 "A Masterpiece!!" | 2003-06-12 |
| - Reviewed By musashikojiroai |
| That's what it is. There's really no way to describe this incredible 4 part OVA series. In Feudal Japan, the tale of Kenshin Himura begins. Before Kenshin became the wanderer who doesn't kill in the TV series, he was the Hitokiri Battousai-The Manslayer, a deadly assasin. Learning the ways of the Hiten-Mitsurugi Style, he has left his master to help the people who are being oppressed by the government, and to join the Imperialist's in order to overthrow the government. The scenes in here are astounding, from blood red sunsets, to the dark and chilling scenes of night, and the beautiful scene where the rain washes a drop of blood from Tomoe's cheek. The music really gets you into the feel of the moment, slow and ominous, to eerie, and finally an explosion of anger and determination. Samurai X is a title you have to own, both Trust and Betrayal, no buts about it!! Nobody should miss this!! |
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| "A Rouruni Kenshin film ¿what else can I say?" | 2003-02-23 |
| - Reviewed By aceblanc |
| It's an epic masterpiece that can easely be compared with Akira Kurosawa's live action films(exept this one is a little bit more bloody).This anime is packed with action,political plots and romance,and as I said it is kind of bloody but it ain't no ninja sroll, plus it isn't actually an action film but you can still watch some neat body choping scenes.To sum this up this anime is a great must have motion film. |
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| "A Rouruni Kenshin film ¿what else can I say?" | 2003-02-23 |
| - Reviewed By aceblanc |
| It's an epic masterpiece that can easely be compared with Akira Kurosawa's live action films(exept this one is a little bit more bloody).This anime is packed with action,political plots and romance,and as I said it is kind of bloody but it ain't no ninja sroll, plus it isn't actually an action film but you can still watch some neat body choping scenes.To sum this up this anime is a great must have motion film. |
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 "Samurai X - Trust" | 2001-10-10 |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
| This is the first out of two movies of Himura Kenshin "Battousai" and Yukishiro Tomoe. It's a very sad story of a rurouni (master less samurai) in the Meiji period (1864) and it takes place in Kyoto. I can't ruin it for you, but I just wanted to say a few things: This is one of the best anime movies ever made, though it's very sad. I saw it so many times it's become a sorta "zen" thing for me :-) . But just one little bit of advice: IF YOU KNOW JAPANESE OR SPEAK IT/STUDY IT, GET THIS MOVIE IN IT'S ORIGINAL LANGUAGE!!!!! The voice actors in this version are nothing in comparison to the Japanese voice actors. I don't mean to insult the English version, but I feel that the Japanese voice actors put more emotions and effort in what they do. It's always better to see a movie in it's original language. But this is just a matter of opinion. I would never get the Rurouni Kenshin comics in English, in fact I have them all in Japanese (I prefer the raw version of things!).
Another thing is that this movie is rated 17+ (age). This first movie has a bit of blood, but its not THAT bad, and it has no swearing - no sex. Other than that, I only have one thing against this movie: the name! How can you call a movie 'Samurai X' when the manga or eiga is called 'Rurouni Kenshin'??!!
Hope this was helpful. |
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| ""I am a killer who brings the bloody rain."" | 2001-06-07 |
| - Reviewed By the_peacemaker |
| This anime ROCKS! It is the story of a time in Feudal Japan, where the ideal way of eliminating the old regime is to destroy anything that resembles it. Kenshin is a very young man who is taught the skills to become a ruthless, deadly assassin. He soon became famous for his killing skills. But when Kenshin meets a beautiful but depressed girl named Tomoe, he falls in love and realizes that he really doesn't want to live life as a ruthless murderer. Eventually, Kenshin learns why Tomoe is so depressed. And this reason soon proves to be devastating..... I expected this anime to be a total gore-fest, filled with nothing but endless action and guys getting chopped in half. But I was actually quite wrong! The first episode is mostly action, but the second and third episodes contain a great deal of romance as well. And the fourth episode is the conclusion....and it's absolutely heartbreaking. The ending is shocking, startling, jaw-dropping. It's very sad actually. This film has one of the most tearjerking endings I have seen since "Grave of the Fireflies." Funny how both films are anime. But just because the film isn't all action doesn't mean it isn't gory. This is a very violent movie, with plenty of mutilations, decapitations, and copious amounts of blood. It wasn't rated by the MPAA, but it would merit a solid R for the graphic violence and gore. (There's no nudity, however. It doesn't need any.) Stunning animation and spectacular storytelling, exhilarating action and enchanting romance, breathtaking adventure and heartbreaking drama--"Samurai X: Rurouni Kenshin" has it all. And it's a masterpiece. (This text refers to the subtitled VHS version.) |
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| "Already a Classic" | 2000-10-04 |
| - Reviewed By mccamy |
| If the rest of this series is anything like the first volume, this one is going to be a classic. Poignant story reminds me of "Blood Reign:Curse of the Undead Yoma" with artwork better than "Ninja Scroll". I recommend viewing the series "Hurouni Kenshin" as well. The latter series is set after the war and deals with the hero's personal redemption. The two form a nice balance. The early story adds poignancy of the later story, which tends to get a bit slapstick. The later story decreases the sob factor of "Samurai X" to a tolerable level. (To the reviewer who gave it a 4 for sadness, check out the other series and see if this helps) |
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| "Breathtaking OAV Series" | 2000-08-28 |
| - Reviewed By skuld |
| Samauri X (or Rurouni Kenshin OAV) is an amazingly spectactular animated series. Different in style and feel than the popular TV series by the same name {Rurouni Kenshin), I believe it surpasses the original. The timeline is before the TV series takes place, in the manga it is shown as a flashback, telling his comrads about his past life. This Kenshin is darker, more violent and more serious from the begining. This can be considered a prequel to the TV series, explaining his background. This series earns a 17 and up rating and with good reason. There is quite graphic violence that the potential viewer should be aware of, there is quite a jump in maturity from Pokemon to Rurouni Kenshin. The dub is not bad, as dubs go. The voice actors seem to fit their characters fairly well, ADV has taken some care in the release of this series. Quite a well done series! |
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| "As good as anime gets" | |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
| I often think of Akira as the Citizen Kane of anime--the classic of the medium, the standard by which all others are judged. Ghost in the Shell becomes a sort of Star Wars, a futuristic, special-effects-laden masterpiece. By this standard, Samurai X/Rouroni Kenshin is the Saving Private Ryan of anime--a brutally realistic portrait of war and its effects on the souls of the men who wage it. I have never given an anime title five stars before. To do so implies that it could stand with the aforementioned films, and it was impossible to think that any anime could be that good. Samurai X is. Everything, from the visuals to the story to the music, is brilliant. That it is also educational is even more remarkable. Kenshin, when judged by both this video and the TV series, is probably the best anime character ever created, an incredibly skilled swordsman who knows that he kills but does not yet understand what that means. All of the other characters, too, are well-done and seem to get better with every viewing. If there is any flaw at all it is in the dubbing. I prefer dubbed anime and rarely notice the kind of problems with it other people do. However, in Samurai X I did not like the voice actress who played Tomoe. This is probably because I recognized her voice from an episode of Goldenboy, in which she plays a vampy schoolgirl. She was great in that, but every time I heard her voice in Samurai X I kept hearing the dialogue from Goldenboy and it was distracting. This, however, is not even close to a reason not to own this video. If you like anime, then I cannot recommend Samurai X highly enough. It is truly spectacular. |
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