You got no reason to apologize dude. Sometimes you have to take a break to give your best. And no matter what life throws at you, you have to just put one foot in front of the other and move forward with others at your side; an understanding that very much fits thematically with this retrospective.

Also, IGPX would be an awesome retrospective to do.

Two things have stayed with me for years after watching Gun x Sword as a kid
1) The Claw was the first time I encountered a villain that was unapologetically evil in their actions while also believing that what they’re doing is good and just, that it’s “for the best of everyone”

2) I really really really want to try the “put every condiment available on a meal at once” thing that Van does

The hoverbase is the result of a long series of events started in episode 2 that's really easy to miss on a first watch. The incel mustache man was supposed to be the one to fish Saudade's casket up from the bay with Metal Guru, but Van destroying it unintentionally screws that plan up. So the claw has one of his guys hire the local salvage crew(the guy hiring them has a little claw pin on the whole time), which Van and Wendy run defense for. Then Saudade is shipped via train to the Train town, while that's happening they request a hover base to take Saudade the rest of the way, but the appearance of Ray in the greenhouse, causes Michael to awaken Saudade early, and he just flies back to their base. Now with no need for the Hoverbase to ship Saudade, the Claws guys just dump it off on the tournament organizers, presumably that company is also in cahoots with the Claw in some way, they offer it up as a prize for the winner who winds up being Priscilla.

36:48 Vann's not oblivious. He's just dedicated to his dead fiance.

Sorry Hun.
Gotta cancel valentine's day dinner
Retcon dropped a video 😂😂😂

Just in case you didn't realize because I don't think you mentioned but The Claw is Woo's father, he killed his mother because he originally hated The Claw and then became loyal to him as it's what his mother wished so yeah the whole situation may be worse than you realized.

Gun X Sword is one of those mecha anime where you like all the characters and the villains are legit villains and need to burn lol

For those that may care, there are some SUPER endearing moments between Spike (Bebop), Testuya (Mazinger) and Domon (G Gundam) in SRW T. If you wanted a slightly more "likeable" version of him I can't recommend that game enough!

Also great video!!!

I think my favorite aspect of this show was how much it felt like a predecessor to Code Geass. The music, character designs and even the way their faces are animated is very much in line with Geass a few years later. Yeah you can chalk it up to most of the same staff being involved in both series, but even then it's just...so strikingly similar in so many ways.

Also one of the few anime in it's time to still have a unique OP with an instrumental focused theme instead of the usual J-Rock/J-Pop song

5:46 saudade is portuguese for longing and the latter pronunciation is correct

18:52 Fun fact, in the Spanish dub, Ray has the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog, Manuel Gimeno, who is also the voice of Robert Pattinson in Spain.

I love  these types of shows G-gundam, S-Cry-ed, and GunxSword sort of spaghetti western crossed with space opara.

I’ve known about Gun X Sword thanks to super robot wars yet it didn’t really catch my interest until the game introduced claw fully and my immediate reaction was “this man needs to die” it was such a small amount of dialogue from him but the sudden gut reaction made me realize this show would be worth watching

I'd argue Gun x Sword came out in the wrong decade. I remember at the time it being uncharitably compared to Trigun and Cowboy Bebop and somewhat casually dismissed as derivative by early 00's anime fans. Had it come out ten years later when there was far more nostalgia for 90's anime and mecha was considerably rarer I think it would've gotten the attention it deserved, 'cause it really hits that sweet spot.

Also, KITTY!!!

I really like how much more of this show you get on a 2nd watch. Lots of context changes when you have knowledge of what happens later. Stuff like Van being ultimately partially responsible for Michael's "kidnapping" in the first place. Almost none of it is actually lingered on and just left to the audience to piece together.

Thank you Super Robot Wars 30 for giving me the slightest idea about what this anime is.

23:06 lol, its so funny seeing one of those be such a threat when they are literally generic mooks in SRW 30

The algorithm demands engagement!

Like many other series you've covered I originally saw Gun X Sword to prep for Super Robot Wars. When this show got showcased in T it was interesting to see Van develop a camaraderie with post series Domon from G Gundam since Van had started his journey and Domon could easily see Van's hatred for The Claw was just as strong as his hatred for Kyoji. The Claw even managed to capture Rain and used her to resurrect the Devil Gundam after getting help from a resurrected Master Asia on how to control DG cells for the Day of Happiness. Oh and speaking of, The Claw I've honestly never encountered a villain like this, so completely and utterly crazy and dangerous, the dude was a straight up sociopath. So much so that in 30 the main villain of Magic Knight Rayearth said that the Claw was just pure emptiness like Xemnas from Kingdom Hearts. Speaking of Gun X Sword from SRW30 it was pretty cool of Van to prevent one of the absolutely dumbest deaths from Victory Gundam by saving Uso's mom and preventing Oliver from getting run over by that absolutely stupid wheel ship thing.

Speaking of Van I've figured that him drowning his food in every condiment within arms reach was a sign of how dead inside he was from Erina's murder. That he needed all of that just so he can taste anything. Much like how Ray lost his sight as the series went on Van lost his sense of taste after The Claw killed Erina. But yes if Gun X Sword ever gets a Blu Ray release (just wait Discotek will get to it eventually) you should add this to your collection.

Gun X Sword is one of my favorite mech anime from the 2000s. Also you have to take that news in moderation lol.