Shigurui

Absolute Masterpiece, I wish they made more Anime series like this. A little ambiguity in this series, but it makes up for the realism that it gives in the series. After watching this anime, even the "good" Anime doesn't feel worth watching. Shigurui and Ninja Scroll are one of the best Anime for me. Looking forward to Anime like this.

This is a 12 part Anime series. I watched the Blu-ray (english 5.1) and thought it was "translated well", without knowing the original language (which is also on the disc in 2.0). Atmosphere and presentation is where this series really shines. The voice acting is good and ambient sounds can be great at times. The artwork and sound design is impressive and can be almost hypnotic. The story may seem a bit convoluted and i actually watched the 1st part again after finishing the series, but much of it comes together in the end.

This is not your average Samurai-Anime, if you're looking for something action-packed like Ninja Scroll, you won't find it here. If you like the more arty touch and trippiness of Ghost in the Shell and thrive on atmosphere and just enjoying the animated art, then you're in the right place. There aren't huge battles or war-scenes, the Samurai are mostly dueling, building up tension with dialog and the great score before bursting into short but intense fights. There is some pretty graphic violence, so only recommendable to adults, especially with the slower, more atmospheric style of the series, which can be interpreted as "boring" by viewers with a short attention span.

If you are in need of another Samurai fix, but with more action, then check out Ninja Scroll (1993) + Basilisk (2005)

This is a dark and gritty series with none of the fluff that typical anime includes in order to cater to younger viewers. Its strong points are its unique animation, understated score, and pervasive mood. The animation is stylistic and highly detailed. The action and pace are slow and deliberate, so that the animation really focuses on the details of the scene. This type of animation looks like it could be the inspiration behind some of the recent American motion comics, like Iron Man Extremis, which I really enjoyed. The score is also carefully paced and understated, combining with the art to set the perfect mood of darkness and despair.

Sounds pretty good so far right? Well the story and plot are fairly straightforward and simplistic. There's nothing blatantly wrong with them, no cheesy plot-fillers like in the early episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist. It's just that there's nothing that unique about the story (one stoic samurai seeking honor, another ambitious samurai seeking power), and not many surprises or strategies to the plot (of which Death Note was the pinnacle). Additionally, the plot jumps multiple time lines, making it a challenge to keep up with the story.

But despite the slight flaws in the simplistic plot and story lines, the art is definitely worth checking out if you want to see something innovative and have the patience to stick with the deliberate pace of the series.

There's a lot of weirdness in the anime world, and this is one of them. It's a samurai anime, but there's a bunch of muscle flexing like Baki. However, what made the anime so disturbing was the animation and the story.

The anime looked entirely surreal. During the day, everything is dreamy and bright, while at night it was ominous. All of the samurai' faces, except for Fujiki, creeped me out in different ways. One has ginormous eyeballs, one has a wide mouth, one has feminine lips, etc. Then, the slow music added more creepiness to the show.

The main story wasn't that hard to follow, even though some transitions were too abrupt. However, the characters' actions were what greatly disturbed me. Some scenes had me internally screaming and cringing. If you think samurai are cool, then this anime begged to differ.

The biggest bummer about the anime was that it has been 14 years since season 1 ended, so the anime ended on an unfinished cliffhanger.

Overall, a bizarre, gory, violent, yet somehow very good anime. 8/10.

This epic historical anime about conflict goes beyond the medium itself. I will try to be objective with my limited abilities. Hiroshi Hamasaki the genius behind Technolyze decided to adapt the first thirty two chapters of shigurui before giving up the project entirely. Now why watch an incomplete series, anyone might wonder. This partial attempt at adapting one of the most dramatic stories ever told is one of those rare instances where its failure to completion can be seen as a greater achievement than most successful adaptations of other stories out there. The literary scope of this project alone merits a one time viewing. The content maybe quite distasteful to some but I would quietly urge the casual viewer to please NOT simply take in the graphic violence at face value and instead look at them as symbols to what may unravel the conflict between the two principal antagonists. Unlike most hero worshiping stories out there, this story has no heroes, only villains with a unique sense of morality and justice. These are stories that can be endlessly dissected and with every viewing this new found perspective can serve aid you decipher a little of that vast unknowable known as Japan. The style of the anime is very decadent. And very much like the politics of Japan during the Edo period - was vastly tumultuous. This story serves as an allegory to that time period through the choices its antagonists makes and its consequences they eventually face. The anime has flawlessly taken in the elements, details and nuances from the manga, and taken it to the next level. The greatest achievement in my opinion was the foreshadowing of the events to come were executed to perfection, like a well aged single malt whiskey. These details can only be noted from repeated viewing. I have watched many animes in my thirty three years of existence, but at that moment when I finished watching the 12 episodes and then later eventually finishing the manga, I have never felt more alive and relevant. In conclusion - WATCH IT NOW!