Speed Grapher | |
British cover of the first DVD volume
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スピードグラファー (Supīdo Gurafā) |
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Genre | Action, Crime fiction, Supernatural, Romance |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Kunihisa Sugishima |
Music by | Shinkichi Mitsumune |
Studio | Gonzo |
Licensed by | |
Original network | TV Asahi |
English network | |
Original run | April 7, 2005 – September 29, 2005 |
Episodes | 24 |
Light novel | |
Written by | Minoru Niki |
Illustrated by | Yuusuke Kozaki |
Published by | Hayakawa Publishing |
Published | July 21, 2005 |
Manga | |
Published by | MediaWorks |
English publisher | |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Magazine | Dengeki Comic Gao! |
Original run | September 27, 2005 – September 27, 2006 |
Volumes | 3 |
Speed Grapher (スピードグラファー Supīdo Gurafā?) is a 2005 anime series created by Gonzo. The series ran for 24 episodes from April to October 2005 on TV Asahi. It tells the story of former war photographer, Tatsumi Saiga and his quest to save Kagura Tennōzu from Chōji Suitengu and the members of a fetish club, the Roppongi Club. In 2006, the series was licensed for release in North America by Funimation and aired on the Independent Film Channel between March 7 and August 15, 2008.
The series was adapted into a manga by Tomozo. Originally serialized by MediaWorks in Monthly Dengeki Comic GAO!, it was released to three tankōbon between September 2005 and September 2006. The manga series was then licensed to Chuang Yi, who released the three volumes in English and Chinese in Singapore, and later to Tokyopop, who released the first two volumes in North America in September and December 2008. A light novel was also created and was written by Minoru Niki. It was published by Hayakawa Publishing and released on July 21, 2005.
Speed Grapher follows the exploits of former war photographer Tatsumi Saiga, who investigates a secret fetish club for the ultra-wealthy called the Roppongi Club. He tries to photograph the club's "goddess", a 15-year-old, exploited 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. Saiga soon discovers that Kagura's body fluids, like her saliva, in combination with a certain "virus", can give people bizarre abilities relating to their secret desires, fetishes, and obsessions. Club members strive for the honor of becoming "gifted" via Kagura's power. Saiga soon becomes entangled in this secret underground society and the powerful and corrupt Tennōzu Group mega-corporation that operates it. He attempts to free Kagura, a move that puts the two of them on the run from the Tennōzu Group and blood-thirsty members of the club with bizarre and often horrifying special powers.