Gungrave OD announced

According to the latest issue of Dorimaga magazine, Red Entertainment has announced Gungrave OD for the PlayStation 2. The series' main character will return in the new game with a new mechanical coffin and costume. Two new characters are known at the current time--a man named Rocket Billy Red Cadillac who wears a red costume and carries a guitar, and a man named Kabane Juuji who wears a quilted coat over a black costume, with a flame burning over his right shoulder and two gun-swords as weapons.

According to the series producer Toru Kubo, the original Gungrave was aimed for playability in a short time span, but some players felt that the game lacked depth. As such, Gungrave OD will feature more replay value than its predecessors. The stage maps will be larger as well. The title's "OD" is an abbreviation for "overdose," and it is meant to describe the game's increase in extreme scenes, player actions, destructible objects, and special effects, among other things. Yasuhiro Nightow, the author of the manga and anime series Trigun, will once again handle the character designs. Kousuke Fujishima, the author of the manga and anime series Ah! My Goddess, will be participating again in the development as well.

Gungrave OD is currently 20-percent complete, and it is scheduled for release in spring 2004 in Japan. An anime based on Gungrave and produced by Studio Madhouse is scheduled to begin airing in Japan in October.