A Child Can Not Beat A Man

(Is it me or did the toggle for bold grow from bracketsboldbrackets to some wacky span style = value thing)

Second anime review is Samurai 7. This is an adaptation? of Akira Kurosawa's original film The Seven Samurai. I googled this film, turned up its IMDB page, and along with it, A GIGANTIC FUCKING SPOILER. Curse you IMDB for having that right on the movie's fucking front page. Now I'm not sure how closely the anime will follow the film (40 bandits has become 40 no-buseri, these gigantic mecha things which are simply outrageously cool), but all the names are already completely identical. Plus according to those who have seen the original film, the characters are falling into their movie roles as they mature.

Ok, to me, who has never seen the original, this series is good. It's done by Gonzo, home of the big disappointment yes, but hopefully they won't screw it up knock on wood. The series really is good at depicting each samurai's character, and the peasants of the village they are defending aren't just "save me jebus peasants." Rather they're human, and scared, and well...rather pathetic at this point. (Let's go hire samurais and kills nobuseri...oh noes the nobuseris knows! Let's hope the samurais dont come! Oh noes they came!) But I really like how the character designs (borrowed as they were, even for the shifty peasants), are turning out. One slightly bad thing though, all the names are exactly the same, meaning there's no easy to remember shinji ikari crap here. You got seven main guys, plus kirara/rikichi/komachi, and it's sortta hard remembering their names. From left to right in the main smoke picture:

Katsushiro is the newbie. He's a samurai by birth, but he's never been on a battlefield (Kirara passes over him initially because she doesn't smell blood on him even though he saved them in the city.) He's a ladies man...but it's sort of obvious who he likes (Kirara). He also views Kanbei as his master and looks up to him. He hasn't killed anyone yet. (Bwahaha that's changeeeed) I have to say him and Kikuchiyo really play well off each other, cause you got a guy who's pretty bad/useless with the sword and someone who's ok with it...but completely careless. The odd couple, for sure.

Kikuchiyo is the clown. He's NOT a samurai by birth (which means he technically can't be one), he has a stolen lineage scroll and can't read his own name on it (If that's you, you're a girl. or if that's you, you're 10 years old!), carries a gigantic sword, but he can fight. He's also a machine-samurai, another thing that sets him apart. Kanbei has not acknowledged him yet as a samurai, because he really isn't. He often gets into trouble and is a little dull in the head, but he's hilarious. Plus he has this exhaust pipe nears where his neck/mouth would be and when he's mad it whistles. He and Komachi get along really well.

Kyuuzou is the perfectionist. He is BETTER than Kanbei, he dual weilds swords, and he was pitted against the group at first. Having fought Kanbei, and wanting him alive (To kill), he went against his masters and is no longer welcome with them...so he joins. This guy is GOOD.

Kanbei is the man, the general, the leader. He was a general in a war that was lost (evidentally he failed or something), and is now commanding six samurai to defend a village. He views it as a war with little reward and no glory, but he is the leader nonetheless. Respected by everyone, even Kikuchiyo, even though he hides it.

Gorobei is the entertainer. He became one after the last war ended and samurais had no way to eat. He is lively, and constantly making wagers. (I bet if I can catch that arrow before it hits me, you'll treat me to dinner.) He also has a freaky side...he seems to get off on dangerous things (arrows being shot at him, getting cut, etc.) But he has a sense of humor, and this pair of zoom binocs!

Shichiroji was once Kanbei's right hand man (He's the pilot you see in the opening sequence of the first episode), but after the war (Another failed general?) he settled down as...a dancer inside a pleasure quarters house...or something like that. He is the ONLY one who does not fight with a sword, rather he uses this weird polearm type deal. He also has a woman who saved him from death...and they were almost going to be an item...but she knows he wants one last war. So he leaves his settled-down comfortable life to join his former comrade and fight some nobuseris.

Last we have Heihachi. I admit if there is an enigma on this team, it's this guy. And yes he looks like he should be in Last Exile piloting a vanship. He's the techie, and good with machines. This guy has the constant niko niko face, his eyes don't open. (Wait once they did). He has also never killed anyone before, but he is very good at chopping wood. ONCE HE HITS COMBAT, he comes across as surprisingly good...though it's hard to tell if he still hasn't killed anyone. (The things he chops apart so far are small nobuseris, i.e. men riding these little tin can mech type deals...he splits those without killing the guy inside.) Anyway I say he's an enigma because while he does have a sense of humor and almost always smile, there's one episode where they find out a woman has passed information on them to the nobuseris. Heihachi INSTANTLY reaches for his sword and asks...so what do we do about the woman. He also OPENS HIS EYES at this time...and he's not smiling here. This was rather frightening and out of character, cause I mean it's a woodcutter who hasn't killed anyone suddenly saying that we need to remove the spy, even if she was forced into it. Anyway Kanbei says "It is not a samurai's role to judge." which stops him pretty quickly. I sort of wonder how this guy will turn out...

Kirara is a dowser who went to look for samurai on the village elder's request. A bit of research confirms she was not in the original seven samurai movie. She's strong, but yeah she's a pretty normal woman (i.e. she doesn't fight, she got saved only once so far so she's not tooo helpless, she takes care of them if they're hurt, etc.)

Komachi is Kirara's sister. Little cute brat. She and Kikuchiyo (Kiku man, as she calls him) really hit it off. Both enjoy teasing the crap out of Katsushiro.

Rikichi is the guy who went along with Kirara to help find samurai. He DID exist in the old movie it seems, and his wife was taken by the nobuseri to ensure peace. When he seems them he gets very irrational and angry, because he feels helpless that he let his wife be taken away. You feel rather sorry for this guy.

Now it bears mentioning about the mecha, which for some reason has immediately pissed off the losers in the anime club. The series really isn't mecha based, just the no-buseri are fucking beautifully rendered mechs. More like steampunk? but not quite is the technology level. Guns are indeed shown, and they seem to be prevalent as ever, as the lead samurai says "We can not win against guns." (Swords vs guns debate!) But the cg is really nicely done, the mechs are really cool looking (even if they are made of tin foil)

So, after watching 11 episodes, I say two thumbs up! Only time will tell if Gonzo screws up yet another one!