Starring: Samurai X Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: Unrated Binding: DVD Format: Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC Label: Adv Films Number of Items: 5 Region Code: 1 Release Date: November 21, 2006 Running Time: 510 minutes
Product Description: Nineteenth century Japan: a land torn by warfare and rebellion where small bands of soldiers seek to overthrow the tyrannical Tokugawa Shogunate. Enter Kenshin a young orphan whose fighting skills were honed by the great swordsman Hiko. But Kenshin s soul is embattled much like the killing fields of Japan with his hopes for a new world peace at odds with his life of blood and killing. System Requirements:Run Time: 510 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ADULT SWIM UPC: 702727141126 Manufacturer No: DSX/300
Bloody, dramatic goodness. I can't praise Trust & Betrayal enough, but I've no reason to blather on about that, since anyone else who has seen it can do that for me. I'm talking about Reflection here, and how it's really good, despite what many others may say. I loved it; I knew going in that it wouldn't be bloody (duh, since Kenshin is using the sakabato at this point). I think that Reflection wrapped up the series very well; Kaoru's final line being Kenshin's name was the perfect way to go. I really enjoyed the recap, especially since it's been forever since I watched the series. No, it's not bloody, violent or sexy, but it beautifully reviews the series and captures the much more heavy-hearted side of Kenshin and Kaoru's relationship. You can't really go in expecting Hitokiri Battousai, but all the beautiful, heart-clenching drama is there.
Film gets 5 stars, but this release has some problems I can't say anything about the series that other reviewers haven't said. It's amazing. I even love Reflection (although some people can't stand the deviation it takes from the Manga, I still think it's a highly evocative and beautiful film).
THE ONLY REASON I give this 4 stars instead of 5 is that my copy skips several key subtitles. I've watched a fansubbed version of this, and so I know where there is missing dialog. Also, at times different characters will speak but the subtitles never update to show the new dialog, hence you miss a few key exchanges.
I tested this with both versions of Trust & Betrayal...the original release and the director's cut. I found that the subtitles were slightly different for both of them, and they both had missing text.
I found it to be very frustrating, especially when showing the film to people who haven't seen it before. This film is tends to be very discontinuous; the scenes jump around a lot on the timeline and many of the characters do not have a very long exposition. You're kind of thrown in to this setting of pre-Meiji Era Japan without a lot of explanation, so it can be difficult to follow for newcomers to the Kenshin story. Missing subtitles only made it more confusing.
It frustrates me that the studio could be that careless. I'm going to look at exchanging the complete collection release for a different release and see if it has a better subtitle job.
it's ok I made the mistake of expecting this to have more to it. first off I had been told it was more grafic that it actualy turned out to be. I also had been led to believe that more of it had to do with the pre-story behind the show it was based off of.
Despite this it is still a good story. The 1st disc is kind of depresing, but very well riten and with great animation. I was less impresed with the other discs, but they where still ok.
Stupendous :3 Great series. I'm glad I nabbed it at such a low price!! I can always could on Amazon getting the low prices and sometimes even free shipping!!
The box does contain two versions of two out of three of the movies. I don't really mind, but I've only watches the director's cut. Great classic to add to any collection.
A Classic Loved the OVAs for the artwork and animation. That being said, the true standout is the OVA - Trust and Betrayal - every bit as good as any other anime ever made. Watch it and you'll see why.
The movie is included, which is more of the fun from the series, while the last OVA shows a little of what should have been shown in the series before the filler episodes killed it. The artistic license used for the last OVA didn't really agree with me, but worth watching, at least once.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
