What this anime is lacking most ...is an ending (I can only guess you need the manga for the complete story). There are many parts of this story that require thinking and close attention by the viewer to interpret, and I enjoy that. What I do NOT enjoy is when an anime "Summary" and First Episode describe an epic battle which the anime then never shows nor provides an outcome for. Similarly, the anime and summary characterize a party in said "Epic battle" as a "one-armed samurai" but then fail to show how that condition came to be.
Regarding it's Rating of R+ ; As other reviews have stated, the gore in many areas is rather disturbing, mostly due to it's rather accurate anatomical representation. There is some nudity and mature situations in many of the episodes but not to the point of overbearing the story plot IMHO
As is the case with countless anime, had the anime gotten a Second Season, wherein the story could have been finished, I would likely have given Shigurui a review of 8-9. But even with an incomplete story, I still gave it a 7 overall.
