Gun Blaze West

Gun Blaze West
Genre	Shonen, Western, Comedy, Action, Adventure
Manga
Written by	Nobuhiro Watsuki
Published by	Shueisha VIZ Media

Gun Blaze West is a manga by Nobuhiro Watsuki, before Busō Renkin, and after Rurouni Kenshin . It was ended prematurely, however, because the Japanese readers of Weekly Shonen Jump, thought the plot was moving too slow. The story focused on young gunfighter Viu Bannes and his journey towards a Gun Blaze West, the place where the greatest gunmen go to test their strength. The manga has been collected into three tankouban, and has been released in Japan and Germany under the same name.

VIZ Media has confirmed during the Comic Con International 2007 -- that they will release the first volume of Gun Blaze West on April 2008. It's unknown whether if they will preview the first chapter of the manga in the Shonen Jump magazine.

Characters

Viu Bannes

Will Johnston

First encounters Viu in a bar he was working as a bouncer in. Is unique in that he uses a lasso as his weapon of choice.

Colice Satoh (Sato Corisu)

A japanese girl, which knows 'Concentrtion One'. She was part of the circus of Robert Rodriguez, who taught Viu 'Concentration One'.

She fought with him against the Twins, Uno and Dos. Her weapons of choice are Throwing knife's.

Allies

Marcus Homer

Viu's mentor who taught him all the basic skills he needs to make it to Gun Blaze West before being gunned down by Ken Brown in a duel. Revealed to be alive in the last page of the final completed chapter and reading the note Viu left him in the hope that they both make it to Gun Blaze West together.

Robert Rodriguez

Owner of the circus Colice was a part of. Was Guallaripa's partner 20 years before the main storyline begins. Possesses incredible strength as well as the ability to catch bullets with his bare hands.

Armor Baron

The First Messenger of Gun Blaze West. It is his duty as an examiner to eliminate the weaker candidates to ensure the strongest make it to the next stage of the journey. His armor, Siegfried, is a special model with a built in rocket pack (using special shells) to give it short bursts of incredible speed, effectively turning him into a human missile. Viu manages to pierce his armor, thus earning his respect and a new Sign To West to continue his journey.

J.J.

A cocky gunman traveling to Gun Blaze West with his gang, all of whom have dress in black outfits with a flame motif. Is in fact Jesse James. Carries specialized bullets named Drill Rocks to penetrate the armor worn by Armor Baron's men (while bemoaning how expensive they are). Watsuki describes him in his notes as being a 'cooler version of Marcus Homer'.

J.J's Gang

Villains

Ken Brown

Target Kevin

Guallarripa

Uno and Dos

Guallaripa's twin grandsons who are determined to help their grandfather on his journey. Can be told apart due to the numerals tattooed on the cheeks. Uno uses a pair of large spurs as a pair of roller skates which grant him increased speed and an added edge to his kicking attacks, while Dos uses a large circular disc as a razor edge frisbee for long range attacks.

Serge Thunderarm

As a U.S. Cavalry soldier, Serge was once noted to have fought nonstop for 3 days and 3 nights, averaging about 10,000 rounds per day. He had no qualms about killing enemy soldiers even if they had surrendered or have been taken as prisoners of war. One day, he was said to have been killed by a canonball that destroyed the left side of his body but even that wasn't enough to stop him. Instead, he was rebuilt as a cyborg in service of the U.S. government in order to find Gun Blaze West. To aid him, his left arm has been replaced with a cybernetic claw that doubled as a flamethrower and a taser. His left knee housed a mortar and his left eye contained a signal flare (concealed by his eyepatch) to call for reinforcements. Despite all his enhancements, he still couldn't defeat Armor Baron

Minor Characters

Viu's sister

Other Candidates

Not much is known about them except their names and basic appearance: Wintree Rookie Kid (15 yrs old), possibly intended to be Viu's rival; Doctor Gaye (108 yrs old), seems to be a mad scientist of some kind. Has a steel plate on one side of his head; Devil Eye K. (25 yrs old). Has a scarred right eye, which could possibly be a permanent Concentration One like state) ; Ga-Oh (40 yrs old). A large man with a barb wire bat; C.W. Nicholson (26 yrs old). Possibly aristocratic in nature; Curt Langowski (48 yrs old).

Buffalo Rider

Terms

Zero Year: A year in which the journey to Gun Blaze West may be undertaken. Comes once per decade on a year with a zero for a final digit (i.e. 1890)

Sign To West: An item with the Gun Blaze West insignia. Each candidate must earn one during the first trial to proceed. The color is different each Zero Year so the Sign is only valid for that particular year.

Concentration One: A special eye technique Colice taught Viu to focus his aim better.

Trivia

• Armor Baron's original design was of a gunman who special gloves to increase his punching power.
• An unused design was for a bizarre masked character named "Duke The Papillion" that got recycled in Watsuki's next series Buso Renkin, as Chouno Koushaku.