Ranked #894

Samurai 7

Samurai 7 is the anime remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, one of the most influential films in Japanese history. I'll be honest and say that I've never actually seen Seven Samurai -- although I do know the plot very well -- and picked up Samurai 7 because it just looked so interesting and I'd heard quite a few rave reviews.

I was pleasantly surprised by the first four episodes, and it just kept getting better. I will say I didn't enjoy the ending, despite how well it fit for the series. It was extremely bittersweet, and I was hoping for a bit more closure on Kambei's end. Still, the series was very enjoyable overall, and I'm certainly glad I watched it.

---Story---

To me, the story of Samurai 7 is its strongest point. I love the melding of mecha and samurai; it makes for incredibly interesting settings. Everything was well thought out, even when the anime departed from the original film's storyline. In fact, my favorite arc was actually after the battle for Kana village.

As stated before, the only part of the story I disliked was around the last two episodes. I think, however, that this was more of a personal opinion than anything. I do appreciate the ending -- considering everything that had happened before, it fit beautifully -- but my romantic, happily-ever-after heart was disappointed.

---Animation---

Ah, and here we come to a love/hate relationship for me. I <i>adore</i> the CG and backgrounds of Samurai 7. In fact, I don't think I've ever come across better. The mechanical aspects were beyond amazing, and the cities jaw-dropping. However... the character designs, at times, were less than pleasing. Sure, the faces were beautifully rendered. However, it seems the artists took some liberty with the bodies of some of the samurai (Katsushiro, Gorobei, and Shichiroji in particular). It's not a huge thing, but it is rather disappointing after such pretty backgrounds. No matter how much I love Shichiroji as a character, I always wince the first time we meet him at the Firefly House.

---Sound---

The sound is very fitting for the scenes, and the OP is a personal favorite of mine (the ED is so-so). Chinese drums are employed frequently, but they never really get annoying. Overall, the sound is nice, although nothing truly spectacular.

---Character---

All of the characters of Samurai 7 are fully fleshed out, which is a huge plus in my book. I liked most of them, especially Kambei and Ukyo, but some of the samurai were just... strange. Gorobei in particular comes to mind. He seemed to have some sort of blood-letting fetish, which (while interesting) was just strange to me.

One of the most impressive characters in the entire series is Ukyo. I won't give anything away, but this man is definitely not all what he seems. For most of the last half of the series (the last episode being an exception), Ukyo is simply brilliant (both in brains and otherwise). Perhaps that's one of the reasons I enjoyed the last half as much as I did: he just made everything so <i>interesting</i>.

---Enjoyment---

Yes, I did enjoy Samurai 7 quite a lot. It's not my favorite series for a few reasons, but I loved watching it. Usually I dislike the merging of two time periods/genres, but Samurai 7 managed to pull it off splendidly.

I do recommend this series, although I urge people to watch it through to the end. Perhaps it's a personal opinion, but the second half simply blows the first half away.

Pros: Lovely CG, wonderful story, engaging characters -- in respect to both the heroes and villains (Kambei and Ukyo <3)

Cons: So-so character design at times, bittersweet ending (although some may consider this a pro, hah), annoying characters (I will never like Katsushiro or Gorobei...) read more

Samurai7 is a wonderful anime all around. It has a great story, good art, and the characters are all interesting and different from each other. I would especially recommend this to people who have seen the Seven Samurai movie, an old samurai movie that inspired this anime, but it isn't necessary to fully enjoy it, either.

By far my favorite part of Samurai7 was the characters. The samurai covered a broad range of personalities from fiery and comical like Kikuchiyo to quiet and cold like Kyuzo. I admit that those two extremes seem overdone, but when they're with the other characters, it only adds to the story.

The story itself was also quite strong. It starts out on a fairly small scope, and then widens as the story continues. I like the use of mecha in the shogunate era. It gives the setting a clashing yet engaging feel.

My only complaints with the series is that there are a few parts (most notably in the Firefly Inn with Shichiroji) that become really bad visually, as if their budget was suddenly cut and they had to have a kid come in and draw those parts. It was glaringly obvious and impossible to ignore. However, those parts usually only lasted for a few minutes. The other complaint that I had was how unnecessary and annoying some of the deaths were. They only added drama, which could have been added through legitimate means and not unnecessary, annoying deaths of otherwise strong and skilled characters.

Regardless of my complaints, this is an anime that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone. read more