In 2006, the series was licensed for release in North America by Funimation and aired on the Independent Film Channel between March 7 and August 15, 2008.

Saiga soon discovers that Kagura's body fluids, like her saliva, in combination with a certain "virus", can give people bizarre abilities relating to their secret desires, fetishes, and obsessions.

He attempts to free Kagura, a move that puts the two of them on the run from the Tennōzu Group and blood-thirsty members of the club with bizarre and often horrifying special powers.

Saiga and his policewoman friend Hibari Ginza make one final attack on Suitengu's stronghold - the main building of Tennōzu Group.

Suitengu spares Saiga's life, and, in a final act of defiance, self-destructs the Tennōzu building, killing all the members of the club and destroying all the money he gathered, before dying in the explosion.

The world collapses into a financial crisis, but Saiga and Kagura finally reunite five years later, no longer under threat of attack.

He noted these cases must have been caused by the fact that in our society "financial fortune is equated with success and is expected to lead to happiness".

In Sugishima's words: "Because we wanted Speed Grapher to stand out because of its story, we chose not to use any special visual effects.

"[4] The episodes of Speed Grapher are directed by Kunihisa Sugishima, animated by Gonzo, and produced by TV Asahi.

[20] In the United Kingdom, Speed Grapher was licensed to MVM Films, who released six DVD compilations between April 16, 2007, and February 4, 2008.

[25] Based directly on the anime, a manga series, also entitled Speed Grapher, was released in Japan by MediaWorks and was originally serialized in Monthly Dengeki Comic GAO!.

[26][27] The series was licensed to Chuang Yi in Singapore, who released all three volumes of the manga in English on December 11, 2007, July 22, 2008, and November 2009 respectively.

[35] The novel was also licensed to Tokyopop in North America and was set to be released on November 11, 2008, but was cancelled alongside volume three of the manga.

"[43] Tasha Robinson of Sci Fi Weekly found Speed Grapher to have a "rich feel that's mirrored in the lovely visuals" and a complicated storyline.

She also commented that "Its dry, serious central plotline is also clearly aimed at viewers who value sophisticated, drawn-out serial stories over instant gratification.