Samurai X #1:
Trust
ADV
60 minutes
English/Japanese
English Subtitles
10/10/2000
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Samurai X #1:
ADV
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I generally take great pains to avoid being called an anime fan. It's a hobby that's so social stigmatized that I want to have no real association with anyone of the like, as if watching cartoons for adult suddenly turns me into someone who refuses to date anyone but Japanese girls and speaks in broken Nihongo to whomever is willing to listen, though with the annoyance rates that some of these people exhibit I believe I am justifiably trepadatious towards an ingenuous announcement ot the world my love of things animated. While I am all too aware that there are people out there who don't exactly share my sentiments and are only too happy to inform me of why I am wrong, my shunning of all things related to anime culture also precludes the requirement of speaking to any of them. Thank god for small blessings. But once in awhile you see something so perfect that it makes you wish you could indeed go up onto some high rooftop and scream for all the world to hear that you have indeed found perfection, and it lies in the form of a bunch of paint splattered on plastic. However, such is not the way of the world, and even upon finding that thing you're all but required to hide it under a rock until you find someone of a like mind as you and you're in an entirely private situation. Oh yeah, and it helps to take a blood oath about killing one another should they ever talk about the other's enjoyment of anime. That one's gotten me through some rough times. |
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Samurai X, or the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs, as they're more correctly known, is one of those things. Its brutal nature will at first belie just how intelligent the story is. Without any such fanfare found in more banal features, Samurai X drops you into the thick of things faster than a prostitute who's just been paid for the night. Refusing to submit to any of the whims of whatever prospective audience it might have, this show does its own thing...regardless of who or what it may lose in the viewer base. Defying even my own set of rules, this disc clocks in at just under and hour and...very surprisingly...doesn't suck vicious man-ass. Quite to the contrary, really, it gets absolutely everything right the first time around. I would go so far as to dare anyone to find a single flaw with it. After my third or fourth viewing of the show I still find myself completely enthralled by it. I think a solid part of these OVA's strength is the fact that it's not trying to be a form of entertainment, it's just trying to tell us a story. One might fondly recall their grandpa sitting themselves on his knee and canting ad infinitum his experiences out on the deep blue sea, and how he met your grandmother, or whatever else. Samurai X is like that, only it has a lot more exploding bodies and doesn't give off the effluvial odor of filled Depends. |
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Heavy on the things that might make a less serious viewer uncomfortable, this show shows it has no problem discussing fate, and waxing on about how the taste of sake is affected by the turning of the seasons. A greater meaning could be attached to these statements, but I don't want to get all artsy on you in EVERY review. Suffice it to say, this show is better put together than maybe it should be, as is easily evidenced by the perfect ending to the first episode. When the stunning climax comes you'll know in your heart that it's over before the credits even roll. Samurai X, also adopts that herky-jerky directoral style that I've made clear I'm very fond of time and time again. Time is immaterial, as we're repeated shown the young Kenshin growing up sandwiched between scenes of a slightly older boy "getting jiggy" with a VIP and his bodyguards. And I don't mean "getting jiggy" in the Greek sense either. There should be a disclaimer at the start of this, "Caution, you WILL lose your place. Non-native Japanese are recommended to take notes." and it's all very true. Japanese names are thrown at you like nobody's business and while I suppose that's to be expected, I'd have a lot easier time remembering what happened in a historical drama where the characters were named "Bob" or "Joe". |
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My only real problem with the show is it's dub. Not to say it's not well acted, because it's one of the better one's I've heard, I just feel that it takes a bit too many liberties with the script. Someone needs to be instructed that "kill" does not always mean the same thing as "murder" and in a context heavy show like this that's really a make or break thing. Otherwise, J. Shannon Weaver is very good as Kenshin and Joe York does an absolutely stellar job as Hiko, Kenshin's master. But for the love of god someone either drag Tomoe's dub actress out back and shoot her, or get the girl some acting lessons. It doesn't really matter to me either way, I just don't want to have to listen to those stilted breath heavy intonations anymore. You might call me a liar for saying this, and I probably deserve it in one way or another, but this is the only thing I've ever seen where the action scenes can make you sad. Have you ever been tempted to cry at the sight of an exploding body? Well, me neither...but there's a nagging feeling in the back of my head that I should've been tempted to cry all the same. If you did cry, however, don't worry...that doesn't make you any less of a man.** |
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