Uknighted Manganime Life is too short to watch bad anime

After the last great war, groups of bandits roam freely. Terrorising villages by forcing them to pay tributes of rice and destroying them if they resist.

One such village is Kana. Fed up of the bandits and their treatment, the elder of the village decides to hire Samurai who will fight the bandits. A young priestess named Kirara, her younger sister Komachi and a man of the village Rikichi head to the closest town in the hope of finding the help they so desperately need. They find not one but seven samurai and thus a legend is born.

It’s funny how you hear about new anime. For me it was a page of a magazine pinned on the wall of a friends bedroom. It had a preview of Samurai 7 and quite frankly after reading it, I wanted it. It did not disappoint. With an amazing story, interesting characters and awesome action scenes it is a winner.

The animation style is excellent and is very similar to Last Exile another brilliant work by Gonzo. Although in the first half of episode 7 the animation quality sky dives and it’s quite painful to watch, however in the second half of the episode it’s back to its’ usual excellent self. I’m not sure what happened there, perhaps it was work experience day for the local high school. The CG is again similar to Last Exile this is a double edged sword unfortunately. Whilst usually the CG is well done, it can occasionally become sloppy. With explosions and particle effects being the most obvious.

Action plays a very major role in Samurai 7 and as such is also incredibly well done. Have you ever seen a 50 foot tall mech being carved up by one guy with a sword? You will now, with the 7 proving that swords are not things of the past and that being a gigantic robot can be a very bad thing when faced with skilled Samurai.

The Sevens’ personalities are all ones we have seen before and yet are original at the same time. Each of them portray a different outlook on life and their fighting styles reflect this. Kanbei is a veteran from the last war thus having a lot of experience on the battle field and his sword skills are deadly and accurate. Gorbei has an always positive attitude to life. Why cry when you can laugh. He is also incredibly fast, being able to catch arrows and similar projectiles in mid flight. Kickuchio is loud, abrasive and brash but his heart is in the right place and makes for a very likeable character. He is a machine samurai and relies on brute strength and his huge sword to cleave the way. Kyuzo is silent but lethal. With his twin swords, soldiers, floating armour suits and mecha are reduced to pieces. All without a word. Katshiro is the inexperienced yet well meaning young samurai. Whilst he has not got much fighting experience, he learns quickly and becomes a formidable fighter as the series goes on. Heihachi despite his appearance has vast knowledge of engineering and uses this to get the group out of a few tight spots. He is also very upbeat and kind, plus with his almost addiction to rice he is entertaining and fun to watch. Shichiroji was Kanbeis’ partner during the war and whilst having finally found peace agrees to fight with him once more. His skill with the spear is very fast and aerobatic and combined with his ability to pilot and use machines from the war he completes the legendary group.

The setting for Samurai 7 is a strange blend of feudal Japan and huge cities running on machines. The technology also hits both ends of the stick. With the samurai walking around with swords on their belts, yet the bandits are mecha and they prowl the skies in floating ships that have a passing resemblance to designs from the Matrix. This is, for the most part, pulled off well however sometimes you sit back and think “Just what is going on with this?” The technology may be a blend but the social society is firmly feudal. With the samurai being highly respected and the peasants being treated with a large amount less, it reflects Japan in it’s history quite well.

Now the plot is a bit of a mixed bag. The first half of the show follows the basic structure of the film and is done well, with Gonzo adding in their own ideas to keep it fresh. However after the battle at Kana village, the show takes a turn for the angsty. Mainly on Katshiros’ part but a few other characters add to this and it begins to lose some of the charm it originally had. The pacing is surprisingly well done and an interesting twist with the main antagonist not actually being revealed until later. As I have come to expect of Gonzo the play with suspense is well used and keeps you hooked to the last episode.

The intro is a pop/rock piece performed by Nanase Aikawa and it works well with setting the scene. With the outro being a more gentle track. The music used in the series is mostly traditional, making good use of various Japanese instruments and it adds to the feel of the series.

This series is a must for any fans of action. With many impressive fights and battles it is pure eye candy in that respect. All the Samurai are brilliantly acted and are all good characters in their own way and with the supporting cast also being just as good it is definitely worth a look. It may get tense and more heavy nearer the end and is good at showing life doesn’t always end up the way you want. However it is still a good and enjoyable series

Rating: (This is bordering on a five but because of plot holes and some not so good character work it is pushed just below the mark.)