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Samurai 7 2June 23, 2004Title: Eat! Our protagonists find two samurai willing to help save their village.
However, the village priestess gets abducted by a smooth-talking prince.
Fortunately, the priestess is saved by a powerful samurai.
The End * * * RATING: C According to AnimeNfo, the original 'Seven Samurai' was a tale of high intrigue and honor set in feudal Japan. In it's current incarnation, this old flick has been recast into a futuristic world full of super-powerful swordsmen, rice-stealing mecha, and cyberpunk ghettos. Although these two settings are entirely different, it's neat to see that the core ethos of the "Seven Samurai" hasn't changed at all. At its heart, "Samurai 7" is the tale of a bunch of strong guys fighting the oppressors of the poor -- a Japanese version of Robin Hood, if you will. Just like its medieval counterpart, this series is populated with evil villains (i.e. the huge Bandit-mechas), corrupt royalty (i.e. Prince Ukyo), and dishonorable soldiers (i.e. Ukyo's henchmen). While this series does retain some of the gritty-future-industrial-ghetto aura from Bakuretsu Tenshi, this title is basically a warm, feel-good quest. Unfortunately, this is its shortcoming. I don't want a warm feel-good quest. I want backstabbing traitors, wicked level-5 jutsus, and giant mecha battles. I really don't care that the peasant village is going to be pillaged. And when you come down to it, a quest really oughtn't be centered on the recovery for rice. There's something quite absurd of having a fleet of 80-story robots conquer an entire world just to get their carbohydrates. I mean, what would Dr. Atkins say? Right now, Samurai 7 is a fairly mediocre series -- to be honest, it's definitely a pleasure to watch (see Kabitzin's review), but still, if someone doesn't become a mutant soon, it'll just remain as a mediocre series. * * * disagree? read 13 comments! * * * Related Reviews
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