Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

Samurai 7 is the animated retelling of the famous Akira Kurosawa movie Seven Samurai. Unlike Seven Samurai this series is not a period piece. Samurai 7 projects the action into a high-tech post apocalyptic setting. The series first aired in 2004. It was directed by Toshifumi Takizawa who also directed Crusher Joe and Dirty Pair. Gonzo was the production house.

There is a lot of action but there is not a lot of gratuitous bloodletting. There is only one scene that has some skin showing but it is very tame. The movie is rated “13+” at RightStuf.com and I think that rating is accurate.

I purchased the standard edition Viridian Collection version of the DVD boxed set. The series contains 26 episodes that amount to roughly 700 minutes.

-== What I Like ==-

Them main characters in Samurai 7 are extremely strong. They include a veteran of a recent war, a boy out to prove himself, a powerful klutz, a gunslinger, the farm girl who hires them, etc. EVERY significant character in Samurai 7 was one that I wanted to see grow and change over the story arc. When some of them die it is gut wrenching.

The story pacing in Samurai 7 is perfect. The first few episodes provides a very strong start. Once started the plot includes action scenes interspersed with nice breaks for story development. I really appreciate the fact that every episode has some type of cool action scene. These actions scenes mixed with drama really ratchet up the tension as Samurai 7 progresses through the series. To top it off, the ending does not disappoint. The climax of Samurai 7 is full of action and drama. This series is a masterpiece of storytelling excellence.

The animation style in Samurai 7 is crisp and light. During most of the episodes I thought it was appropriate and well executed. Once or twice I would have liked to see a bit more shadow and contrast but overall the animation was fantastic. 😀

Here are some comments about some of the Samurai 7 episodes.

• Episode 7 – I was quite confused by this episode. For some reason the art syle becomes “loose” in this episode only. It is very strange. I am not sure if this was intentional or not but either way I did not care for the change in animation style. 🙁
• Episode 8 – This episode included a powerful scene where one of the side characters, Rikichi, breaks down in front of the samurai.
• Episodes 13 and 14 – In these episode the attacks on the village begin. Some of the most wonderful action sequences in Samurai 7 are in these episodes.
• Episode 16 – One main cast dies in this episode. His loss really ratchets up the tension of the series.
• Episode 17 and 18 – These two episodes are actually a bit of a let down. They include mostly flashbacks and I think they are tot really needed.
• Episode 19 – A big political power grab happens in this episode of Samurai 7.
• Episode 23 – Fantastic scene with Kanbei (aka the vet). One of the coolest scenes in the run.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

Episodes 7, 17, and 18 in the series are not that strong. If problems with these episodes were cleaned up (see my comments above) the series would really be flawless.

The Viridian Collection of Samurai 7 contains no extras that are even worth mentioning. This is really a disappointment as after watching the show I had a lot of questions about the creation of the characters. I would have loved to see some of the main character designs explored in the extra features.

-== Summary ==-

Samurai 7 is a tension filled action movie with crisp animation and a drop dead wonderful story. I strongly recommend this anime series to anyone who loves action movies or series of any kind.

You can get Samurai 7 at RightStuf.com for $21.99 at this URL. Amazon.com has it at this URL for $26.49.

I give it 9 out of 10 paws.