Is it possible for a prequel to actually be good? The answer is YES, because Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal exists! This prequel OVA has something for everyone: great story, great characters, beautiful music, amazing animation, and plenty of bloody samurai action! In this review I will explain not only why Trust and Betrayal is an absolute masterpiece of 1990s anime, but also give a little history lesson, since this IS a historical fiction afterall.
Bonus Section: History and Rurouni Kenshin (skip the next paragraph if you don't care about history!)
Rurouni Kenshin and its prequel can actually teach casual viewers a small amount of Japanese history. For example, Rurouni Kenshin shows that in 1868 there was a civil war between the Imperialists that wished to put the Emperor back on the throne and modernize Japan, vs. the Tokugawa Shogunate, who wished to uphold the status quo of isolationism and rule by feudal Shoguns with a powerful samurai class. Even though Trust and Betrayal is FAR more realistic, serious, and somber than the main Rurouni Kenshin anime, it is still FAR removed from actual historical realism. Samurai X shows the Japanese civil war as an absolute bloodbath that was primarily fought with swords and made the streets from Kyoto to Tokyo run red with "hundreds of thousands of deaths". In reality, only 3,500 people died in the entire war, and the VAST majority were killed with guns. The EPIC and bloody battle of Kyoto killed a grand total of 350 people. Once again, the vast majority were shot! A police sword corp called the Shinsengumi did exist, but they mostly just bullied civilians and were NOT the most elite group of swordsmen in human history. The fact that they wore no armor, should be a strong clue that they were NOT the elite troops of the Tokugawa Shogunate. They were mostly just a bunch of thugs that beat up shopkeepers and had swords because it looked cool.
characters: 10/10
Spoilers!
Samurai X is like a Shakespearean tragedy...only with samurai! You have Kenshin as a naive young soldier that believes that war is simply good vs. evil and allows himself to be manipulated by wicked men into killing countless people. Kenshin believes at first he is fighting for justice, peace, and freedom, but he discovers that this isn't really the case and becomes overwhelmed with guilt over the countless lives he has taken. This is made worse by the fact that he later finds out he killed his beloved's fiancee' right before they were about to get married. Tomoe at first wishes to get close to Kenshin so she can take revenge, but she then sees that Kenshin actually has a good heart and slowly falls for him. Realistic? not really. Good drama? Hell Yes! Besides, I'm a huge Elfen Lied fan, so you think I'm going to complain about the realism of this relationship? There is also a traitor in Kenshin's group who wishes to convince Kenshin that Tomoe is the rat and that he must kill her. I will simply refer to this character as "Japanese Iago". The last important characters are Tomoe's little brother Enishi, whom we will NEVER see again (spoilers!) and Seijiro Hiko, who trains Kenshin and is a total badass. The relationship between Kenshin and Tomoe is heart-rending yet beautiful. Kenshin's growth from a naive child soldier to someone that understands the horrors of war and the gravity of his actions is truly powerful stuff! As a tragic romance, psychological drama, and analysis of of the suffering of war, Trust and Betrayal is one of the best anime ever made. Most of the character development is from Kenshin and Tomoe, but this is only a 2 hour movie, so there wasn't time to develop everyone. Trust and Betrayal makes the absolute best of the time it has to develop the characters that matter and deliver a story that will probably bring tears to your eyes.
Story: 10/10
Spoilers again!
The story begins with Kenshin as a very small child. His parents have died and he has fallen into child slavery. Some bandits murder the slavers and all the slaves except for Kenshin, who is saved at the last minute by Hiko. Hiko is moved that Kenshin took the time and effort to bury all of the slavers and bandits despite how much they wronged him. Kenshin even made special graves for the female sex slaves that were nice to him. Hiko takes Kenshin under his wing and trains him in the ultimate sword style: Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. However, Trust and Betrayal turns the cheese factor WAY down and doesn't have Kenshin performing magical feats or yelling attack names with 13 syllables, unlike the main anime series. I'm looking at you, Amakakearu-ryu-no-hiromeki! Instead, Kenshin is shown to be a very good swordsman, but for the most part a believable human being with obvious limits. Kenshin doesn't jump 30 feet in the air and yell something silly before coming down approximately whenever he feels like it. If that was the part of the anime you enjoyed, do NOT watch Samurai X, because you will not see that bullshit here! Of course, Kenshin soon grows frustrated and leaves Hiko's training early without completing it, in order to help the rebellion. I sure haven't seen that last plot point before! Kenshin leaves his master, who rightly warns him that he is not ready, and races off to Cloud City. Oops! I mean Kyoto! Kenshin soon shows himself to be an incredible swordsman and becomes an assassin. After brutally murdering a bodyguard who desperately wanted to live and get back to his fiancee, Kenshin soon runs into a beautiful young woman who stumbles upon Kenshin comitting yet another brutal assassination in which he cuts a man in half and sprays her with about 10 gallons of blood. Kenshin contemplates murdering her as well, but decides to take her in to the local tavern. This girl named Tomoe gets a job as a tavern girl, but seems perpetually sad, for reasons that most of the viewers have already guessed. I will admit that although I love this movie, subtlety is NOT what this movie does well. If you didn't guess that Tomoe is the fiancee of the bodyguard Kenshin murdered than you are REALLY bad at predicting movie plots! Fortunately, the enjoyability and merit of this movie does not depend on that plot twist coming as a surprise. The quality of this movie stems from how it portrays the emotional evolution and moral development of Kenshin. Most people never get beyond seeing the world in very simple, good and evil terms. They support wars with absolute confidence that their country is good and that the other country is evil and that there are no ulterior motives. Well a LOT of my fellow Americans think that way at least. This movie is about a young boy learning the truth about the complexity and nastiness of war and politics. It is about losing the innocence and naivete of youth and simplistic nationalism. Finally, it is about becoming a responsible adult, taking responsibility for your sins and working towards repentence. The movie suffers from some plot cliches, lack of realism, and other minor faults, but it tells a moving story and reminds me an old school literature tragedy. Like I said earlier, this often feels like a modern retelling of a Shakespeare play with samurai.
Sound: 10/10
The soundtrack is absolutely wonderful! I loved the Rurouni Kenshin series soundtrack, but despite the absence of the original composer Noriyuki Asakura, this new composer really shines through. The action tracks are powerful and moving, while the sad tracks bring the tears. I own this soundtrack and I am very glad I do. I didn't even pirate this one, I bought this shit straight cash homey! BTW, for otaku that don't watch sports, the last sentence was paraphrasing an American football player named Randy Moss.
Art: 9/10
The art is a huge improvement in animation quality over the regular series. The regular anime DOES look a lot closer to the original manga, but Watsuki's goofy style really didn't fit the serious tone established in this movie. The change to a more somber art style was very appropriate. The only negative part is that it occasionally tries to use CG to show some things in the environment like water or fire, and like most 1990s CG, it is pretty painful to look at. The whiplash from beautiful animation to PS1 cutscene quality water just might break your neck if you aren't careful!
Overall: 10/10
Is this movie as perfect as critics made it out to be 10 years ago when animenewsnetwork was the BIG site for anime reviews? Not exactly. It actually has some of the same sins that other anime get slammed for, but it does so well in other parts that people are willing to overlook the minor blemishes. I still think this movie is an absolute masterpiece and although I recognize that it has a few flaws, I will defend this movie to the last! If you are a Rurouni Kenshin fan and you missed this movie, GO SEE IT! If you are a younger anime fan and have no idea what the fuck Rurouni Kenshin is, GO SEE IT! This is one of very few anime that I would recommend to pretty much everyone...unless you are 11 years old and gallons of blood spraying everywhere makes you squeamish. In that case I might wait a few years. This movie is rated R for a reason. I will also advise to watch the Japanese audio with subs, because the English dub available on youtube is...bad. I mean bad even by the standards of other 1990s OVAs.
