Samurai 7

[Catatonik]

and what those soulless bastards did to the genius that is Kurosawas epic.

Most of the Kurosawa adaptations I have seen are worthy of being watched, infact, many of them stand up quite favourably. This was not one of those times.

As a fan of anime in it's multitude of forms I went into the viewing with a combination of trepidition and hope, I came away feeling dirty and violated.

From here on in there may be minor spoilers...I highly recommend you read them to be aware of why you should NEVER watch this series if you have ANY love for Kurosawas genius.

First off, let's check the anime stereotype checklist.:

Robots, check.
Uber-cannons that can level cities, check.
Men who can cut battleships in half with a four foot blade, check.
Chibi style characters, check.
Ambiguous sexual relationships, check. (Noting that this one isn't even based of the ambiguous sexuality in the original film)
Deformed character faces on non-main characters, check.
Horribly designed mecha, check.

Follow these up with the following additional drawbacks. Plothooks that make no sense, coincidences that wouldn't even be allowed into an Uwe Boll film, inconsistent and mediocre art. Terrible soundtrack, a horrible mangling of the primary concepts behind the movie and lines yanked straight from it, and forcibly injected into the dialogue of this complete waste of time. There is virtually no thought put into the plot of this, it seems to exist as an excuse to use robots from dime novels, samurai, mecha, mysticism, chibi and flashy (though poorly done) fight scenes in one series.

By the time I had hit the third episode, I realized there was no hope left, but as a favour to all the other Kurosawa fans I finished the entire series in order to see if there any sparks of life worth seeing within..

No. From beginning to the painful ending, this travesty of an 'adaptation' is no tribute. this is digging up Kurosawas corpse and performing unholy acts of tentacular obscenities upon it...finishing it off with a gleeful Bukkake shot.

Rating: 1/10

The only reason I give it a 1 is because there were like three scenes that made me chuckle.

Do yourself a favour and walk away from this one...

[imcrazy]

ya it kinda sucks that alot of the characters die in the end, however this is no disney movie, where everyone lives happily ever after. Also this series is trying to follow the movie "Seven Samurai" and its plot, therefore they can't change what happens to certain characters and what not. At first I felt the same as you, however upon thinking about, I now appreciate it because this is one of the things that sets this story apart from other stories. Its what makes it unique. Its a more realistic ending in which not every thing is perfect, and there is still problems/things that have to be dealt with. This is no fairy tale.

However if you want a crappy ending go watch .hack//sign, after seeing that ending, I felt like I had wasted my time watching the series (oh ya, the last 2 eps are just a major waste of time, especially the last one).

[Anbu_33]

i liked that some of them died thats what made the movie stand out alot more to me but in the anime i hated the way they died, heihachi had a pretty decent death but kyuzos death, WTF, and the ending, i mean whats going to happen with katsushirou and kanbee, i mean they just killed everybdy off and then left the series without and ending.

it probably could have been 13 episodes long for it to have a bigger impact, everything happened so slow and sudden at the same time.

[jkingler]

kyuzos death, WTF,

WTF indeed. He dodged bullets all the time. He was the most badass of the bunch! He dodged about 10 bullets at a time, so you would think he would know better than to be in the line of fire (even behind somebody else) and get shot by stupid Katsunoji...*grumbles* But I agree. The death made it more realistic, and kept it truer to the source material than I expected it to be.

[da_rippa]

Maybe its true, that its more realistic ^^.
Man, i dont like it. I cant do anything about it.
Maybe with time I accept and like it, but for now...

[bmac1632]

agree i liked how some of them died but some of their deaths seemed sort of cheap like they wanted them to die but couldnt figure out a good way to kill them off...i also found the ending, not just the last episode but the whole assault on the capital was lackluster..the samurais found very little resistent except for Ukyo's assistant who was very skilled..but for a samurai anime there was very little sword fighting..i know they were saying the age of the samurai is almost over but still to think Ukyo didnt have more samurai guards to keep him safe

i thought when Katsushirou left after the fight with Kambei, he was going to join Ukyo and help him defeat Kambei to show him his true strength...and dont get me started on the horrible love part of the series..just plain awful..i had high hopes for this series but in the end i thought it was subpar and the final fight against the capital was uneventful except for Kyuzo unbelivable stupid death

[hokageryu]

i dint like the ending because the guy i liked died and the guy i hated survibed i dont know it just sucked

[P-Nut]

kyuzo did indeed die in a stupid way (he's the coolest samurai in the series)....but if he didnt die he would probally killed off kambei... anyways I was afraid to read the topic when I saw it.... im not a fan of bad endings hehe... I rather have a satisfied feeling in the end... but now that ive seen all episodes I think it was good ive expected worse when I read the topic name...

[soulreaver99]

Yeah, all the cool samurais that I liked died. oh well...

[pek]

Watched the whole serie in 1 1/2 day, i luv it but i hate to agree that the ending was bad, Kyuzo shouldnt have died, not the robot guy either. Would have been great if kambei or Katsunoji died >.<.

[jkingler]

^Agreed. Kambei dying would have felt...I don't want to say "good" but I would say appropriate. He had a feeling of doom about him, like he could never be happy unless he died an honorable death. I would have liked for him to have died, and for Kyuzo to have lived. And If Katsunoji died doing something honorable, and Kirara mourned him and redoubled her duties as mizumiko, that would have left a better taste in my mouth as well.

[kakashie-sensei]

i agree who i also would have like to die was the youngest samurai (can't remember his name). he really started to annoy me after like 7 episodes.
or i would have liked that everybody would staid alive(except the youngest one) and staid in an team to fight whatever.

i know it's corny, but i would have liked that

[Oujisama]

Oh whine whine. Shut up and stop complaining. Thats how the original movie went, thats how the anime is gonna go. If they didnt follow that, it would ruin the whole kurosawa license and the movie itself, its disrespect. Though i was really dissapointed that the three coolest character had to go off and die like that.

[Arcanite]

Great series, ending sux. Thats how the real movie ended so at least it didn't stray. This reminds me of other animes that were great but the endings were disappointing like FMA and Cowboy Bebop.

[kurisawa]

i've seen it, i liked it. the ending however...it sucked

[Kepa]

well it's not stupid that they die...they should've died so they could have made a nicer speech. What is strange is how they all die at almost the same time. I haven't yet seen the end of the anime samurai7...but it's most likely like in the movie, all of a sudden.
kinda dumb they didn't spread it out a bit more.

[defort]

i've seen it too, when I watched the ending "is this it?!!! just like that!!!?? nooooooO!!!!" and I haven't open that thing for few months dy

[Xan-Nella]

Hmm, i never did get 'round to watching the rest of Samurai 7 :P

I know Katsuhito, the youngest, survives,w hich i'm glad of because he is my favorite.

But can anyone please give me a quick summary of what he does from the Ep were he kills for the first time?
Does the romance between him and Kirara go the same as in the movie or does it end better than her simply staying in the village with him seemingly about to leave for a life of woe?

[yo586]

ok, maybe the ending "Sucked" but i think they were trying to make a point with this. I mean, most of these animes are unrealistic, about who dies and how they get to make a speech and all that. rather, this ending was more satisfying to me because the deaths seemed random, and well saddening. more realistic in the fac that some of the better characters kicked the bucket.

[Oujisama]

Omg more complaining. Dont blame the anime, blame kurosawa, he made the movie. The anime is just about directly based on the movie with the whole mecha samurai twist. They weren't about to change the ending, fans of the original movie would be outraged.

[Exerci]

I think that it was awesome that they died. It gave it a more serious feel, since it wouldn't be as exciting if all the samurai got out of a battle that Kanbei even said that they "shouldn't even be able to win" without dying. Kyuzo, the swordsman so powerful that he couldn't be killed by a sword, falling in battle by the hands of a young samurai, Heihachi, the mediocre samurai, dying to complete his mission, Kikuchiyo, dying to save the village, and Gorobei, dying to save the others. And besides, they were fighting an enormous lot of enemies. This isn't fricking Naruto where a single man can take out an entire army without getting hurt. It isn't Pokemon either. This is about warriors, and warriors die in combat, and that's how it goes! Even though Kyuzo, Gorobei and Heihachi were my favorite characters, and it wasn't really Kyuzo's time to go there, it just gave it a bit more of that awesome feel the entire series has.

[Beatnik]

What fansub did you guys watch for episode 26? I cant find any by IY-F, but have found a file with [Katana] on it, anyone know if its got English subs?

[skethee2]

well...ya i agree with you
the ending sucked....all the good samurais died...and the dono or whtever leader died in a gay way..he should have been gutted by the girl

and the mecha samurai death was stupid..only his boots were left

from my point of view...the ship was gonna go into the ditch so y bother stoping it

but it had a great potential for a good series

[deathbychocolate]

i was wondering where you can download samurai 7.. because from what i know it was licensed when it was at episode 12 =(

[Shishou]

Kikuchiyo dying was lame :(


And what was the deal with him being a robot? Did they ever explain it? I mean he was human originally... But he seemed to have no flesh left... >.>

[TheVileOne]

Exerci said it best.

All you people complaining do NOT know what the fuck you are talking about. The reason Japanese anime so great is that they are ballsy enough to kill off main characters and keep them dead unlike Americans. They will show you the consequences of death.

The ending was great. Kikuchiyo's final act was both dramatic and amazing. Kikuchiyo was originally a farmer. He became a samurai because he wanted to fight and prove he was worthy of respect.

The deaths were tragic and sad but they were supposed to be!

This anime series was an adaptation of Kurosawa's movie. All the character deaths were the same. What you wanted them to live? Too fucking bad.

Just stop watching anime period if you don't want to see your favorite characters die.

Don't watch Fullmetal Alchemist. Don't watch Berserk. Don't watch some of the best stories ever told because you are FUCKING PUSSIES.

Now bugger off and go masterbate to your Disney shit where no one ever gets killed except the bad guys.

:mad: :mad: :mad:

[Wing-Zero]

yeah it wasnt the greatest ending i expected more to it

[TheVileOne]

It ended how it was supposed to end.

The samurai saved the village. They accomplished their goal.

[uncle jafuncle]

So...there's a Seven Samurai anime?

How the hell did they(whoever they are) turn a three hour movie into a 26 episode series?

And why do I keep seeing people talking about Toshiro Mifune's character being a robot?

How the hell did I not know about this? Seven Samurai imo is the greatest movie ever made, so regardless of if this series is good or not I need to see it!

[TheVileOne]

So...there's a Seven Samurai anime?

Yes they just started releasing the DVD's in the US. Soon it will be on Adult Swim.


How the hell did they(whoever they are) turn a three hour movie into a 26 episode series?

They flesh things out a bit. And they have another huge conflict.

And why do I keep seeing people talking about Toshiro Mifune's character being a robot?

The anime version has a lot of sci-fi elements. The Nobuseri are now giant mecha/robots. Mifune's character is now a samurai cyborg.

How the hell did I not know about this? Seven Samurai imo is the greatest movie ever made, so regardless of if this series is good or not I need to see it!

Get to work.

[frz1]

The only thing that really bugged me about the end was how Kyuzo (sp?) died at the end. He was such a badass and he died in such a crappy way. The death just didn't suit him imo.

[TheVileOne]

The only thing that really bugged me about the end was how Kyuzo (sp?) died at the end. He was such a badass and he died in such a crappy way. The death just didn't suit him imo.

That was the point. His death was both shocking, surprising, and un-predictable. Just like in the original movie :P .

It also kind of hammered in how samurai shouldn't use guns.

[SpaceGhost]

They turned a 3 hour movie into a 26 episode series by butchering it.

I'm almost tempted to buy it because of those awesome boxes that each disc comes in, but it's not worth the money. It really was a let down, especially for a series produced in hi-definition and aired on PPV. Samurai + Beast Wars quality CG does not make a good show, regardless of how great the movie that inspired the show was.

[TheVileOne]

They turned a 3 hour movie into a 26 episode series by butchering it.

Please. They were very respectful toward Kurosawa and his work. All they did was expand the story and flesh thing out more beyond the village.


I'm almost tempted to buy it because of those awesome boxes that each disc comes in, but it's not worth the money. It really was a let down, especially for a series produced in hi-definition and aired on PPV. Samurai + Beast Wars quality CG does not make a good show, regardless of how great the movie that inspired the show was.

What's wrong with Beast Wars? For its time it was a fantastic show and Mainframe has yet to do another series as high quality as that in almost a decade.

I thought the animation by Gonzo was great.

[AmazinG]

The ending was fine. Just because your favorite character didn't live you shouldn't be upset. Many stories have main characters dying, i have no problem with it at all.

The only thing i would change is that if they could add more one on one fight scenes like Kanbei vs Kyuzo, that was sweet!

[TheVileOne]

The ending was fine. Just because your favorite character didn't live you shouldn't be upset. Many stories have main characters dying, i have no problem with it at all.

The only thing i would change is that if they could add more one on one fight scenes like Kanbei vs Kyuzo, that was sweet!

Why they never fought each other in a fight to the death in the movie?

[cloin]

No one upstart filmmaker or writer should have ever meddled with a Kurosawa film. No real good has ever come of it. At least the early adaptations like The Magnificent Seven and Fistfull of Dollars were somewhat respectable.

[Catatonik]

Or Last Man Standing, which was a pretty damn good adaptation of Yojimbo.

Anyhoo...just, walk away from this one people.

[cloin]

I always forget about Last Man Standing.

[TheVileOne]

...well...I loved it personally.

I also love Kurosawa movies.

And I actually thought the second half of this series was brilliantly done with some great emotional scenes and buildup.

[Kayo]

Saw like 2 episodes and got bored :(

[Supreme-Shinobi]

i thought that the show was quite gd, not the best anime ive ever scene but definately not the worst. although the selction of the samurai was quite gd, it ould have done with some cooler characters. the only 2 were kyuzo and kambei.

[VyseTheNice]

I'm a bit embarrased for liking this series,

***^^spoiler OBS but I think the love-affair between that old samurai (been a while.. the names is hereby forgotten) and the young girl was... disgusting.. I was sure she would end up with that boy who sucked at samurai business in the beginning, but noOOOO!!^^***

[TheVileOne]

There was no love affair between Kambei and Kirara. It was a big revelation and plot twist when we find out that its Kambei who Kirara loves and not Katushiro. And its really surprising and tragic. But at the end, Kambei REJECTS Kirara, so there's the pay-off.

Its not like Kambei and Kirara got married and ended up making babies or something. Which they didn't.

[Catatonik]

This series made me angry. Lines like "they reflected our beams back. Only Samurai can do that...and only with a sword"

I mean come on. These cut battleships in half, and are worried about guns.

The plot hole in this mess are begin enough to walk through.

No, I stand by my statement, it was a raping of a brilliant movie.

[TheVileOne]

This series made me angry. Lines like "they reflected our beams back. Only Samurai can do that...and only with a sword"

I mean come on. These cut battleships in half, and are worried about guns.

The plot hole in this mess are begin enough to walk through.

No, I stand by my statement, it was a raping of a brilliant movie.

Its Japanese anime dude. This is pretty standard.

Last time I checked, you can't seal a fucking fox demon into a baby. And you can't channel chakra to do special attacks and stuff. Bloodline techniques? Umm...no.

I thought it was a brilliant respectful adaptation of the legendary Kurosawa-sama.

[Catatonik]

It's not the absurdness of their abilities.

It's the plot holes.

But I'm not going to argue this...I have said my piece.

[TheVileOne]

I don't see your own personal complaints with a science fiction series as plotholes.

In the world of the story everything made sense and fit properly to me. The characters were not cookie-cutter, were nuanced and multi-faceted, not to mention convincing and believable. Kikuchiyo's last stand brought tears to my eyes. If you can't feel anything after watching that, you got problems. Though you'll probably just say, "How could he stop the Emperor's palace ship? He's way too small!"

[Catatonik]

Okay look jackass, I walked away from this, no need to get personal.

Evidently we diagree, so kindly keep your personal observations to yourself.

[TheVileOne]

You can keep your personal insults to yourself as well.

If you are going to be as inflammatory as you are about this anime series, and post all that, you should be ready to take the heat.

[Catatonik]

Dude, I posted an opinion.

Counter-arguements I have no problem with, personal attacks I do.

But hey, I don't expect people to agree with me, I was just passing a warning out to those who might care to hear it.

You obviously did not, thanks for coming out :)

[TheVileOne]

I didn't attack anyone. You are the one that used the curse words.

Just because you have problems with certain things they did in the series does NOT mean they were plotholes.

In the world of Samurai 7, the samurai can perform feats such as what they did. This was not an ultra-realistic and true to life show. It was very much science fantasy.

[Masaki]

Wait, Kirara loved Kanbei? When was this explained? If it was the last episode, then that's because my subs were in a different language, and I had to translate them.

Personally, I don't see how samurai > giant mechs works. The smaller ones should give them a hard time. And how the hell did Gorobei deflect that big-ass gun five seconds before he died?

[TheVileOne]

Because they are Samurai :P .

[VyseTheNice]

There was no love affair between Kambei and Kirara. It was a big revelation and plot twist when we find out that its Kambei who Kirara loves and not Katushiro. And its really surprising and tragic. But at the end, Kambei REJECTS Kirara, so there's the pay-off.

Its not like Kambei and Kirara got married and ended up making babies or something. Which they didn't.


I know that, but it's not that easy to make myself easy to understand in english all the time... I know she got rejected, but it still pissed me off! But still, Katushiro got more annoying as the anime progressed as well. I think they cut the whole thing of just a tiny bit to soon!

Sorry for any misunderstandings, but I'm not stupid. I understood most of the anime, and I won't complain on tiny swords slashing trough huge battle-droids.. If jedi can do it, so can samurai!

[uncle jafuncle]

This is how I see it:

At first, I was thinking of Samurai 7 as the anime version of Seven Samurai...after the first few episodes this feeling started to fade and I just thought of it as its own thing with nods to Kurosawa 's work.

Sure there were times when I was thinking "what the hell? How could they do this?!" but after some time I started to really just enjoy it for what it is: an anime.

There were some things that bugged me and there were some things I really liked...

Changes I didn't like:

-Kyuzo being turned into the stereotypical rival.
-Gorobei dying so early in the series.
-Kyuzo being killed by Katsushiro. It made me dislike Katsushiro even more...
- Rikichi role being minimized. Too much Kirara for me. They only put her in because they wanted a female lead in the show and a strong element of romance. Things that aren't really necessary if you ask me.
-The whole Ukyo assuming power storyline. too slow for that late in the series. Could have been accomplished in one episode.
-No Yohei in it at all!!! Why?!
-No bandits of any importance. They were just body count in this show.
-No interesting villain. In the original we never had a real prominent villain other than the bandit leader either, but in a 26 episode anime you need a good strong villain. All we got were Ukyo, his henchmen, and mechs.
-The minimizing of the orignal plot. Really the biggest flaw was how much they strayed from the original storyline when it wasn't necessary.

Changes I did like:

-Heihachi having a backstory.
-Kambei's new look. Takashi-san was awesome as Kambei, but the new character design was pleasing for me still. Maybe its because I have long hair, but whatever.
-New village defensive strategy. Yeah, the original was awesome, but they did do some pretty cool stuff in Samurai 7 as well. I liked the idea of the village having ballista, heh.
-Kikuchiyo. Period. When I had first heard he was going to be a robot I was bummed, but it was pretty cool actually. If you can't draw Toshiro Mifune as Kikuchiyo a robot is the next best thing. It really fit the character's mentality if you ask me. Trying to become as powerful of a warrior as possible and trying to prove he is samurai, Kikuchiyo would have done that if he were in the world of Samurai 7 I think.
-Kyuzo ass whoopin'. Everything else about Kyuzo in Samurai 7 pissed me off, but at least he still whupped some major bandit butt. He was always the one taking on the toughest opponents just as he should. That doesn't make up for everything else, but it does bring me a little comfort.
-Kikuchiyo's new death. The one and only thing I ever disliked about Seven Samurai was the seemingly forced death of Kyuzo and Kikuchiyo back-to-back. One would have got the point across, but my two favorite characters dying just like that...I felt ripped off sort of. At least Kikuchiyo accomplished something this time around. Something bigger than killing one guy, albeit the bandit leader.
-Shichiroji having more of a personality. He seemed a little lacking in the original, not that Kurosawa made a mistake or anything. In a movie you don't have the time to develop everyone as much, which is why Shichiroji, and Heihachi for that matter, really didn't have the time to grow on you as much as Kambei, Katsushiro, Kyuzo, Gorobei and Kikuchiyo did. In this anime series I actually liked everyone except Kyuzo...who was my favorite in Seven Samurai, but I already explained why I didn't like his character in Samurai 7.

Edit: btw, Seven Samurai is my favorite movie of all time and the reason I started getting into Japanese cinema/television. I don't think Samurai 7 does it justice, but I also don't think it is as bad as the O.P. makes it out to be. I'd give it a 6/10. Not fabulous, but I did enjoy it.

[TheVileOne]

I didn't mind the changes. They were trying to make a 26 episode anime, not a single movie. In that sense all the changes were necessary.

I think Ukyo was a GREAT villain. His former samurai underling was great as well.

[uncle jafuncle]

I didn't mind the changes. They were trying to make a 26 episode anime, not a single movie. In that sense all the changes were necessary.

I think Ukyo was a GREAT villain. His former samurai underling was great as well.

At first, I really liked the added Ukyo element, but after episode 16...he really needed some more badass henchmen though. Tessai was terrible and that samurai who started using a gun would have been a better character to develop. That would have been too Yojimbo-ish though I guess, having the head henchman ex-samurai using the gun and all...

I don't know, the last few episodes were just a big let down for me. The last few scenes were good up on the hill with the four graves, but of course that's from the original...

[TheVileOne]

I disagree. The last few episodes are what made the series for me.

[uncle jafuncle]

I disagree. The last few episodes are what made the series for me.

Really? Strange. What made it so great for you? Other than Kikuchiyo's last scene and the last few moments of ep. 26, I was either bored or outraged. Maybe I'm just forgetting something about the ending because I went through the series so quickly.

[TheVileOne]

Really? Strange. What made it so great for you? Other than Kikuchiyo's last scene and the last few moments of ep. 26, I was either bored or outraged. Maybe I'm just forgetting something about the ending because I went through the series so quickly.

I was outraged as well. I was outraged when I found out that Kilala loved Kambei and rejected Katsuhiro. I was outraged with the way Kyuzo died. But that's what was so GREAT about it. That the series got me so invested in it, that I got emotional and sympathetic for what happened to these characters.

Also the tainted reunion of Rikichi and his wife.

The second of half of the series was just brilliantly done every step of the way I think.

[RodMack]

there's something about the last episode i don't understand.

when Katsushiro asks Kirara if he now has the scent of a battlefield, why was she crying?

[TheVileOne]

there's something about the last episode i don't understand.

when Katsushiro asks Kirara if he now has the scent of a battlefield, why was she crying?

She was crying because she feels responsible for what happened to Katsushiro. And guilty as well. When they first encountered each other, that's what Kirara said about him and why they shouldn't hire him to protect their village.

[RodMack]

She was crying because she feels responsible for what happened to Katsushiro. And guilty as well. When they first encountered each other, that's what Kirara said about him and why they shouldn't hire him to protect their village.
so basically she didn't want Katsushiro to be in a battlefield since he was still a young person.

[TheVileOne]

so basically she didn't want Katsushiro to be in a battlefield since he was still a young person.

Yes, at the beginning they were looking for people that fought in wars and knew how to kill. Katsushiro's loss of innocence and his baptism into the violent life of the samurai is a large part and theme of the series.

[RodMack]

Yes, at the beginning they were looking for people that fought in wars and knew how to kill. Katsushiro's loss of innocence and his baptism into the violent life of the samurai is a large part and theme of the series.
true and Kirara knew right away that Katsushiro had no experience in war. and that's also true about Katsushiro since he did eventually got use to killing other people. and funny how Kambei gives Katsushiro his sword.

[TheVileOne]

true and Kirara knew right away that Katsushiro had no experience in war. and that's also true about Katsushiro since he did eventually got use to killing other people. and funny how Kambei gives Katsushiro his sword.

Yeah I loved that moment.

I always thought it was chilling after defeating the bandits how Katsushiro desired to battle, fight, and kill more. After he got a taste of it...he was itching for more. Paku Romi did a fantastic job with this character.

[uncle jafuncle]

Yeah I loved that moment.

I always thought it was chilling after defeating the bandits how Katsushiro desired to battle, fight, and kill more. After he got a taste of it...he was itching for more. Paku Romi did a fantastic job with this character.

Katsushiro was starting to resemble the kidnapper from the 1st episode. You know, the crazed guy who wanted another war to break out...frightening how the innocent youth can be compared to that bloodthirsty fiend...

[TheVileOne]

Yes once again more symbolism to the GREATNESS and brilliance of this series that the haters just want to ignore and call crap because some FANTASTIC things happen in a science-fiction/fantasy anime. This series had great subtext.

[RodMack]

i haven't seen the movie which this anime was based. if the anime was great (which it was and i really enjoyed it) the movie must be better.

[uncle jafuncle]

i haven't seen the movie which this anime was based. if the anime was great (which it was and i really enjoyed it) the movie must be better.

Really depends. Many concepts and themes are simlar in the two so it might seem too repetitive for you. Plus, the movie was made in the 50's so if you're wanting anime-style action...not gonna happen.

It's my favorite movie of all-time, but I'm more about stroytelling, plot, and dialogue than action, which the movie has a lot of as well, but if you're wanting Samurai 7 scale battles you'll be dissappointed. Me...I liked how personal the movie was. The seven samurai weren't trying to save the world or the country or something...just a bunch of cowardly farmers who couldn't protect themselves.

Anyway, I hope you like the movie if you ever get around to watching it.:)

[RodMack]

well i know that movie is pretty old, and that it's not futuristic as the anime. but i'd still watch it because the anime was based on the movie.

[TheVileOne]

The movie is great its an all time classic.

Is the series better? No its not. But the series is GREAT and fantastic in its own right. It had heart and passion, and you can't fault it for that.

The series and movie are also very different in many ways. They are two totally different beasts being one long movie and a 26 episode series.

[anbutofu]

hrmm, ive only seen the series up to the village defense....till it got licensed. anyone have a nice reliable site w/ the torrents? thanks

[diglossiablues]

Or Last Man Standing, which was a pretty damn good adaptation of Yojimbo.

Anyhoo...just, walk away from this one people.

Yes!

On a side note, I'd really like to see a modern adaptation of Roshomon. It's really a shame Kurosawa didn't adapt more Akutagawa short stories to film.

[uncle jafuncle]

Yes!

On a side note, I'd really like to see a modern adaptation of Roshomon. It's really a shame Kurosawa didn't adapt more Akutagawa short stories to film.

Yes, it is a shame, but a greater shame is that he didn't adapt more shakespeare plays. Throne of Blood and Ran were marvelous, but I would have loved to see how Kurosawa would have done 'Hamlet' or 'Romeo and Juliet'

*dies at the thought*

[UnbrokenSpirit]

I started watching yesterday and I'm frickin' addicted, so I'd like to know if they have a manga for this and where can I get it? Now, I'm gonna go look for some merchandises from this series, I gotta add them to my collection. But before I do so, I really like the characters personalities, and their styles. There is a point in that healing village thing that the animation becomes super utter crap. The story is cool so far, reminds me of "A Bug's Life" except with samurais, peasants, and bandits, instead of circus bugs, ants and grasshoppers. The city scenario is pretty sweet, and lastly Katsushiros's voice actor is Romi Paku, the same guys who voiced Ed in FMA, and I love FMA so great choice. :P

[crazymtf]

Well i just got to watching it last week and i'm up to ep 16 *Spoiler* I thought the death was weak but what can you do *Spoiler end* So far this anime kicks ass and another surprise, Vile and I like the same anime! :P

[BladeofTheChad]

PSSSSST! Kurosawa did do Hamlet...roughly...it was called "The Bad Sleep Well"...i suggest you see it

Review right here (http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=2010)

[Keyser Söze]

i downloaded the series a couple of days ago and i loved it. only thing i didn't like was kyuzo dying...... that part pissed me off, he was the extreme badass.

[crazymtf]

I'm up to the final four eps so i'll get those soon but i really enjoyed the series, not the best but a good one none the less.

[Keyser Söze]

i enjoyed this series a lot, i actually got into it when i rented it thinking it was a movie, but it was episodes 5-8, lol. so i downloaded the whole thing and watched it all over again. if the spoiler i stated in the above post didn't happen, i'd love this series completely.

[crazymtf]

Haha it didn't but i guessed he would along with the main character, i just hated the death of the othere guy *OMG i forgot the name* The first to die of the seven because it was a crappy death :(

[Keyser Söze]

gorobei, well trust me, you wont like how kyuzo dies.......

[crazymtf]

OH man, is it worse tthen Gorobei!? :(

[Keyser Söze]

to me yes, i mean, i don't want to ruin it for you.... but i didn't like it one bit, for me it was far worse than how gorobei died.

[Lord Yu]

I heard this anime wasnt too good but I liked it. The action was alot of fun to watch and the characters were enjoyable as well. I thought it was a much better take on Seven Samurai then Seven Samurai 20XX.

[Hyouma]

Only good things about this anime were:
- soundtrack
- lots of different characters so everyone would like at least a few
- the opening scene
- the character development of Katsuwhachamacallit (that young guy)

The story itself is pretty weak and samurai vs gigantic flying robots wtf?

[TheVileOne]

Only good things about this anime were:
- soundtrack
- lots of different characters so everyone would like at least a few
- the opening scene
- the character development of Katsuwhachamacallit (that young guy)

Katsushiro.


The story itself is pretty weak and samurai vs gigantic flying robots wtf?

It's called Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. THAT was the story they used.

As for the other thing, it's called anime, you might have heard of it.

[crazymtf]

^LMAO...i just had to laugh :P

[Hyouma]

It's called Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. THAT was the story they used.

As for the other thing, it's called anime, you might have heard of it.

I'm just a noob in the anime business :)

Was there an original series or something?

[Keyser Söze]

it was based on an old japanese movie. the 7 samurai, if i'm not mistaken.

[Hyouma]

^thx, i'd actually like to see that seeing those japanese samurai movies tend to rock

Also, what i meant with my previous comment:
Samurai vs samurai = awesome
Robot vs robot = okay
Samurai vs robot = too farfetched

But like i said, this is an okay anime because of a couple of good points.

[Anego]

I didn't attack anyone. You are the one that used the curse words.

Just because you have problems with certain things they did in the series does NOT mean they were plotholes.

In the world of Samurai 7, the samurai can perform feats such as what they did. This was not an ultra-realistic and true to life show. It was very much science fantasy.


I'm on TheVileOne side, for this debate, Catatonik. Sorry, I need a long time to get this thread :D
I work as tv-drama writer and to see how these Gonzo people adapted Kurosawa's 7 Samurai was actually great job to be done. Sorry to say, it's even much much better than see Naruto (though i really love Naruto). First, I've been impressed to their animation detail on colors, shapes, animation, landscapes.

second, they do the best for characterization. A movie (or say, a series) with 10 main characters and run only for 2 seasons.. but strong characterization..? adding with maybe 30-40 supporting characters who had lines on their presence.. well, it's hard job. you must be a good writer(s) to do that. I do even think this series should be run at least 3 seasons to make even deeper and darker story. If they make it a lil longer, at least more information of Kyuzou's and Kanbei's background would be revealed. however, by only 2 seasons, all the logical things had been answered. Including, no coincidentally things happened. Every action had consequence.

3rd, for only 2 seasons story, it has a lot surprises and twists. only best team writer can do that (or a single brilliant writer).

4th, it tooks a hard/deep theme: politics, merchants, castle management, war management, besides keeping the basic 'rules' of being samurai. When I watched it, I sometimes remember to Trigun and Here & There, Now & Then.

5th, which anime/manga is logic?... none. Naruto? Nah.. Where in the world someone had face like Kisame? No chibi? well, I think Sakura eyes, Ino eyes, and even small Konohamaru looks like chibis. Many other anime/manga put people battle big mecha/any powerful things, so I won't surprise. It was fun to see it in Samurai 7, I keep yelling and singing, "Impossible, oh impossible.." but I did the same to Naruto and other anime/manga. :D and yes, I agree to TheVileOne: that's why Samurai 7 is a sci-fi genre.

6th, in japan itself, many people still adore to these series until now. Well, I hope i don't missread some banner at japanese webs that Samurai 7 will be on air again on July (hehehe,.. my japanese is still standard) =) If it's true, I congratulate all Gonzo people with sake. :wink

I love the last episode. Makes me hard to take a breath =)

and oh..my friend said,.. only Ran - kurosawa's movie - that no one wants/able to adapted/copy/pirate. He said that Ran is Kurosawa's idealist project. Don't know whether he's right or wrong..

[Keyser Söze]

i have a question about the series actually that i didn't really get, you know those garbage can looking things that fly around, how come some of them show people inside it, then some get like cut right in half and you don't see anything? what's up with that?

[Nekomimi]

Well some parts of the show were really well done and enjoyable and others...failed miserably...

Mostly the fight scenes near the end when all they fought against was giant robots. It just got repetitive and boring...I dont really have a problem with anime characters doing absurd things, but they didnt make the fights interesting looking at all. Just "destroy about a dozen rinse and repeat".

But other then that good storyline and really great characters. :amuse

[Keyser Söze]

i wish kanbei and kyuzo fought at the end. that would have been awesome.

[Anego]

i wish kanbei and kyuzo fought at the end. that would have been awesome.

I had the same wish =) but to give me 'that' surprise, is what a 'good' writer/storymakers do: don't give what they expect *lol*

[Megaharrison]

Well I've been watching some of these episodes on IFC and the series is very well animated and all, but I place it as average. It really doesn't strike me as anything amazing like it's made out to be.

[Keyser Söze]

there should have been more actual samurai for them to fight. not just those giant robots, which i found entertaining. lmao.

[jesus1]

She was crying because she feels responsible for what happened to Katsushiro. And guilty as well. When they first encountered each other, that's what Kirara said about him and why they shouldn't hire him to protect their village.



Ya I felt that's what she believe he meant about saying that to her. She even gave a speech about washing away her sins to the elder woman when Kirara passed on the sacred water.

However, what I think Katsushiro meant by his smell of war speech was that he was asking if he was worthy enough for her now. Since the begining she had not really acknowledged him as a true samurai and even rejected his love towards her. That's just my opinion though.


Thank You,

[tenkaix]

honestly what i want to know about the ending ??

what about the love part of the anime, what happend there ??

i mean she started out by liking katsu, then she fell for kambei..i think.

did katsu feel jelouse or something or what, and what about the part when she slapped him and then she chased after him and he kissed her .... this is confusing

ok to clear this up i simply want to know.

what happend between her and katsu and kambie, just someone explain what the hell happend ?? someone plz explain what happend when they were at the firefly INN when she slapped him and then someone plz explain what happend during the ending when he said do you smell the scent of battle on me now ??

and what happend betwen her and kambie at the end she was watching him clean his sword for like 3 days straight or something. ARGH....SOMEON EXPLAAAIN IM GOING NUTS OVER THIS SHIT!!!!!

[Dark Evangel]

This thread needs a bump...