Speed Grapher

I tried watching Speed Grapher and got three episodes in, which is where I’ve decided to stop and write what I thought about it. It got a lot better after the first episode, and this is also one of those rare times when the anime is improved by its English dub. I think the first episode’s problem was that it was not immediately obvious what the story was about. It succeeds in getting its genre across as a detective noir thriller with contemporary fantasy and/or sci-fi elements initially presented with minimal context. But worse, the main character is introduced as averse to meaningful interactions with other characters. From episode two, this problem is fixed chiefly by Tatami Saiga (the main character) being forced to interact with the second protagonist Kagura Tennōzu.
Kagura is interesting because she provides a commentary about children of the rich and powerful who get abused and exploited by these types of parents.
As far as I got, the anime’s plot was that Saiga investigates a weird sex cult of politicians and others, ala Eyes Wide Shut, and is granted his innermost desire by an out-of-it Kagura. And because Saiga can only get a hardon while looking through the lens of his camera, which started with his photographing of a man being shot to death back when he was a war journalist, the gift he receives from Kagura results in him having the ability to destroy anything he takes a photo of.
So yeah, there are some pretty goofy things in…