Samurai 7

Based on the old samurai film made by Japan's legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Samurai 7 is probably the first remake ever to be fully approved by the Kurosawa Estate after years of being 'unofficially' spawned into several versions by other international filmmakers.

This animated TV series tells the story of a maiden and her friends who seeks for the seven warriors who are willing to protect the rice fields in a faraway village from the bandits (basically, the premise is almost the same as the original, albeit with different arrangements and settings). Despite the fact that the show's anachronistic nature (humans and robots roam in this industrialized-world of feudal Japan) seems to be ripped off from a Final Fantasy game, it still retains the crucial themes and its dramatic storytelling that make the original Seven Samurai a legend among film buffs. It's an entirely new realm, everyone may admit, but hey, it's still worth the price of its complete DVD collection.

Let's start off with the animation flow: generally, it's really good but no, it's no Miyazaki (and it's not even up to the par with the giants like Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion) but its butt-kicking action scenes are undoubtedly impressive anyway. The only thing that ticks me off is the 3D robot designs and stuff: they seem to be way too obvious and easily distract viewers from enjoying the story in its entirety. If only they were designed as they were on any Gundam shows (and hey, some of the giant mecha samurai DO resemble of Gundams, only stiffer) Characters develop nicely throughout the show, with some valuable info slowly coming out into the light, revealing the main reasons behind the feudalistic atmosphere and yes, there are some hidden pasts behind each of the characters that will augment only the story's thematic plot.

There are so many reasons why Samurai 7 is both loved and hated by not only fans of Mr. Kurosawa but also anime buffs as well. But I'll leave this up to you. For me, it's one of the best stuff everyone can expect in terms of its visual feast and enticing storyline.

Of course based on the similarly titled 1954 epic Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa, this "updated" anime follows essentially the same beats as the original, but with a lot of extra fluff and about triple the run time. Following a town being attacked by "bandits" as they need to assemble seven samurai to defend them, with only the rice they sow to pay. The original Seven Samurai is a 3 1/2 hour long black and white film from the 50s, so I totally understand if much of a modern audience wouldn't like to sit through it, and if this is aimed at the audience that was churning through hundreds of episodes of One Piece, Naruto, and the like, whats one more. It's a proficiently produced anime, its styles are good, the voice acting is fine, the plot is meh, but honestly all fairly par for the course. I just don't know if a such an honest take in the original really needed to be revamped in to giant samurai robots and what are essentially ronins with super powers. Its only 26 episodes so if you're obsessed with ninja / samurai anime I guess if you must.

I just watched the first episode of this take-off on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai on IFC, dubbed into English (and possibly edited in other ways I'm not sure). At first I wasn't sure what to make of it, and in the first five minutes or so I had no idea what connection, if at all, this had to Kurosawa's original story. Then as the episode unfolded I could see the relationship to it, if only on a loose basis; large mechanical machines in battle and dominance over people has a farming community panicked, leading to reaching out to find samurai to protect them. In the first episode there is only minimal swordplay towards the end, as the "one" is discovered, at least one of them I could figure.

In order to have more of an appreciation for the show, I think, one has to take it sort of apart of the original film. The original 1954 classic takes from both samurai/Japanese lore, as well as the Western genre (originally some John Ford influence in there), forming into this big, but focused epic. Watching this series, I could see this owes a lot more to the dozens of other anime like this, where samurai are cast against the light of a science fiction backdrop (some of the opening animation made me think of Star Wars, also a connection to Kurosawa coincidentally), as technological forces of mass destruction face off against those ultra-skilled with a sword, or maybe more. The hero of this episode, for example, and who I can imagine has a much greater role in the course of the series, is like the Takashi Shimura character from the Kurosawa film crossed with one of the characters from an ultra-stylized Magma comic book, to give a generic comparison to be sure.

I'll keep on watching the series to see how and when the action unfolds, and I'm even intrigued enough to seek out the uncut, Japanese-language version of the DVD. But make no mistake, this will divide (or just make made) those who place the Kurosawa film in such high regard, as to whether such a work of art can be transposed into a well-made, if not that spectacular on a first go-around, anime show. Those who are already fans of the animation style anyway may gravitate to it, however when compared to programs like Fist of the North Star and Ninja Scroll it isn't quite the caliber either. My recommendation- if you have IFC, it's worth a view, but if you are expecting a literal translation from live-action film to animation, look elsewhere.

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That's right. I'm not a fan of anime, and I probably never will be. I can understand how others can enjoy it, with the quirky characters and bright colors, but for me, it just stands as a mostly un-enjoyable genre.

As for this series, Samurai 7, a futuristic recreation of the classic black-and-white masterpiece? I absolutely loved it.

Samurai 7, while taking some generous liberties with the original film (obviously there weren't giant mechs raiding villages back in any 30's film) stands on its own as an engaging story that uses top-notch animation and clever translation/writing to keep itself intriguing. The CGI for the numerous robots and the hand drawn animation for the rest of the characters all looks great, though I did notice in the later installments of this series that there were points of animation that suddenly looked sub-par. Don't ask why, my guess is that the better animator got sick or something and they called in a cheap replacement.

But what really makes this series stand out, and is also a feature I feel is desperately missing from the majority of the anime genre, is the simple, relatable humanity of the characters. As with any "team" film or series, which have large ensembles of interacting and different characters, Samurai 7 relies of the simple yet difficult art of human subtlty and foibles to deliver diologue and conflict that is above and beyond most animated features. Even for the characters that are mechanical (I don't believe its ever explained how the people are put in robotic bodies)you feel a definite attachment and understanding for them, and in the process, you care for them.

There are virtually no over the top anime-staple "weird faces," or whatever they're called by anime fans, where an over-the-top emotion causes the face of a character to become "super-deformed." I find this a welcome breath of fresh air, and its absence truly keeps the idea that these are actual people in the story alive, though some odd character designs do occasionally mar the experience, if only for a few brief, forgettable seconds.

As for the action, fear not. Fans of sword fighting hack-and-slash, beat-em'-ups will be well satisfied. Especially between the hand drawn characters, the fighting couldn't be better, with a beautiful mix of "Kung-Fu" and "Samurai-champloo" esquire combat that truly leaves you breathless. My one complaint in this aspect of the series is that the giant mech characters, who are each about the size of a building, seem a bit helpless to the small, faster human characters, who dice them up like cheese at a deli over and over again. Fortunately, as the mech characters are few, this never really bars anything down.

While the visual style may irk Seven Samurai purists, and the storyline is greatly molded to fit this post-war, cyber/steam punk universe the plot is set in, open-minded fans of Seven Samurai and its several spin-offs ("Magnificent Seven" anyone?) will find tons to love, as well as anime and animation fans in general who have never seen the film.

Dig up this vastly underrated series. Trust me, your in for one hell of a ride.