FUNimation Productions announced the acquisition of North American rights to Speed Grapher, a stylish 24-episode near future thriller from Studio Gonzo.   Speed Grapher takes place in a Tokyo where the divide between the rich and poor has become a yawning chasm and the wealthy sample forbidden pleasures in secret private clubs.  The hero of this neo-noir walk on the wild side is a young cigarette smoking photographer, who is investigating the ultra exclusive Roppongi Club when he kisses the daughter of one of the ruling oligarchs and suddenly develops the ability to make things explode by photographing them.

With its echoes of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and Wild at Heart and its unvarnished look at sex and violence in a decadent near future Tokyo, Speed Grapher is mature entertainment and it should have a tremendous appeal to hardcore anime fans who will appreciate the series' realistic character designs, fluid animation and acrobatic fight choreography.  Universally recognized as one of the most interesting new anime series to debut in Japan in 2005, Speed Grapher has been eagerly awaited by American anime fans who follow developments in Japan closely -- and evidently they won't have long to wait.  The announcement of Speed Grapher, which follows on the heels of FUNimation's acquisition of another Gonzo-produced series, Basilisk (see 'FUNimation Nabs Basilisk'), indicates a growing relationship between FUNimation and one of Japan's elite anime production companies.