Samurai X - IGN (original) (raw)

A beginning and an end... Everything has one, and with the Samurai X OAV box set, ADV brings us both the beginning and end to Watsuki Nobuhiro's historical epic. Within the box are two OAVs (original animated video, or straight to video release) that cover the stories of Kenshin and the two women of his life; Trust and Betrayal and Reflection.
To those familiar with the Rurouni Kenshin TV series that has seen an airing on Cartoon Network's Toonami and Saturday Video Entertainment System time blocks should be wary. These OAVs are a much more somber and heart-felt experience.

The Series

Being a prequel to the Rurouni Kenshin TV series, it does help to know a bit about this Kenshin character before going into the OAV, but even without said knowledge it's still an OAV that will draw you in.

Beginning with the first two DVDs in the box, we find the Trust and Betrayal OAV. The first of the two tales, Trust and Betrayal covers the life of Shinta, the son of a daikon farmer who would become the legendary Kenshin Himura, an assassin known as Battousai the Manslayer (Hitokiri Battousai).

We follow Kenshin from his fateful encounter with his would-be master Hiko Seijiro, the story behind his cross-shaped scar, his quiet days with Tomoe, and the turbulent ones that followed.

The first DVD is Trust, the first two episodes of the OAV. In it we meet a young Shinta traveling with a group of slave traders who are then attacked by a group of bandits. A ruthless group these thugs are, killing women and children and washing the screen with their blood. It's definitely not a title for the kiddies.

The Samurai X - Reflection DVD Menu.

In true super hero fashion, a mysterious man emerges from the darkness when all hope is lost and vanquishes the bandits, leaving the young Shinta alone in an ocean of corpses. This doesn't last long, and the mysterious man returns to find the child standing over the graves he dug for the slave traders and the bandits that killed them all. Seeing the boy has some promise he gives Shinta the name of Kenshin and takes him on as a pupil, only to lose him a decade later to the wars of the Bakamatsu as he takes up the role of an assassin.

The second DVD of the box presents us with Betrayal, the final two episodes of that first OAV. In this one we follow Kenshin as he tries to live a peaceful life with Tomoe, a young woman we meet in the first half of the OAV. Just how long Kenshin can live peacefully with her, and when will his sword be called out to battle again is unknown.

Hey man, got a light?

Last and perhaps least we find Reflection, which has another two episodes. No longer are we covering years preceding the Rurouni Kenshin series, but now we've gone through a lifetime and are faced with the epilogue and ending to the series. The feature is made up of snippets of scenes from the manga and TV series mixed in with a fair amount of new material made specifically for the OAV. Several scenes of Kenshin and Kaoru's private moments were touching, and some were simply depressing.

A lot had happened over the course of the series and the reactions to this OAV will definitely be struck down through the middle - people will either love it or hate it, especially from those that have had the chance to read through the manga and those that have not. I would recommend those that haven't had the chance to read the DVD to wait for Viz to complete their release of the manga before even giving Reflection a viewing.

Damn, I forgot to put on a t-shirt before I went off into battle.

This is a beautiful piece of animation that deserves a viewing, but playing out more like a glorified clip show knowing the story behind said clips really does enhance the viewing experiences. Watching Kenshin battle it out with an enemy you've never met in the TV series without any explanation to the reasoning behind the battle will leave many wondering.

Problem then lies in that reading through the Rurouni Kenshin manga series will then leave the Reflection OAV with much left to be desired. It's a lose/lose situation with no easy solution, but when one should never watch the recap before the rest of the show so no fan of the series should allow themselves to view this OAV before getting your hands on a completed manga. In the end it simply comes across as an unneeded conclusion to a series that had already had a conclusion in place.

Score: 7 out of 10

**The Samurai X - Trust DVD Menu.

The Video

Going back to Trust and Betrayal we're given a full screen 4:3 treatment. I experienced a few cases of artifacts, especially in the reds, as well as instances of shimmering on camera pans, but these were far and few in between…Annoying when the creep up, but not so much as to actually detract from you viewing experience. For the most part colors are the video is free of any compression errors with some clean whites and rather deep blacks. Which is a good thing as Trust and Betrayal borrows much from the darker areas of the spectrum.

As beautifully mastered Trust and Betrayal was, so is the Reflection OAV presented in a 16:9 anamorphic widescreen format. With fewer errors than those in Trust and Betrayal Reflection is a sight to see with crisp and vibrant colors and no bleeding to speak of. Get past the new character designs and the rather pale pallet this anime borrows from, most will simply love the fantastic job done on it, and that is despite the odd inclusion of live action and CG scenes here and there. That applies to both OAVs, but Reflection is the bigger culprit of the two.

Score: 9 out of 10

**That's what you get for pissing off a florist.

Languages and Audio

For this box set ADV remixed the English audio track for Trust and Betrayal from its original 2.0 mix to a new 5.1 mix. The difference is notable. Separation in each channel was quite lovely, which is a shame as the English dub on this OAV is rather poor and not nearly as well done as it should be.

Another shame is that the Japanese audio track remains in its original 2.0 mix similar to earlier releases of the OAV from ADV. My receiver was able to make out some subtle separation through Dolby Pro Logic II, but in the end it's not nearly as clean and precise as the English audio track.

Reflection finds itself in the same boat with a 5.1 mix for the English audio track and a 2.0 mix for the Japanese audio track with the added bonus of an additional 2.0 English audio mix. As with Trust and Betrayal, Reflection is also plagued with a poor English dub.

Dub issues aside, both OAVs are beautifully mixed. Clean audio and very nice depth can be found at any random point through out the anime. These OAVs are as nice to hear as they are to watch.

Score: 8 out of 10

**I thought I made it clear; I like my eggs sunny-side up!

Packaging and Extras

Both DVDs of Trust and Betrayal share a similar set of extras; a scrolling series of written information on the OAV and a rather nice set of biographies for each character in the OAV. Things do build up from DVD to DVD. The Trust DVD will provide you with the original trailer to the OAV, and then the Betrayal DVD will provide you with screen writers' notes on their views on the OAV as they were translating it. A rather interesting extra, but things get better as you move towards the Reflection OAV.

Listed as extras are interviews with the Japanese voice cast, clean closing animation, production sketches, and ADV previews...The half dozen or so interviews and the production sketches being items of the most interest here. The clean closing animation, if you can call it that, is an expected extra on most anime releases, but it's nothing more than music played over a scene of waves rolling in and out at the beach.

All of this was packaged in a very sleek, black art box…Nothing fancy going on there, just a simple, yet elegant case to hold the three DVDs in. The DVDs themselves each come in their own clear cases with reversible cover. You'll never be completely free of the Samurai X title as the art box still flashes the name on its side, but at least the covers of each individual DVD will have the Rurouni Kenshin title written out in the same logo Viz uses in their release of the manga.

Score: 8 out of 10