Gun Blaze West

Gun Blaze West
English language cover of Gun Blaze West volume 1
ガン ブレイズ ウエスト (Gan Bureizu Uesuto)
Genre	Adventure, Western
Manga
Written by	Nobuhiro Watsuki
Published by	Shueisha
English publisher	NA Viz Media
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Jump
Original run	June 4, 2001 – November 2, 2001
Volumes	3

Gun Blaze West (ガン ブレイズ ウエスト, Gan Bureizu Uesuto^?) is a manga series by Nobuhiro Watsuki and published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2001. The story follows Viu Bannes, a young gunfighter on his journey towards a Gun Blaze West, the place where the greatest gunmen go to test their strength.

The manga is collected in three volumes and released in Germany and North America.

"Gun Blaze West" is a place of legend where everyone, lawmen and outlaws, would be able to live in peace without fear of violence. The journey to Gun Blaze West may be undertaken at the end of every decade ("Zero Year"), but each hopeful must first earn the "Sign To West", an item with the Gun Blaze West insignia that is only valid on the year it is acquired.

The story begins in Illinois with the introduction of its protagonist, Viu Bannes, a nine-year-old boy who wins a gun belt in an arm-wrestling competition. Viu encounters a wandering drifter named Marcus Homer, who trains Viu to become stronger by having him race as far as he can to a cliff in the distance, and tells him he will be strong enough to reach Gun Blaze West when he can reach that cliff before the sun sets. When Illinois is attacked by the Kenbrown gang, its three underlings are defeated by Viu and Marcus, but Kenbrown himself overwhelms the town's defenders at an abandoned fort. Marcus challenges Kenbrown to a one on one duel and is killed. Viu, having witnessed his friend's death, is enraged and defeats Kenbrown himself. Marcus's revolver had a "Sign to the West" on its handle, and hidden inside the gun was part of a map to Gun Blaze West. Viu decides to take it with him.

The story then advances five years. Viu, having completed his training, is now able to move at superhuman speed. He begins his journey to Gun Blaze West with Marcus's revolver as his only weapon. He soon arrives at St. Louis, where he is invited into a shabby saloon whose business has been falling due to the saloon across the street. It is run by a man named Carlo who uses his thugs, in particular a shotgun wielder named Target Kevin, to intimidate people into going to his saloon and avoiding others. Viu and Kevin get into a fight, but the Saloon's "bouncer," Will Johnston, seizes both of them and throws them out. Viu notices a compass Will has that also has a "Sign to the West" on it. Viu later speaks with Will and his sister in their house about the Sign, which Will explains was a focal point of his father's research. Will, however, is reluctant to search for Gun Blaze West because of the massive debt the Saloon owes. Kevin appears and attacks their house, ordering Will to come out and fight him in order to prove that he is stronger. When Will is again reluctant, Viu decides to take up Kevin's challenge.