Rurouni Kenshin # 7: Shadow of the Wolf Mediablasters 100 minutes English/Japanese English Subtitles 07/10/2000

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I don't remember the exact circumstances that led to me being drawn back into the world of anime, and by drawn back into the world of anime I mean I've watched three DVDs in as many weeks and not written any reviews for any of them. So I suppose that's kind of being "drawn back" if you look at it from the perspective of a social drinker who quit his breakneck lifestyle of three strawberry daqiries every Saturday night. I'm the worst reviewer ever, I'm like the Jon Skabla world and for once I'm not talking about him in regards to his artwork. Should you ever talk to Jonnie Skabs, ask him how a Smirnoff Ice tastes. I wouldn't know, because I am not a lady. So I've watched the seventh disc of Rurouni Kenshin and now it's going right up on eBay! Not because I didn't like it, but because (due to some cosmic mix up) Bestprices sent me two copies of it and I'm pretty sure that I got invoiced for both of them, but since it was two FREAKIN' years since I recieved it my memory's kind of hazy. Don't ask why I waited until now, but for some reason I've gotten on some sort of online auction spree. Legend of Zelda, Powerbook AC adapters. Whatever I've got I'm selling it in quantity, Bear and I devised a little plan to split the insane $200 cost of Steel Battalion and he ain't placing the order until I pony up the cash. He's a greedy little fucker and I fully intend on killing him.

But not until he uses his credit card to order the game. Anyway, if you're of the mindset that you'd enjoy the seventh disc of Rurouni Kenshin for a fairly reasonable price, but on it before 6:00 pm Monday April 21st and I'll gladly sign the case for you. You could own the very first piece of fan-service.com swag ever created. And five years from now you could burn it for fuel or something, because lord knows it's never going to be worth anything. In fact, with my child-like scrawl I'm pretty sure it would end up decreasing the value of the DVD. But what about the content itself? Well, it's gonna seem pretty strange, considering this is the first review of the TV series on the site that I'll acknowledge, and when we were watching the rest of the show I was dating a chick who wanted to be on the phone ALL the time. Therefore, you know, I don't really remember much about things. Kyle was very vehement on the matter, insisting that I give it a five simply because of the fight scene between Kenshin and his longtime rival Saito. However, I ain't down with the peer pressure and I give what I think it deserves. And it gets a four, because I didn't blow my waffle while watching it. I'm sure Kyle and Evan were grateful for that, but...myself, I like to get a little action down there once in awhile.

So, what then? Yeah, it's a pretty good disc as far as things go. Kenshin's a bit less of a pussy than he was when the show started, and Sanosuke shows that he's not above bareknuckle boxing someone with a sword, because he's just that cool. What really gets me about this show is that it really has no sense of continuity, or even general decency. There's a battle that's supposed to be to the death, or close to it anyway. And what happens afterwards? Ridiculous slapstick! Why? I don't freakin' now, take it up with the writers. I don't honestly know why or what would cause a woman's head to baloon up to ten times its normal size and bobble around wildly, and I don't think I particularly care too. Kenshin, as a TV series, has always been just a bit too odd for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-slapstick and I'm definetely not anti-ass kicking, but when you put the two together my small, ape like intellect gets confused and moody and then I start throwing things at people and they get all pissy, but they still don't leave my room because god knows it's like some sort of freakin' clubhouse there or something.

Not that I care, but the fact remains that things like this still confuse me. One moment there's a guy swinging around his sickle and chain, blowing up rocks in a very wholesome manner, and then they cut to people talking about beef bowls. And what is up with the slutty doctor? Call me a heretic, but I really just don't GET this show. What it is trying to say to me? Should I be amused? Should I feel bad? I mean, it's better than a lot of the normal trash I watch, but it ain't caviar either. But I know your opinions aren't affected by my ramblings, because everyone who even tangentially knows what anime is has heard of Kenshin and probably knows the plot better than me anyway. I know there's a guy, and I remember way back on like the fourth disc that had a wooden gatling gun or something. Whatever, please buy my disc off eBay and help connect a robot fanatic with his incredibly esoteric controller. For all you hardcore fans out there, don't worry, I've still got my other copy of Volume 7 up on "the wall" but I doubt I'll be watching it anytime soon. Not like that isn't par for the course or anything...