Customer Reviews

Ronin Warriors - OVA Volume 1

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After a long time waiting for an English version, bandai is finally gonna finish off the Ronin Warriors story by bringing the OVA's to America.
This first volume will contain Gaiden and Kikoutei Densetsu.
In Gaiden, the Ronin Warriors(Samurai Troopers) go to New York to solve the mystery of the Halo armor, and why its going on a murderous rampage, and where's Sage(Seiji) the bearer of the Halo armor?
In Kikoutei Densetsu, A mysterious warrior appears that matches the abilities of the Warriors, without the aid of a sub armor. After a battle in the streets of Shinjuku, Ryo and Sage are pulled into a black portal, along with this mysterious warrior named Mukara. It's up to the other Warriors to find them. But why is Cye refusing to bear his armor of Torrent? Can Rowen, Kento, Mia and Yuli convince Cye to wear his armor, and help them track down Mukara and his two captives? And why does Mukara have a powerful black version of the Inferno armor?

The OVA's are wonderfully animated, and are better than the series, but not by much:p
I'm gonna preorder mine, and I suggest you do the same!

Though I promised myself I'd wait till a sale, this was just an itch I had to scratch, and I'm glad I did. This was so ripping funny, including the part where Ryo is getting the snot kicked out of him and even the scene where Cye's having his midlife crisis. Though I am glad some of the original cast participated, I would like to know whose bright idea it was to have Dais' voice actor do the voice of Sage, and Kento's actor just doesn't have the same goofiness as the original(some parts he sounds smarter than in the series). Still, the stories are excellent in both plot and putting a bit of normalcy into the Ronins lives.

Finally, Bandai continues the saga of the Ronin Warriors! The OVAs were made especially for video, so they weren't shown on American TV after the original series ended. Which is a shame, because these new stories are definitely worth seeing. Volume 1 consists of "Gaiden" and "Legend of the Inferno Armor" (Kikoutei Densetsu in Japan). In "Gaiden", the team travels to New York City in order to discover the truth behind the sudden and deadly appearance of Sage's Halo armor --- minus Sage. They find themselves drawn into a battle with the demon sorcerer Shikaisen and his (unnamed) scientist cohort, with Sage's life hanging in the balance. "Legend of the Inferno Armor" takes our boys to Tanzania, where they have to fight not only the fierce (and remarkably nonverbal) warrior Mukala, but their own armors as well! It doesn't help matters that Cye has decided to relinquish his Torrent armor and turn pacifist. Can the warriors reunite in time to save the world?

As much as I enjoyed this DVD, I only gave it four stars because of a little problem with the voice casting. In the original series, Sage and Cye were both voiced by Michael Donovan. Donovan returns for this outing, but for some inexplicable reason the casting people decided to use someone else as Sage's voice. The unfortunate result is that the "new" Sage sounds almost exactly like the "old" Kento, right down to the valley-boy verbal mannerisms. Some of the other voices sound a bit off (it has been several years, after all), but this one is glaringly bad. Still, the stories are well done and dramatically powerful (watch the scene in "Legend" when Cye tells the guys he's tired of fighting). RW fans should definitely add this one to their collections.

Originally two separate OVAs, Bandai decided to bunch the two into one which irritates me. But hey, at least they are commercially available now, so whatever.

"Gaiden" was created for the (Japanese) fans, as stated by Sunrise, and it's good solid action. While it's a bit more violent then the TV series (i.e. blood, dead bodies) it's still an excellent story that features our armored heroes. The animation during the two episodes is consistent, unlike the TV series where you could obviously tell different people were working on the characters.

"Legend of the Inferno Armor" takes a more serious look into the armors, their natures, and how it affects the warriors who wear them. It's longer than "Gaiden" and features a new armor, two new characters, and a more closer look on Cye of the Torrent's character. LotIA is like the TV series in terms of action and adventure. Highly recommended for true fans!

Back in the early 90's, I had become exposed to several cartoons like He-Man, Thundercats, G.I. Joe, and many, many others. Transformers was the biggest force in my life at that point, and I suppose it was my first exposure to Japanese anime, despite the fact that the series was made here in the U.S. (it's considered an anime because it's based on the toy line which was produced in Japan). In the whereabouts of 1994-1995, I had become enamored with another series. In Japan, it was called Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. Being an American, I knew it as Ronin Warriors. The series revolved around five heroes that were selected to wield armor against the villain, Talpa, who wanted those particular armors back so that he can dominate our world. After Talpa was defeated (there were 39? Episodes total), I thought that that was the end. But it wasn't.

There were three OVAs that were never before released here, and in this volume I am reviewing, there are the first two. They were originally made in 1989 and 1990, one or two years after the series was completed in Japan. They were redubbed in 2003, and some of the voices are different. I find it very strange that Sage (whose voice is exactly the same as Dais) has a different voice, when the voice of Cye is still the same (he did Sage as well on the series originally). Maybe the actors were friends with him? Anyways, there are some noticeable differences which actually are quite appropriate and made me wonder why the American dub changed things around.

- Ryo is pronounced "Rio" now, like in the original Japanese.
- Rowen is back to being "Wisdom" like in the original Japanese, and Sage is "Grace." This makes more sense because I always thought Rowen was the genius of the group, and Sage obviously was the ladies' man of the group.
- I always thought Ryo's virtue "Virtue" was weird because it almost seems like an oxymoron to me, but as it turns out, it was originally "Righteousness," which makes a lot more sense (and especially since he used to say in the original series "My soul is righteousness!").
- The finishers are mostly different, which I liked most of the original sayings better. Rowen's is now Heaven Shockwave as opposed to Arrow Shockwave, Sage is Lightning Strike as opposed to Thunder Bolt Cut, and Cye's is Wave Crusher as opposed to Super Wave Smasher. Kento's Iron Rock Crusher is the only constant. Those changed above are not as "catchy" as the originals, I suppose, but the one thing I do like better is Ryo's, which is now Fury of Wildfire as opposed to the lame-sounding Flare Up Now.

"GAIDEN"
The first OVA is only two episodes long, and it involves a sorcerer named Shikaisen (which is voiced by the same actor of King Kai from DBZ!) who captures Sage and uses his armor. He wants the other armors as well, and has a trapped laid out for them (and on Ryo's birthday). There is also a little subplot involving Runa (whose brother was killed), and originally wanted to kill Rowen, but ends up falling in love with Ryo instead (once again, the main character is focused more). I didn't like the idea of Sage being captured again, but it's a fairly decent two episodes. Cye has a lot of good lines in these, and makes fun of Kento a lot.

"LEGEND OF THE INFERNO ARMOR"
This one is four episodes long, and this time, the story's a lot more developed and less silly than the previous one (and a MUCH more formidable adversary). Rowen is off visiting Mia and Yuli and Cye is surfing with Kento. Ryo and Sage are nowhere to be found. Suddenly, an African landscape mystically appears in town, and a warrior named Mukala appears. Ryo arrives and battles him. Turns out he wears the Black Inferno Armor, and both white and black inferno armors want to go at each other (a yin vs. yang type story). The subplot with Cye no longer wanting to fight really bothered me because once again Cye gets screwed. I was really glad to see Rowen do more in this, however, and there's a slight romantic underplay between Rowen and Mia (there's also mentioning of Kento having a crush on her in this OVA). All in all, not a bad story, as the Warriors figure out they must defeat the two armors instead of Mukala himself.

I found that the animation is a lot better in these, and there's a lot less recycling of animation cells. The fights were a lot more fluid, and I liked how the storylines didn't drag as much as in the original series (not that that was a terrible thing, mind you, I like DBZ after all). I'm not sure if I should recommend this to any anime fan because most of you may find it outdated... to the Ronin Warrior die-hard, however, this is a must.

I love this series! the ova's are amazing, BUT, yes there is a but, everywhere i have read for the OVA 1 description, says something about Sage going to america, NYC, and Kento winning the lottery, and it;s called Gaiden...well this isn't the same DVD you get, you get the NEXT OVA, which is about the Inferno Armor. this sorta peeves me, cuz i really REALLY wanna see Gaiden...but i can't find it anywhere! ahh, but this is a great DVD, a must have. and yes i am a little peeved a the voice changes, and Ryo's name change, but it;s different, like they evolved or something...oooh the best thing to do, when watching the english dubbed version, is put on the subtitles, Totally different dialogue...=)

This is an EXCELLENT DVD! I loved the ideas! I can't wait for the second one!

This is the story of how Sage has gone missing when he went to New York. The fact that he doesn't show up for Ryo's 16th birthday party worries the other four. When they go to New York, Kento and Rowen go head to head against Sage's armor! But the odd thing is, Sage isn't in it!. They meet a girl named Runa, and together, the six have to find Sage and rescue him without falling victim to the same thing!

The Legend of the Inferno armor is the best. (I love both of them, but this one is just amazing)The five armors are pulling the five Ronins to battle. The Ronins face off against the warroir Mukala. He is without armor and wields only a large boomerang, but he still whipps the all four of them,and then kidnapps Ryo and Sage! Cye seems to have lost the will to fight and leavs, so it's up to Mia, Kento, Yuli, and Rowen to find Ryo and Sage and bring them home safely. Which is harder than it sounds. The clash of the Inferno armors is going to be more difficult than anyone could have imagined.

The voices have all changed in their own way, not much on some, a lot on others. Ryo, Rowen's and Cye's all are pretty much the same. Kento and Sage, well, that's another story. Michael Donnovan only voices Cye in this. Sage is voiced by someone else and I personally like it! :) Kento sound way different. It's kind of hard to explain. He still speaks the same way, but his voice has changed incredibly. Everything that they messed up on the TV sieries has been fixed(ie. Sage's kanji is now grace, and Rowen's is now Wisdom). It's an excellent DVD, and I think all Ronin freaks, like me, should see it!:)

I'm willing to bet the main question on anyone's mind who is thinking of buying this OAV is: What about the english voices?! Well, here's the thing- if you are a Cye/Shin, Rowen/Touma, Ryo fan, you're in luck, my friend! Cye voice is exactly the same! Ryo's is the next best and while Rowen's is just a tad off, it's still Rowen! Sage and Kento, on the other hand... Ayi. *shudders* They're not bad voices, but for the characters, or if your used to to old voices, they just don't work.
I think this OAV is absolutely fantastic! (even if it's a little chessey in the dialog department)The Inferno series animation is BEST I have seen throughout the entire series! Absolutely beautiful. Cye/Shin has some serious talking-time in this series as well, which I, *ahem* greatly approve of. :)
My only beef with this series is the changing of the Virtues, and the pronunciation of Ryo's name and Surekill,('Fury of Wildfire'? 'Rio'?) *shudders* Makes me grind my teeth every time I hear it. I understand changing Ryo's names, his surekill, and their virtues probably makes it more correct, but if it's been said wrong in 39 episodes, from 20+ years ago, KEEP IT WRONG!! Please!
And they call Mukara 'Mukala'? What's up with that?
All in All- Fantastic series!!! Recommended to any Ronin/YST fan with high marks!! And Bandai did a really good job. :)Many thanks!!

I originally saw these in their orginal japanese format, unsubbed at all. So when they came out on dvd I was excited.

First off, the voices are different, which is to be expected. But the differences are not just there. Names are pronounced differently, the 5 virtues are different, and a number of smaller things have changed. Also, the subbing is very hoaky on Gaiden sometimes.

The 2nd series on the disk is much better and a bit clearer on what's going on. All in all it's not a bad DVD, just produced poorly.

I originally saw these in their orginal japanese format, unsubbed at all. So when they came out on dvd I was excited.

First off, the voices are different, which is to be expected. But the differences are not just there. Names are pronounced differently, the 5 virtues are different, and a number of smaller things have changed. Also, the subbing is very hoaking on Gaiden sometimes.