Now in the ultimate position of power, Ukyo begins a long
con game to gain the trust of the villagers and merchants. As his popularity grows, so does his power
and Ukyo intends to use it to crush his enemies and solidify his new empire. Only six Samurai and the Villagers of Kanna
stand in his way. Kambei, Katsushiro,
Schichiroji, Kyuzo, Heihachi and Kikuchiyo unite for one final stand against
the full might of the Capital and the Nobuseri under its control. Live by the sword or die by it, this will be
a battle that will one day become the stuff of Legends.
Ive got to hand it to Samurai 7. Despite some frustrating characters,
animation staggers and the pressure from unnecessary plotlines, it managed to
deliver one rousing finale that held all the spirit of Akira Kurosawa’s
classic, just with a futuristic Anime tinge.
The journey of the titular Seven Samurai has been a crazy and amazing
one and it got the ending we all knew was coming but was nonetheless as
surprising and rewarding as we could’ve hoped for. Lets get into things properly.
When it all came down to it, Ukyo might’ve been able to
act highly intelligent and show plenty of surprising ruling potential as an
Emperor. In the end, he was just a brat
who hated how the world treated him as a peasant and as a not so beloved
authority figure and he just wanted to wipe the slate clean and make the world
bow to his rule. I’m not surprised but I
still like that they gave Ukyo that intellectual edge in the second half of the
series to wash away the bad taste of his earlier, Kirara obsessesed self. I was also pretty entertained by his half
chill/half child like attitude towards the big battle and being able to control
a new breed of Nobuseri. Of all the
characters in Samurai 7, I think Ukyo surprised me the most. The basic story of Seven Samurai doesn’t really
need a major villain other than the force of Bandits and the Samurai battling
their own inner demons. But Ukyo rose to
the challenge of an unneeded role and was surprisingly good at it.
Hoping over to our heroes, there was some unfinished
business to attend to just about everyone before the fighting started. Most of this stemmed from Kambei and
Katsushiro’s relationship, which hit its biggest wall in the lead up to the
finale. Katsu finally got fed up with
how Kambei was treating him and, to add insult to injury, Kirara didn’t want
his love (we’ll come back to her).
Katsu’s kind of been a stagnant character with glimpses of character
growth but he’s mostly been prone to rash decisions before heading into a murderous
bloodrage when the going got going. I
never believed he could guard Kanna Village solo cause he was really trying to
force himself to be better than Kambei (shocker, he isn’t). And then there’s that one act that should
give Katsu a list on anyone’s death list-accidentally killing Kyuzo while
killing a soldier trying to kill Kambei.
This was the one moment where I verbally shouted at the screen, “YOU
FREAKING DUMB ASS!!!” To be honest, I’m
not sure if Katsushiro has learned anything over the course of this entire
series. He did part with Kambei on good
terms but who knows, maybe it’s his destiny to just be an envious Samurai prone
to bloodrage filled murder sprees that even Wolverine would say he’s doing
wrong.
Let’s face it though, for all the sacrifice and bad
assery, the real hero of Samurai 7 is and always will be Kikuchiyo. I had a feeling he probably wasn’t making it
to the end (and not just because his film counterpart doesn’t either). If Kambei is the world weary soul of the
group, Kiku has always been the heart.
He’s had the most upbeat attitude and the best insight even when he’s
being a bumbling but loveable oaf. And
Kiku’s had that adorable friendship with Komachi that’s delivered some of the
funniest and most heartfelt highlights of the whole show. Not sure about Komachi wanting to marry Kiku
when she got much older but the sentiment was real. Kiku loved his “Little Sprout” and the
village she hailed from. So Hell Yes
he’d go out in a blaze of glory cutting down the Capital with a three story
sized sword like a freaking boss. If
anyone’s deserved the most noble of Samurai deaths, it’s Kikuchiyo and Toshiro
Mifune would be hella proud of how his character from the original Kurosawa
movie was handled in this adaptation.
Like I said, everyone else got their five minutes of fame
in the finale as well. Schichiroji got
to show off his piloting skills. Kyuzo,
up until Katsushiro’s team kill, could not be stopped as he cut through
Nobuseri Metal Gear like they were nothing.
And Heihachi got to come clean about his past experience as a traitor to
tie up his “I don’t like traitors” character arc before he went down with the
Capital. Rikichi was reunited with his
wife and fought to restore her sanity, proving he had grown in courage and heart
from his first appearance. Even Ukyo’s
long time bodyguard, Tessai, got to bust out some impressive sword skills that
make me wonder why we never saw him in combat til just before he died. Honestly, besides Katsushiro the only
character I felt didn’t get the best arc with Kirara. All of a sudden, things became all about her
sudden love for Kambei. It came out of
nowhere and, as much as im not his biggest fan, poor Katsushiro, who’s been
pinning for Kirara while protecting her.
Kirara even made it clear once or twice she really wanted to support
Katsu in his quest to become a true Samurai.
What changed and why? Was it
Katsu’s first killing spree? In any
case, Kambei is way too old and not quite the loving type and he shut that down
quick before he headed into battle.
Seriously Kirara, it was never going to work based on the age gap alone.
Let’s start wrapping this up. Despite a longer than needed episode count
and a studio I have mixed feelings about behind it, Samurai 7 was a very well
done series. It captured the spirit,
heart and soul of Akira Kurosawa’s legendary timeless tale and gave it a hefty
dose of Anime that made it cool. The
animation, for the most part, was solid, not the best but solid. The character were all memorable and special
in their own way. The action was spectacular
and watching Samurai kick the crap out of giant robots will never get old or
look any less awesome. The second half
of the series surprised me with a villain in need of retooling, which he got,
and saved some of the best battles for the end without sacrificing what makes
this story so timeless. Some characters
had flaws and the animation lapsed at times.
But Samurai 7 is a must see for anyone who is a fan of Seven Samurai or
any of its many other adaptations. It
was long overdue for an Anime adaptation and I wonder what Kurosawa himself
would think if he could have seen it.
Final Score for Samurai 7 is an 8/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment