Mari Yokō (Japanese), Colleen Clinkenbeard (English)
Best known as Lady Diamond. Her Euphoria power is to turn her entire body into diamond, becoming almost indestructible. She has the bizarre habit of eating diamonds (even biting off the finger of a woman to get her ring). She was the wife of a talented artist who gave her diamonds to make her happy, but hung himself after taking out an insurance policy. Since then she has become obssesed with making her body into a shining monument of his love for her. She kidnapped Kagura and demanded a ransom of diamonds, but was killed by Suitengu for her betrayal by being shattered into a million pieces and having her body turned into diamonds to be sold. The last shot of her was her shattered face shedding a tear.
- Mizunokuchi
Voiced by: Shiro Gō (Japanese), R. Bruce Elliott (English)
A sadistic dentist and Euphoria user who's been given extra limbs with dental devices on them and can even turn other part of his body into drills (such as his tongue). He tortures patients by inserting all of his limbs into their mouths and polishing their teeth slowly. Apparently he removed Kagura's lower molars three years ago, but did it as slow as he could so he could see Kagura writhing in pain. He kept one of them as a crown jewel of sorts and carves it obsessively. He met his end when Saiga blew his head off; the tooth being close to his hand.
- Ran Yurigaoka
Voiced by: Takeshi Kusao (Japanese), Christopher Bevins (English)
An esthetician whose Euphoria power enabled him to make the tattoos on his skin a reality. His most commonly used tattoos are the large spider on his back, used for travel if needed as well as attack, and the skull and dagger on one of his arms which is used for battle. He can also control other people with the small spider tattoo on one of his fingers, by merging with its victim's skin the spider tattoo can manipluate their limbs with its own. This man gets a sick thrill out of merging his spider tattoo into the skin of beautiful women while pleasuring them, then killing them with said tattoo.
- Father Kanda
Voiced by: Ryūzaburō Ōtomo (Japanese), Bill Flynn (English)
A corrupt Priest, who was found out to have given all of the Church's donation money to the Roppongi Club to pay his Membership dues. He was found out to be a Euphoria who had the power to control electricity, he can also transform into wires and control thunder bolts. He believes he is a God, due to his powers. He was to be the minister at Kagura and Suitengu's wedding, but Saiga's inturuption forced him to try and kill him. In the end he killed himself after using his powers to try and electrocute Saiga after he had been seriously injured thereby blowing himself up.
- Miharu Tsurumaki
Voiced by: Maya Okamoto (Japanese), Laura Bailey (English)
A former actress who had a traumatic past due to her mother trying to drown her in a suicide/murder attempt. Since her mother's suicide she's become mute. She's also drowned every man who has fallen in love with her. Appropriately she can turn herself into a fish-like being and manipulate water (or fog by controlling the water droplets it's made of), she can even transform herself into water.
- Seiji Ochiai
Voiced by: Tetsuo Kaneo (Japanese), Jerry Russell (English)
A former photographer, now cabinet member who leads a group called the White Eagles whose purpose was to bring down the Prime Minister and Suitengu. However, he turned out to be a traitor and Euphoria who could manipulate sound by using the speakers embedded in his body. He loves music and when using his powers, pretends he is a conductor.
- Kamiya
Voiced by: Takehiro Koyama (Japanese), John Swasey (English)
The Prime Minister who is also a member of the club and an extreme glutton. He also has a Euphoria power in which he becomes a huge, deformed spider-like creature with a huge head and a tongue with acidic saliva. However, he is viciously killed by Suitengu while begging for his life.
[edit] Others
- Bob
Voiced by: Kouji Ishii (Japanese), Antimere Robinson (English)
The main source of comic relief in the show, Bob is an out and proud flamboyant homosexual who runs an erotic massage parlour. He lives right next door to Saiga, whom he has a crush on, and seems to be a westerner.
- Kazuki Odawara
Voiced by: Hidenari Ugaki (Japanese), John Burgmeier (English)
Shinsen's former lover and Kagura's father who was a scientist who attempted to develop a bioweapon. However, the government soon tried to eliminate all traces of evidence. He died in a ravine and the remains of his research lay within Kagura who can awaken the virus within carriers and Suitengu who has his left arm.
- Professor Nishiya
Voiced by: Eiji Yanagisawa (Japanese), Barry Yandell (English)
A university professor who is an acquaitance of Ryougoku's. He tells Saiga about the retrovirus that has been activated within him and introduces Saiga to Ochiai. However, he sold them out so he could do research on Kagura to gain fame. He is eaten by a mutated Kamiya.
- Doctor Genba Ryougoku
Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama (Japanese), Kent Williams (English)
A doctor who runs a small clinic and also an acquaitance of Saiga's who apparently saved his (Saiga's) life when he was nearly crippled in a rundown hospital. His wife died three months ago to cancer.
[edit] Episodes
| # | Name | Original air date | US air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Depravity City" (背徳都市) |
April 7, 2005 | March 7, 2008 |
| A decade after a global economic collapse, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened even more. Tokyo is a nexus of corruption and decadence where the winners have gathered to spend their fortune. When Saiga, a former war photographer, infiltrates a secret pleasure-club for Tokyo's elite, he will ignite a chain of events that could force the entire ruling class to their knees. | |||
| 2 | "Goddess of Greed" "Unagi Satsu da na" (唸る札束) |
April 14, 2005 | March 14, 2008 |
| In many ways Kagura is like any other teenage girl. She wears her uniform, goes to school and endures the daily lectures. But she is haunted by nightmares where she participates in darkly twisted rituals in Tokyo's secret catacombs, playing the part of a powerful Divine Goddess. In truth, Kagura is living a double life unbeknownst to her, and her terrifying nightmares are far from imagination. | |||
| 3 | "Film Like A Bullet" "Shasatsu Basatsu" (写殺爆殺) |
April 21, 2005 | March 21, 2008 |
| In a depraved ceremony beneath the streets of Tokyo, Saiga has been exposed as an intruder and is at the mercy of the sadistic club members. But a kiss from the young Kagura has awoken a strange power within him. Suddenly able to use his camera as a weapon, can Saiga rescue the unwilling Divine Goddess and get them to the surface alive? | |||
| 4 | "Lethal Headshot" "Riakujatsu Shōjo" (略奪少女) |
April 28, 2005 | March 28, 2008 |
| A lethal game of cat and mouse ensues as Suitengu and Saiga hunt each other down, searching for clues and interrogating everyone they meet. When the photographer slips under Suitengu's nose to free Kagura, her captor is not pleased. He sends Shirogane to ensnare Saiga in a deadly dance under the night's sky. | |||
| 5 | "Whore of Diamonds" "Daiyamondo Fujin" (ダイヤモンド夫人) |
May 5, 2005 | April 4, 2008 |
| It's a dangerous race across Tokyo as Saiga tries to find a safe place to hide Kagura, settling on a small night club in the seedy entertainment district. Meanwhile, another gifted Euphoric is called to bring Kagura home: Madam Koganei. A high-class woman who fuels her power by swallowing priceless diamonds. | |||
| 6 | "Out of Focus" "Sayonara Daiyamondo Fujin" (さよならダイヤモンド夫人) |
May 12, 2005 | April 11, 2008 |
| With the ability to turn her body into solid diamond, Madam Koganei seems impervious to Saiga's attacks. Not only is she virtually unbreakable, but the diamond's reflective quality makes it impossible for Saiga's camera to focus. After a high-speed chase through the city the photographer will have to think fast to keep Kagura out of the enemy's hands. | |||
| 7 | "The Big Picture" "Biyokitori" (猟奇ドリル) |
May 19, 2005 | April 18, 2008 |
| Saiga and Kagura make their way beyond Tokyo's city limits, desperate to leave the dangers of their ordeal behind them. They visit Saiga's old friend, Doctor Ryogoku, hoping he can find a medical explanation for these strange Euphoric powers. And as Saiga gets lost in disturbing memories of war, the doctor makes a startling diagnosis! | |||
| 8 | "Dentophobia" "Kagura no Hikari" (神楽のともし灯) |
May 26, 2005 | April 25, 2008 |
| When health fails, everyone is in search of answers... and a cure. As Saiga is left with a most difficult dilemma, an unexpected house call from the demented Dentist is the last thing he needs. The photographer will have to perfect his shooting skills to pass this sadistic drill. | |||
| 9 | "Into the Bath" "Yudorinaite" (湯殿にて) |
June 2, 2005 | May 2, 2008 |
| Saiga and Kagura hit the road, with Ginza and Tsujido each tracking them using their own unique talents. Making a detour at a remote spa, Kagura learns some shocking truths about her own origins. But the most startling revelation is a glimpse into the human side of Shinsen. What secrets is the powerful woman hiding, and how will the past play out into their future? | |||
| 10 | "Suitengu Cometh" "Suigentuu Kuru" (水天宮来る) |
June 9, 2005 | May 9, 2008 |
| Saiga and Kagura snoop around an abandoned research lab, searching for insight into the Divine Goddess' true nature. But Suitengu knows exactly where they're headed and arrives just in time to unleash his power on the photographer. Back in the city, Ginza makes a shady pact with Kagura's mother and prepares to join the party. | |||
| 11 | "Mother Critical" "Haha Kitoku Sugu Kaere" (ハハキトク スグカエレ) |
June 16, 2005 | May 16, 2008 |
| After narrowly surviving his confrontation with Suitengu, Saiga has fallen unconscious into Ginza's welcoming hands - but not before telling the detective where Kagura is hiding. Yet the rogue police captain has no intention of playing the hero. She's come for Saiga, and she'll do anything to claim her prize - even if it means turning Kagura over to the enemy! | |||
| 12 | "Left Hand Lullaby" "Hidari te ni Idaku te Nemure" (左手に抱かれて眠れ) |
June 23, 2005 | May 23, 2008 |
| Suitengu has put his bold plan to seize control of the Tennozu Group into action, and he is moments away from completing the most important step -- marrying Shinsen, thus tying himself to the company's assets. But Kagura has learned of his intentions and breaks out of the floating research facility, with the goal of warning her mother before it's too late. | |||
| 13 | "Ginza the Lawless" "Yogen Hohoemu Shinshi Kitai" (銀座番外地) |
June 30, 2005 | May 30, 2008 |
| With the latest assassin on the loose, Saiga convinces Ginza to drive him from his hiding place to see Dr. Ryogoku. The samples from Saiga and Kagura have been analyzed and an eccentric DNA specialist sheds new light on the Euphoria Syndrome. Meanwhile, Suitengu continues his plan to seize control -- by marrying Kagura instead. | |||
| 14 | "The Wedding Photographer" "Yogen Shōjo wo Furu Mukenai" |
July 7, 2005 | June 6, 2008 |
| Everything is in place for the wedding of the century: A star-studded turnout, a beautiful church, a maniacal priest with a god complex, a power-hungry groom and a hypnotized bride. The only thing missing is a photographer... And if the one uninvited guest can crash this party, he might just run away with the bride. | |||
| 15 | "Hell is a Wet Woman" "Nurei Onna Jigoku" (濡れ女地獄) |
July 21, 2005 | June 13, 2008 |
| Saiga and Kagura are running blind, with the whole country on the look-out for them. But it's one mysterious woman with a tragic past who threatens to drag the photographer to his watery doom. With Saiga in danger, can Kagura face the ghosts of the past to save them both? | |||
| 16 | "Audit the Wicked" "Hanki Kessan Houkoku" (半期決算報告) |
August 11, 2005 | June 20, 2008 |
| Kagura is still free, but Suitengu has all he needs to initiate the next phase of his plan: Releasing a new drug that simulates the Goddess' kiss, ultimately making the public unable to control their desires. Meanwhile it's time for the Tennozu Group's semiannual audit, when value must be assigned to even the most violent acts and inked in the books. | |||
| 17 | "The Reaper and the Nouveau Riche" (死神成金) |
August 18, 2005 | June 27, 2008 |
| A haunting melody inspires Suitengu to reflect on the tragic events of his childhood, events that have shaped him into the man he has become. It's a strange, sordid journey to the top and he has sacrificed everything to get there. But in recalling the ghosts of his past, the motives for his future endgame come into focus. | |||
| 18 | "Fates and Fists" (第三局) |
August 25, 2005 | July 4, 2008 |
| As the Tennouzu Group gets rich off of their new product line, Saiga and Kagura set sail for a fresh start in a new land. But before they can vanish in the wind, they're dragged back to Tokyo by a powerful new ally. Everyone's working their own angle... but are they all working towards the same goal? | |||
| 19 | "Lips and Lies" "Uso to Kuchibiru" (嘘とくちびる) |
September 1, 2005 | July 11, 2008 |
| Allied with Representative Ochiai, Saiga agrees to testify at the Parliamentary hearing if his conditions are met. Kagura must be flown out of the country to safety and there get the treatment that could save her life. After a chance meeting at a bar with a young idealist named Joe, Saiga questions the selfishness of his motives and resolves to bring down Suitengu himself. | |||
| 20 | "Good Vibrations" "Guddo baibure-shon" (グッドバイブレーション) |
September 8, 2005 | July 18, 2008 |
| Betrayal is in the air. As Saiga fights for his life against a ruthless Euphoric posing as a friend, Kagura is attacked by the one who was supposed to cure her. Meanwhile, on a stage littered with corpses, Ginza discovers the blood-stained roll call of Suitengu's club members, finding a shocking name on the list. | |||
| 21 | "All Hail the Glutton" "Souri no choushoku" (総理の朝食) |
September 15, 2005 | July 25, 2008 |
| On the eve of the Club's grand reopening all hell breaks loose. A sick killer with a depraved fetish holds Ginza captive. Prime Minister Kamiya reveals his plans - and his true face -- to Kagura, as war breaks out in the skyscrapers of Tokyo between two powerful Euphorics. | |||
| 22 | "Money, Money, Money" (オカネクダサイ) |
September 22, 2005 | August 1, 2008 |
| As Suitengu continues his assault on the Prime Minister's mansion, Saiga races to Kagura's aid. Loyalties are tested and not everyone rises to the occasion. And old wounds refuse to heal when, many years after Kamiya killed his parents and took his sister away, Suitengu finally exacts his bloody revenge. | |||
| 23 | "Tender Grave" (札束の墓標) |
September 29, 2005 | August 8, 2008 |
| Saiga emerges from the Prime Minister's house to find Tokyo in chaos. With all the country's leaders locked away deep within the secret club, Japan is without a government. Intent on destroying Suitengu and claiming the spoils, outside forces step into the vacuum and invade. Can Saiga, on the verge of blindness, save Kagura from what Suitengu deems her destiny? | |||
| 24 | "The Roppongi Crisis" (六本木クライシス) |
September 29, 2005 | August 15, 2008 |
| With Ginza locked in a gun-blazing battle against Tsujido and Makabe, and as foreign missiles threaten to destroy the building at any moment, the final showdown between Suitengu and Saiga reaches its bloody climax. If Suitengu executes his plan, the streets of Tokyo will be paved with fire and the global economy will be forever changed. | |||
[edit] Theme songs
- Opening
- "Girls on Film" by Duran Duran [Original Japanese version]
- "Shutter Speed" by Shinkichi Mitsumune [Worldwide Release (DVD)]
- Gonzo could not gain the rights to "Girls on Film" for worldwide distribution on DVD.
- Endings
- "Hinageshi no Oka" by Shione Yukawa (Episodes 1-12)
- "Break The Cocoon" by Yoriko (Episodes 13-24)
