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{{Short description|Japanese animated television series}}
{{About|the animated television series|other uses|Gunsword (disambiguation){{!}}Gunsword}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox animanga/Header
| name            = Gun X Sword
| image           = Gun X Sword.jpg
| caption         = Gun X Sword part one DVD cover
| ja_kanji        = ガン × ソード
| ja_romaji       = Gan Sōdo
| genre           = <!-- Note: Use and cite reliable sources to identify genre/s, not personal interpretation. Please don't include more than three genres (per [[MOS:A&M]]). -->
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Video
| type            = tv series
| director        = [[Gorō Taniguchi]]
| producer        = Hiroyuki Birukawa<br>Hiroyuki Saeki
| writer          = [[Hideyuki Kurata]]
| music           = [[Kōtarō Nakagawa]]
| studio          = [[Anime International Company|AIC ASTA]]
| licensee        = [[Crunchyroll]]{{efn|In North America through Crunchyroll (formerly known as [[Funimation]]) and in Australia through [[Crunchyroll Store Australia]].}}
{{English anime licensee | UK= [[MVM Films]]}}
| network         = [[TV Tokyo]]
| network_en      = {{English anime network | CA= [[G4 (Canadian TV channel)|G4techTV]] ([[Anime Current]]) | SEA= [[Animax|Animax Asia]]}}
| first           = July 4, 2005
| last            = December 26, 2005
| episodes        = 26
| episode_list    = List of Gun Sword episodes
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Footer}}

{{Nihongo|'''''Gun X Sword'''''|ガン × ソード|Gan Sōdo|stylized as ''GUN×SWORD''|lead=yes}}, is a Japanese [[anime]] television series animated by [[Anime International Company|AIC A.S.T.A]], written by [[Hideyuki Kurata]], and directed by [[Gorō Taniguchi]].

==Plot==
{{see also|List of Gun Sword characters}}
The story is set on the "Planet of Endless Illusion", a place where rogues of all sorts gather. The protagonist, Van, travels the world searching for a man with a clawed right hand who killed his bride. He is joined by several other travelers along the way, each linked to the clawed man by a personal loss.

==Production==
''Gun X Sword'' was first announced by JVC in May 2005 through the reveal of its official website.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-05-17/gun-x-sword|title=Gun X Sword|website=Anime News Network|access-date=August 4, 2023|date=May 17, 2005}}</ref> Despite its aesthetics in the anime's premiere, director [[Goro Taniguchi]] claimed ''Gun Sword'' is not a Western series. He wanted to convey the series is not simple, that is why he decided to bring the mecha area already in the first episode. Kurata wanted to play homage to the mecha genre which had been highly popular during the making of the anime. Van was often compared with [[Vash the Stampede]] from ''[[Trigun]]'' due to how they avoid fights but Van was more written as a lazy character rather than the pacifist fighter from the other series. Still, the series is not only inspired by mecha such as ''[[Voltron]]'', but also as Hollywood movies such as ''[[Independence Day (1996 film)|Independence Day]]''. Taniguchi expressed difficulties on the team working together to produce their own title after several discussion about the trajectory of the narrative. Takahiro Kimura made the character designs with Van's design having several primilar looks in the making of the series which took about six months to finish. Wendy and Carmen instead led to faster results. Meanwhile, Kurata wanted the villains to look menacing as a result of the episodic style using ideas from ''[[Read or Die]]''. His favorite villain was Lucky Roulette as he considers him an "epitome" of villains that commonly seen in B movies.<ref name="inter">{{cite magazine|journal=Anime Insider|url=https://animetics.net/2014/07/27/via-anime-insider-the-gun-x-sword-crew-june-2006/|year=2006|issue=June|title=Top Guns|author=Mullins, Summer|issn=1547-3767|publisher=Wizard Entertainment}}</ref>

As the first episode had a violent style, the next ones were instead given a more calm story, resulting in a change of villains into Baron Mayor. Kimura kept designing characters after reading the scripts. The thirteenth episode was specifically written as the midpoint of the story as the style would change and become more serious until the climax. Across the first half, the villains were written as hilarious until the introduction of the main antagonist, Claw. In order to make Claw stand out as a villain, he was given both a polite personality that contrasts his murderous intent. In the end, the staff believed Van's and Wendy's story were fully completed, making no need for a sequel. Several studios collaborated with Tangichu in the making of the anime, making it important for anime fans.<ref name="inter"/>
===Release===
{{seealso|List of Gun Sword episodes}}
The series aired on [[TV Tokyo]] from July 4 to December 26, 2005, totaling 26 episodes. It was collected in a total of thirteen DVD volumes by Victor between October 21, 2005 and October 25, 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/flyingdog/-/Discography/A010090/VIBF-291.html|title=『ガンソード』DVD VOL.1|website=JVCMusic|access-date=August 4, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/flyingdog/-/Discography/-/VIZF-65.html|title=『ガンソード』DVD VOL.13|website=JVCMusic|access-date=August 4, 2023}}</ref> A Blu-ray box was released on April 26, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/flyingdog/-/Discography/-/VTXF-84.html|title=『ガン×ソード』 Blu-ray BOX 【完全限定盤】|website=JVCMusic|access-date=August 4, 2023}}</ref> In the DVD volumes of ''Gun X Sword'', there are 2 episodes tied into each volume in the extras with episode 13 on its own in the final one. The opening theme is "GUNXSWORD" by [[Kōtarō Nakagawa]] while the ending themes are "A Rising Tide" by [[Shuntarō Okino]] (episodes 1 to 8, 10, 12 to 16, 18 to 21, 23, 25), "Paradiso" by Hitomi (episodes 9 and 11), "[[S.O.S. (Pink Lady song)|S.O.S]]" by [[Kikuko Inoue]], [[Houko Kuwashima]], [[Satsuki Yukino]] & [[Saeko Chiba]] (episode 17), "A Rising Tide" (acoustic version) by Shuntaro Okino (episode 22), "Calling You" by Shuntaro Okino (episode 24), and "GUNXSWORD" (starting again) by [[Kotaro Nakagawa]] and [[Ondekoza]] (episode 26). The insert songs are "Niji no Kanata" by [[Satsuki Yukino]] (episode 3) and "La Speranza" by [[Hitomi Kuroishi|Hitomi]] (episodes 16, 25). Two official CD soundstracks were also released in Japan on September 22, 2005 and December 7, 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/flyingdog/-/Discography/A012120/VICL-61731.html|title=GUN×SWORD Original Soundtrack|website=JVCMusic|access-date=August 4, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/flyingdog/-/Discography/A012120/VICL-61793.html|title=GUN×SWORD Original Soundtrack 2|website=JVCMusic|access-date=August 4, 2023}}</ref>

The series was licensed in June 2005 for North America by [[NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan|Geneon Entertainment]], who produced an English dub overseen by [[New Generation Pictures]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-06-29/gun-x-sword-licensed|title=Gun X Sword Licensed?|website=Anime News Network|access-date=August 4, 2023}}</ref> The dub is also available in Australia from [[Madman Entertainment]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.madman.com.au/series/home/3565/gun-x-sword|title=Gun X Sword|website=Madman Entertainment|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref> and in the [[United Kingdom]] by [[MVM Films]]. At [[Anime Central]] 2010, North American anime distributor [[Funimation]] announced that they have rescued ''Gun X Sword'' and re-released the series in late 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-05-15/funimation-adds-rosario+vampire-anime-more|title=Funimation Adds Rosario+Vampire Anime And More|publisher= Anime News Network|date=2010-05-15}}</ref> In 2022, [[Crunchyroll]] got access to the series and started streaming it both in Japanese and English.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fandompost.com/2022/10/17/gun-x-sword-anime-english-dub-gets-crunchyroll-distribution/|title='Gun X Sword' Anime English Dub Gets Crunchyroll Distribution|publisher=Fandom Post|date=August 4, 2023}}</ref>

These are a series of 13 [[omake]] episodes of ''Gun Sword'' tied in very loosely to the plot with the characters as chibi puppets. The main characters are Wendy and her turtle, Kameo, the size of a human in this series and able to talk. Michael, Van and Carmen also appear voiced by their voice actors in the mainstream episodes. All the episodes seem to center around analyzing various events in ''Gun X Sword'' and mocking the themes displayed.

==Other==
A novelization of the anime by Hideyuki Kurata, was published by [[Kadokawa Shoten]] on January 1, 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-12-07/gun-x-sword-novelisation|title=Gun X Sword Novelisation|website=Anime News Network|accessdate=August 4, 2023}}</ref>

The series is included in the 2009 ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' game, ''Super Robot Wars K'', for the [[Nintendo DS]], the 2019 game ''[[Super Robot Wars T]]'' for [[Nintendo Switch]] and [[PlayStation 4]] and the 2021 game ''[[Super Robot Wars 30]]'' for [[Nintendo Switch]], [[PlayStation 4]] and [[Microsoft Windows]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-07-11/super-robot-wars-30-rpg-new-video-unveils-more-titles-in-lineup-october-28-launch/.175010|title=Super Robot Wars 30 RPG's New Video Unveils More Titles in Lineup, October 28 Launch|website=Anime News Network|access-date=August 4, 2023|date=July 11, 2021}}</ref>
==Reception==
The official Blu-ray of ''Gun Sword'' sold 4,818 units in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-05-02/japan-animation-blu-ray-disc-ranking-april-24-30/.115599|title=Japan's Animation Blu-ray Disc Ranking, April 24-30|website=Anime News Network|access-date=August 4, 2023|date=May 2, 2017}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/gunsword/ TV Tokyo's ''Gun x Sword'' website]
* [http://www.funimation.com/shows/gun-x-sword Gun X Sword - The Official Anime Website] from [[FUNimation]]
* {{ann|anime|4920|GUNxSWORD}}
* {{IMDb title|0991047}}

{{Gorō Taniguchi}}
{{AIC TV series}}

[[Category:Animax original programming]]
[[Category:Anime International Company]]
[[Category:Anime with original screenplays]]
[[Category:Crunchyroll anime]]
[[Category:Funimation]]
[[Category:Geneon USA]]
[[Category:Hideyuki Kurata]]
[[Category:Anime and manga about revenge]]
[[Category:TV Tokyo original programming]]
[[Category:Mecha anime and manga]]