How do you like your samurai? Swift, mysterious, strong, and dignified? Oh, and should they kill with style? If any of these are a must-have, then you'll like Samurai 7. It is a great anime series from Studio Gonzo, and is one of my all time favorite.
Like other Gonzo productions, Samurai 7 seamlessly combines computer animation with hand-drawn art. In their other anime, Gonzo's computer effects can be a little distracting. This isn't the case in Samurai 7. On the contrary, the effects work well with the hand drawn material.
Story: 10/10
-There was a great war, and as a result the world is in a sort of turmoil. A rice-growing village is in need of assistance. It seems the bandits, which are large mecha-like machines that used to be human samurai, are taking more and more rice away. So the village's water priestess, her little sister, and some guy, head out into the city to try and gather up a couple brave samurai who will help push back the bandits.
The good thing about all of this is it takes place in a futuristic setting, where machines are used and technology has combined itself with traditional devices such as wagons, etc.. Its really cool to see, and the settings in the show resemble some you might find in a Star Wars flick.
Anyways, the story is fun and well paced. I didn't think I'd become hooked as much as I did, but once I started watching it was hard to stop. The story also picks up the pace after each episode, upping the ante and providing more and more tension. The premise I mentioned earlier is only the beginning of the story, and there are plenty of Samurai fights, all of which are extremely stylish and beautifully choreographed.
Characters: 10/10
-Each samurai is memorable, charming, and easy to like. They fight with honor, and you can see they truly love the little rice village. They are all well balanced, and their backgrounds are established so you aren't left in the dust. It was cool to see how they all work together, sometimes grudgingly, but in the end are a descent set of men. The villagers, on the other hand, are strangely drawn and act kind of weird.
Music: 9/10
-Traditional Japanese music. It works well as a whole.
Animation: 7/10
-95% of the series is superbly animated, and I mean superbly! Then, for some reason in 2 episodes the art style drastically changes. Its almost like someone else came aboard and drew everything in THEIR own style, ignoring what had previously been drawn. Its simply horrid. During those 2 episodes the art style is ugly, choppy, and disgusting to watch. It made me really angry and I was afraid the entire series would maintain the change in art style, but (thank god) it quickly went back to normal. Not a deal breaker, but still. So when you're watching and suddenly the characters look like they crawled out of the toilet, just keep watching because it will go back to normal.
English Dub: 8/10
-The Dub is perfect, but the characters are sometimes hard to hear.
Overall: 9/10
One of my favorite anime, especially from Studio Gonzo. I give it a 9 because of that stupid change in animation and the fact that its hard to hear the voices sometimes. Aside from these gripes, I pleasantly enjoyed Samurai 7. The story is fun, the Samurai are stylish and kill with precision, and the ending wraps up everything nicely. Its a great anime for that rainy afternoon. Just know that once you start, you might not want to stop. Oh, and you might want some tissues on hand.
Rating: TV-PG
-Mostly accurate rating, though I would have gave it a TV-14 rating. There's some mild language, and hardly any drug use. But it can be a little violent, and there is some blood. The killings can be brutal, though most of the time its just robots being killed. Still its rather violent, especially the battles at the end. Also there is a bathing scene, but hardly anything can be seen. Perfect for teens and up, but might be iffy for the younger ones.Get more detail about Samurai 7: Box Set (Viridian Collection).
No comments:
Post a Comment