Samurai 7

    SYNOPSIS
         Every year during harvest season, kana village is raided by wicked Nobuseri (bandits) for there rice and women. But the starving villagers have had enough and in desperation higher seven hungry ronin (Masterless Samurai)
to save  them from the wicked bandits. But there may be more to this war for rice than meets the eye.

STORY
         Samurai 7 plot may sound oddly familiar. You may be connecting its similarities to Disney's Bugs Life, maybe even the classic western the Magnificent Seven (and its many sequels and spinoffs), or you may have hit it at its source with Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. This is indeed the anime spin off to the academy award winning film of the same (but reversed) name. But Samurai 7 takes Kurosawa's epic master piece and puts in a steampunk sci-fi setting, adds a villain (the government), and makes some brave story alterations. One would think that such changes to a timeless classic would be a hard thing to pull off, but it really works! Samurai 7 still has the depth and character of its orgin point, but still manages to bring something new and exciting to the story without damaging or insulting the original film. Samurai 7 feels unique while still feeling classic. A must see for film buffs and anime alike. One of the greatest anime I've ever seen, period.

Production
        One episode of S7 costs around half a million dollars in production value, there were 26 episode in all. Now do the math. Gonzo really gave there all in samurai 7, creating not only a great story, but a great scenery as well. Toshifumi Takizawa ( director of Dirty Pair, Aura Battle Dunbine, and the Crusher Joe OVA's)  Directed Samurai 7, which seemed like an odd choice looking at his project history (which mostly comprised of old school mecha and super hero anime) but Takizawa shows he can direct more than just one genre by bringing S7 to life. The amazing character designs were designed by the duo of Hideki Hashimoto ( Who did design  work for Chrome Shelled Regios, Rental Magica, And Demonbane.) and Takuhito Kusanagi (who designed for Blue Submarine No.6, Both seasons of Tower Of Druaga, and Ghost Slayer Ayashi.) There dual work really shows with such amazing designs from the Samurai to even the random extra (which more often than not is major eye candy for the any viewer!). Mechanical design was pulled off by Veteran mecha designer Mokoto Kobayashi (Final Fantasy :Unlimited, Gundam ZZ, Space Battleship Yamato:Resurrection, Steamboy, and Venus Wars) who brings life to the amazing battleships and mecha of Samurai 7's universe. And with an amazing opining song by Nanase Aikawa and Ending theme by Rin, Samurai 7 show beauty both in story and design.

DUB
    This Dub couldn't be any better with leads  R. Bruce Elliot (Kambei), Sean Michael Teague (Katsushiro), Sonny Strait (Kyuzo), Bob Carter ( Gorobei), Christopher R. Sabat (Kikuchiyo), Duncan Brannan (Shichiroji), And Greg Ayres (Heihachi). Even the side cast is wonderful Colleen Clinkenbeard as the Lovely Kirara, J.Michael Tatum as Rikichi, and the always cute Luci Christian as Komachi. And it would be a crime not to mention Anthony Bowlings performance as the wicked Ukyo! A Terrific Dub for a Terrific series.

CONTENT
     Violence, Language, and two scenes (I Think it may have been just one thou.. ) of a women bathing ( the steam censors anything immodest ).

EXTRAS
      Textless Op and Ed songs, Character profiles, a commentary for episode 14, and several random episodes of Mr.Stain on Junk Alley (not that great of a bonus as it sounds).

OVERALL
  A modern classic, and a must buy for any anime fan. A worth adaptation of Kurosawa's legendary samurai epic.
5 out of 5