While anime series' frequently toss all tenets of logic and good taste to the wind, this offering may be the closest that the genre has ever come to genuine sacrilege: a 26-episode sci-fi updating of Akira Kurosawa's landmark 1954 film Seven Samurai. While watching Samurai 7 unfold, it's impossible not to be constantly reminded of this fact, as the series tries to have it both ways: retaining the appearance of the 16th-century rural setting of the Kurosawa film, but clearly taking place in the future with bizarre cybernetic-enhanced samurai who fight off robotic bandits. In its favor, the animation here is richly detailed, the action sequences are often several notches above the typical slam-bang knockabout of the genre, and the members of the eponymous septet are each given distinctive personalities, particularly Kikuchiyo (the Toshiro Mifune character), who carries much of the comic relief. But to its disadvantage, the stories here are fairly predictable and formulaic, with the series running out of fuel long before the 26th episode rolls around (and new characters, including an evil prince and a cutesy little girl, don't add much). Presented in a dual-language boxed set, rated TV-PG, DVD extras include audio commentary, a promo video, image galleries, and character profiles. Optional. Aud: P. (P. Hall)
Samurai 7: The Complete Series
(2004) 7 discs. 600 min. DVD: $49.98. Funimation (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 1-4210-1440-8. Volume 23, Issue 6
Samurai 7: The Complete Series
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