Customer Reviews

Samurai 7: Box Set (Viridian Collection)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Samurai 7 the Viridian Collection has all 26 episodes, is in a widescreen format, has clear audio and great graphics. The fight sceens are very detailed and so fast that you'd have to watch them in slow-mo to truly appreciate the detail. It has a good story line and you'll love all of the characters.
This series takes place in a futuristic world that's just suffered through a massive war. All the villages are controlled or terrorized by the Nobuseri bandits. These men were once Samurai but chose to become machines in order to be more powerful. All the villages are suffering. The villagers are starving because the Nobuseri are taking all the rice they grow; though some villagers tried to rebel against this injustice they were too weak and paid dearly.
But one village has no other choice but to try and resist the Nobuseri or they will surely parish. The elder decides the only way they'll have a chance is to hire 7 strong samurai to help them. The village sends it's water priestess, Kirara, to find these men and bring them to the village.

There are many adventures and quite a bit of intrigue in the royal merchant court. Only by watching this series from start to finish will you discover how and if these samurai can save the village.
I suggest this series to anyone who loves swordfights, adventure and good clean fun. It's a good series for anyone over the age of 13, due to some graphic violence. For $28.00 it'd be a shame to let this series go by.

Absolutely, Akira Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI is one of the great films of all time, and, in attempting a remake, one would require a hefty set of stones, as well as ample funding and talent. In 2004, with the approval of Akira Kurosawa's estate, a top notch anime version, SAMURAI 7, was created and debuted on Japanese television. In this DVD box set, we get the entire series, consisting of 26 episodes on 7 discs. SAMURAI 7 takes Akira Kurosawa's original masterpiece and transports it from the 16th century to a war ravaged, sci-fi future setting. However, the tweaked storyline still chronicles the tale of seven samurai who come to the aid of a tormented farming village that has been subjugated by bandits; this time, however, the bandits are the Nobuseri, mechanically-integrated predators who themselves were once samurai.

You don't need to have seen the 1954 film to enjoy SAMURAI 7, though viewers of both will make rapid connections between the two. The makers of this anime did a great job of instilling into their project the same heart and intent of the original SEVEN SAMURAI. This isn't just a meaningless point A to point B anime action flick. Emphasis is thoughtfully placed on character and plot development as we actually get to know the players in this series, from the ragtag samurai, which the last great war has largely reduced to a jobless and purposeless state, to the lowly farmers, who are insular, abhor fighting, and fear the samurai almost as much as the bandits.

Although palpable throughout the series, it's in the samurai's stay at the Kanna village where the distinction between the two social classes become most pronounced as the bushido code clashes with the villager's less "noble" but infinitely more realistic principles. The bridge between the two castes lies in the form of Kikuchiyo, the boorish but exuberant mechanical samurai who used to be a farmer; this was the role originated by the great Toshiro Mifune. Don't get me wrong, this animated Kikuchiyo version doesn't even come close to bringing to the table what Mifune did. It just underscores how bigger than life Mifune made his character that this incarnation actually had to be in a mechanical shell to halfway compete. Honestly, Kikuchiyo here is adequate and, at times, nerve grating.

But there comes a time when plot and character development must give way to serious hind kicking. And, in these moments, the samurai do NOT mess around. The action scenes are astounding! You almost believe a regular-sized guy can take out a mechagiant. These key sequences are significantly emphasized by the blood-pumping score, which uses a healthy dose of Japanese taiko drums. The animation is very, very nice to look at, even if, at times, the CG doesn't quite harmonize with the 2-d animation.

Along with the sci-fi trappings, there are a few other significant changes that were made from Kurosawa's original film. There's a more impactful role played by the love interest Kirara the water priestess, as well as the introduction of her younger sister Komachi, who, along with Kikuchiyo, serves as comedy relief (Kirara and Komachi, by the way, are also Japanese brands of rice). Another change made is that, here, the samurai actually take the battle beyond the village bandits. But, listen, even with the sci-fi elements, the cool animation, the awesome battle scenes, I feel that the best thing about SAMURAI 7 is that it somehow retains the humanity of the original film. This really is anime for grown ups. The ending is still appropriately bittersweet as, ultimately, it's the villagers who win. There will always be harvests and harvest songs for the farmers. The samurai, on the other hand, just drift away. And the samurai leader, Shimada Kambei, who claims to have lost every war he's been in, has just lost another one...

I started to watch this series, DVD by DVD, and was really enjoying it. It is the Seven Samurai in anime form. But they expanded on the story, so in the end the Samurai go after who is behind the bandits. It can get pretty bloody and sometimes very emotional. But there is also tons of action and lots of battles. Swords and guns, robots and warriors, flying cities and hover cars. Great stuff, as the rest of the reviews have pointed out.
The reason I finally got the complete set, even after getting many of the individual DVDs was it was cheaper to buy the whole set, getting all the DVDs, then it was getting the last three DVDs to complete my collection. The advantage is the fact that the Complete Set costs less then most single DVDs. The only sad part is the individual discs each came with a booklet of interviews and information. And the Complete Set did not come with any extra material. On the other hand it will take up less space than buying all seven discs. But you only get one commentary no matter which way you collect the series. In other words, the DVDs are the same, with all the same photo galleries, character profiles, and trailers.
So I had to drop a star. When you put out a complete set it should have extras the other DVDs don't. At least I think so.

At the time, I purchased this anime set because I was just getting into anime, and a friend recommended getting this series. Samurai 7, very briefly, is about a group of villagers who go to the city to recruit seven samurai to help the villagers rebel against the Nobuseri. Obviously there is more to it than that, but that's what the series is based on.
I didn't want to get into a lot of the storyline, or what this series is actually based off of, because a lot of other reviewers have already hit those areas. Instead I want to focus on the things that I liked and disliked in this series.

By far the graphics and the music is what makes this anime awesome. Some of the fight scenes are just ridiculously beautiful looking. I am not sure if it CGI or not, but the series is worth watching just for its breath taking fight scenes. The music is well orchestrated and flows just as beautifully well with the amazing picture. The story is pretty solid, though I was surprised at how they could stretch it out that long. This anime could have ended with a lot fewer episodes, but then it wouldn't have been as good. After a while some of the episodes become dry and boring, and you can tell where the storyline is going. It's obvious that the creators wanted the series to go longer, and thus its gets dull at parts.

That is my main beef with this series, and my other beef is with the characters and character development. Some of the characters are awesome and their development over the series gets better as it goes on. Kambei for example is just all around the likeable aged hero, and Katsushiro, as the series progresses, goes from being a dolt to a great warrior. But some of the characters are downright annoying. Kikuchiyo the cyborg has some pretty silly one-liners. And some of the other seven warriors aren't even in the series that much!

All in all, this anime is pretty decent. The storyline is very one sided, and the fact that it gets stretched over 26 episodes makes the anime seem boring at times. The characters could have been done better as well. However, the amazing drawing and battle scenes really make up for the depressing parts of the series. Honestly, I would say rent or buy this cheap, because there is a lot of hype behind this series, but at $25, that's not a bad price. I am going to get rid of my copy, just because I can never actually see myself watching it again.

To begin, I was extremely pleased with the quality of disks and artwork of jackets and casing. Most of the disks even featured well-placed animated menus with appropriate music. However, some of the later discs lacked the animated menus, and I would label the entire set as lacking in extra features. The commentaries were limited, which isn't a huge problem to me, but they were spoken by the english voice actors, which I thought to be rather upsetting. No "making of" information or conceptual art. What it does deliver are an increasing number of funimation advertisements and our favorite "Mr. Stain" shorts, which can be amusing, but were rather oddly placed. Still, the discs were of high quality, and the cover art was quite spectacular. Samurai 7 is an excellent show, and a must view for fans of anime or Akira Kurosawa (although Kurosawa himself might not have been too thrilled with the additions to the addaptation). I am impressed with the depth of the characters and the stunning animation. I was overall pleased with the production.

I have always been a lover of anime, but this one is one of my favorites. I saw a few of the episodes about six years ago and just couldn't pass this opportunity up. I must say that I still LOVE it. The action is well-choreographed and there is good meat to the storyline. None of the characters just hang out in the background while others bask in the glory. Each character has their own past(some grittier than others)demons to deal with. Each character grows throughout the series instead of remaining stagnant.

My family (who aren't anime buffs like myself)actually watched this show with me for the two days it took us to finish it. So if you like samurais, kick butt action, and a deep storyline, and well dimensioned characters purchase this boxed set. You won't regret it.

I'll be honest and say that when I ordered Samurai 7, I wasn't really expecting to get Kurosawa's brilliance encapsulated in animated form. That said, the great man himself was fond of trying the impossible and I believe that he would have found the basic theory of the idea perfectly acceptable.

For my review I'm going to assume that you've watched the original movie, Kurosawa's 1954 classic "The Seven Samurai", a period movie set in the 16th century in Feudal Japan. A period of great unrest, many of the Samurai were forced to turn Ronin, masterless soldiers willing to fight to the death for a bowl of rice and a cup of water. Seven restless warriors turn their hands to defending a village of helpless peasants not for honour, not for profit - for all the rice they can eat.

Samurai 7 preserves that basic idea, but the details of the story are chopped around. You'll recognise each of the seven and some of the peasants too, but the rather wet love interest in Kurosawa's work is replaced by a stern young priestess and her irrepressible young sister. Whacky hijinks ensue. More time is spent on each of the characters backstories and additional plot arcs are whacked in around and beneath that central plank that is the spine of the story.

The writing is good, the dubbed version is actually pretty watchable and the animation itself mixes traditional and CGI elements acceptably, if not seamlessly. Although the tale twists and turns a bit, the bad guys are the bad guys and the good guys are always the good guys - and the central tenets enthroned in Kurosawa's work are held up here too - Loyalty, Bravery and daring to make a difference.

That said, this IS an action Anime show. The replacement of the eyepatch wearing and horse riding bandits with giant Mecha and battleships stretches credibility at times. You really have to understand Zen and Bushido to 'get' why the sword of a true Samurai can affect the biggest of these gigantic foes - even then it can look a little over the top. It is undeniable, however, that the makers had a healthy respect for the original work and looking for the many little homages that are densely scattered within this 'reimagining' of the original story warms the heart of an old fan.

I heartily recommend this Anime for any Seven Samurai fanatic or Otaku who likes action and Mecha anime. If you haven't seen the original movie and aren't a fan of mecha anime I rather more cautiously recommend it. If you're simply a fan of well made Anime looking for a new series, you can do a lot worse than try this out - especially at this price.

Above all, if you haven't seen the Kurosawa film and you really enjoyed this anime - go buy it!

Please excuse the sacriligous writing you are about to read. This movie might be as good as the original perhaps even better. The action was top notch and unpredicatble. The art, writing, comedy, romance, cutenesss, and interesting facts were enjoyable; it has everything. I missed watching it once it ended. The writing was very modern so was the dubbing. If you have not seen the original The Seven Samurai black and white movie I recommed that you see that first. Everything in this movie will matter more. I felt much closer to the characters in this version. But, this is an unfair comparison due to the 600 minute running time. This might be one of the best animes ever made. Without question there is no american made animated series that is as good as this. I just finished seeing it so I could be slightly biased or enlightened who knows.

This is the anime equivalent to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. There are many differences like the steampunk influence and flying ships but the story remains the same. Peasants are hiring samurai to stand up to the bandits so they don't have to live in fear. This is a wonderful adaptation to Kurosawa's work and I've enjoyed watching it for years. This anime is one to put on your must see list!!!

Well, what can I say? Samurai and mecha like samurai? Bring it on!
This series, based obviously on Kurosawa's tale, covers the journey of a couple of villagers trying to save their village, and the Samurai who join them.
the story and the detail, both, are of the highest quality.
The sound, as well, is very good. If the series is lacking, in any way, it is in the same manner that most anime lack.
That is the apparent need to have one or two "cute" or humorous or buffoonish type characters, that while intending to bring levity to the series, in fact bring it down a slight notch as there presence, to me, distracts from the tale being told.
Apart from that gripe, I found this series compelling and almost too difficult to stop watching until the series was complete.