Samurai 7 Recommended

Director
Toshifumi Takizawa
Production
Gonzo Digimation
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
2004

Samurai 7 Volume 2: Escape From The Merchants

By otaku_kei
27th Mar 06

Gonzo Digimation are back once again with their take on perhaps the most famous samurai film ever created. So far this show has been pretty faithful to the core of the source material, with any changes either to do with the future setting of the show, or the necessary padding and subplots required to reimagine a 3 hour movie into a 13 hour television series. But there is still some way to go before Kanna village will be saved from the bandits, for a start we need to get the rest of the samurai recruited for the fight! So just what is going to happen: will Kanbe get samurai of the quality he demands, and just what will come of Ukyo's dark obsession with Kirara?

The majority of this volume is given over to Kanbe's continuing search for samurai worthy enough to face the bandits in combat. This search has been hampered by a widespread hunt for samurai across the city, targeted by the guards of the local governor after the murder of the imperial envoy at the hands of a samurai. Ukyo and his henchman are of course using this opportunity to try and track down the samurai who are keeping the object of his desire from his possession. Ukyo's obsession is yet another headache for this group of samurai who have pledged themselves to the defence of Kanna village.

But whilst this government crackdown may mean that we get some great action scenes that sweep alongside the plot exposition, it mainly gives an opportunity for these newly recruited samurai to prove why they are worthy to help in the protection of Kanna village. Heihachi, Shichiroji and Kikuchiyo all have their own moments to shine, and each samurai manages to prove by their ingenuity, bravery or selflessness just why they should be accepted into this surely futile endeavour. It is Kikuchiyo's character arc in these episodes that really captures the viewer. Based in the powerhouse performance of Toshiro Mifune in Kurosawa's original feature, this character has been used more as a source of comic relief so far. But in these episodes he gets to show bravery, heart and dedication to those weaker than himself!

The events of this disc bring to a close the opening act of the show. The main characters have all been introduced, and both protagonists and antagonists have been given some time to establish some back story to them. I'm sure all of these characters will get further development later in the series as this show pads out the extended plotline. And that is really my main gripe about this show so far. I know that if a three hour movie is to remade into a thirteen hour long television series that there will need to be some major additions to the plotline, and some of these that help bring the audience increasingly involved in the roles of the central characters work well to make us care about these individuals. But some of the time given over to the workings of the merchant house, or Ukyo and his henchman can end up feeling stale. Only time will tell whether this screen time spent will pay off, or whether these characters will remain tedious.

This show continues to move from strength to strength, and I can only hope that it continues to uphold the high standard set by Kurosawa's original film. For those of you who found the first volume a bit slow moving, this volume really does start to move the pace of the show along and sets up nicely for the samurai making their way to Kanna village in the next volume. Personally I am looking forward ro how this show proceeds, just what else lies in store for these warriors, and just how are they possibly going to match the bandits in battle?

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English Language 5.1; Japanese Language 5.1; English Language Subtitles; Textless Opening & Closing; Character Profiles; Seven Samurai Trailer; MVM Trailers

Release information: OUT NOW - 10th April 2006

Notes: Yet another example of why MVM are generlally held in pretty high regard when it comes to their DVD releases. The A/V quality is as good as should be expected from such a recent title, but it would be nice to see this show get a Hi-Def DVD release sometime in the future. The extras are a mixed bag really. The character profiles, textless songs and MVM Trailers come as standard on pretty much all UK releases But nice to see a trailer for Seven Samurai, nice touch of cross promotion. I really would recommend checking out Kurosawa's magnum opus, as it is a fantastic piece of cinema history as well as a great action movie.

-- otaku_kei 27th Mar 06

Samurai 7 Images