Customer Reviews

Samurai Deeper Kyo: Complete Collection

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

 

 

This is a surprising twist on the Samurai legends of arising in the battles that marked the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate. In the carnage of the critical battle of Sekigahara a feared Samurai - Demon Eyes Kyo - comes face to face with another powerful swordsman - Kyoshiro Mibu. Just as Kyoshiro took the upper hand for the last time, they are struck by a meteor. All that is left is some dust and Kyo's sword - Murimasa.

The scene shifts to years later, and we find Kyoshiro in the part of a feeble minded itinerant apothecary, seeming the innocent victim of his own misadventures. Then the intervention of Yukimora Saneda triggers a terrifying change, and Demon Eyes Kyo's spirit regains consciousness - in the body of Kyoshiro. Suddenly we are catapulted into a drama of clan warfare, demonic ninjas and balletic (and ballistic) swordsmanship.

What makes this story even more unusual is that it quickly becomes apparent that appearances and reality shift without warning. At first Kyo seems evil, but then we get glimpses of something deeper. Is this the influence of the unconscious Kyoshiro? Or is the relationship between the two of them something else entirely.

In fact, motivations are a constant theme in the interplay of characters in this brilliant bit of Japanese alternate history as Kyo goes on a quest for his original body, which has been magically preserved. Gradually a group of followers gather around Kyo, but they are not all there for altruistic reasons. And support sometimes comes from those who appear to be enemies. Inevitably, this one man's quest for revenge turns out to have world-shaking repercussions

I found the dubbing persistently irritating, not just because of mistranslation and some dubious acting. Reaching for authenticity, the dubbers chose to use various American and foreign accents to simulate the regional Japanese accents of the original. It doesn't come over all that well (especially the character who sounds like Dracula). I wound up listening to the Japanese with subtitles; this is actually a stronger experience.

Everything else is superb. Art, animation, choreography of the fight scenes, and character strength are levels above the current standard for samurai fight anime. While not the least bit like Rerouni Kenshin, this series is the first real competitor for the top spot in the genre. And unlike the picaresque Kenshin, Kyo is the very height of attitude. Add in a tremendous, dramatic finish and you have every ingredient for a top anime series.

Overall this is a good series. It follows its storyline through from first episode to last without any irrelevant filler episodes along the way.

I disagree with those who say that it is similar to Rurouni Kenshin - it really is not, apart from the obvious connection that both series deal with samurai. The way topics are treated, the direction of the storyline, the nature of the characters, and even the historical setting are all quite different. I do however believe and agree that those who enjoyed Kenshin will also most likely enjoy Kyo.

The quality of the drawings are nice though not earth shattering for the most part. It is the animation that is something of a let down in most situations however - many still shots, and the combat scenes in particular were... less than spectacular. Sure, even Kenshin had its moments of animation stinginess, but they were not so numerous, and furthermore in key moments the team there would really rise above and beyond the average level of animation for a television series.

So, you will not really be watching Samurai Deeper Kyo if you are expecting a visual tour de force, what you will be watching for is the storyline and development of the characters. The story is fairly creative, and does hold surprises along the way. There are some interesting characters here who will hold your interest, and pique your curiosity.

One thing in the progression that was left somewhat undeveloped were the more, traditionally anime, humourous sections - they appear in the first few episodes and then rarely thereafter. This does not detract from the enjoyment, but it certainly does smack of an idea that was abandoned during production. Perhaps it was for the best, but it could be debated. Also, the music in the series is largely a let down, and does not do much to help it along. Fortunately it is fairly unobtrusive!

Ultimately this was an enjoyable series - it never has any pretentions to be anything else - that largely succeeds in completing its story and should please fantasy enthusiasts.

I thought this anime was extremely well done even though it is very different from the manga. Kyo is a character you have to learn to like. Kyo's outward appearances gives you the impression that he is a mean ass who doesn't care about anything except finding his body and killing Kyoshiro. But if you look deeper into him, there's just something more to him than meets the eye. He may act like he doesn't care, but in reality he does. He just doesn't know how to express it in a way that doesn't make it seem like he doesn't care. I love Kyo's character. I thought it was well developed. The anime is great. There is a plot line. It's not confusing at the end like some reviewers said. If you watch the anime in Japanese with English subtitles, it's much easier to follow and understand. I first watched the anime in English and didn't catch everything. I rewatched it again, this time in Japanese with english subs and I understood the whole plot and everything. This is an anime worth watching.

It is totally different from Rurouni Kenshin. I have seen both and they are great animes. You can't compare those two together and say this one is better than the other because they are both great animes and those who do compare the two animes, why? They are excellent animes, each in their own way.

I highly recommend this anime.

I really can't find anything redeeming about this anime. The animation, plot, dialogues and music are subpar. There's so many still shots and panning that it's dizzying watching some of the scenes. This anime is definitely not geared towards viewers used to quality anime. I do not recommend this at all.

This is an awesome anime series. For anyone who loves Samurai, Ninja and feudal Japan settings, they will love this. It reminded me more of Ninja Scrolls than Kenshin. Action packed. Highly recommended.

First of all, why do so many people compare Kyo to Kenshin? That's like comparing apples to oranges! Anyway... I got the boxed set for my birthday and let me tell you, DO NOT WATCH THIS IN ENGLISH! The dubbing is straight terrible! You're better off watching it with the Japanese track turned on with English subtitles. Also, the story line makes more sense when reading the English subs than listening to the English dubs.

Overall, the anime heavily detracted from the manga since they didn't have much to work with at the time. Overall, the ending is therefore wrapped up too fast and is kinda trite, but the majority of the story is ok, focusing a lot on character development.

Oh, and about the characters declaring their moves before laying the smack down, some find it annoying, but doesn't it make sense for those watching the duel to know what killed the poor opponent? Voice of the phoenix! Suzaku! ^_^

At the battle of Sekigahara, the infamous Demon Eyes Kyo fought against Kyoshiro Mibu. Then a CGI meteor hit, samurai turned into monsters, and Kyo and Kyoshiro ended up being roommates in the same body.

Unfortunately, the adaptation of Akimine Kamijyo's "Samurai Deeper Kyo" doesn't really improve after that. That the scriptwriters threw out most of the manga's storyline, shuffled around what was left, and threw in a bunch of ugly shapeshifting monsters. The result is a bizarre, strangely scattered anime that's riddled with plot holes and bizarre action scenes (porn nurses? Space ninjas?).

Four years after Sekigahara, bounty hunter Yuya Shiina nabs a minor criminal, the harmless wandering medicine man Kyoshiro Mibu. But she soon finds out that Kyoshiro has another personality inside him -- Demon Eyes Kyo. And though Kyoshiro is usually the dominant personality, it doesn't take long for Kyo to come out (seemingly for good).

Oh, and unsurprisingly Kyo wants his body back, but doesn't know where it is. He and Kyoshiro also seem to have a connection to a young woman named Sakuya.

But it turns out that there are a lot of people (and monstrous shapeshifting kenyou) entangled with Kyo/Kyoshiro as well -- along with the femme fatale Okuni and ambitious ex-general Yukimura Sanada, Kyo and Yuya venture into the deadly Sea of Trees to find a mysterious man known as "His Majesty," but must fight a group of superpowered kenyou who guard him. And from there they set out to attack the powerful Mibu clan, who have their own plans for Kyo's powerful body.

For the record: an anime adaptation doesn't have to be slavishly faithful to the manga for me to enjoy it. But it DOES have to make sense. And unfortunately "Samurai Deeper Kyo" doesn't make sense -- it's like the writers crammed the manga into a blender, threw in a bunch of generic monsters, and never bother to actually make one thing logically follow another.

The first half of the series is downright lazy -- everytime something interesting happens, it turns out to be the fault of the kenyou. Then suddenly the entire focus shifts to the Mibu clan... just in time for the series to get hastily wrapped up in the most absurd manner possible. As a result, the series is a surreal, clumsy mess, full of gaping plot holes, hit-or-miss fights (a deadly fighter just STANDS there while Yukimura sprints several yards and stabs him?), and half-baked political tangles. Even the humor is wrong -- funny moments like Yukimura's gleeful "the plan... is a secret!" are always a beat off.

It also seems like the animators were either clumsy or lazy -- the episodes are crammed with still shots (especially for simple stuff like talking and walking) and dismally obvious errors. On the other hand, the outtakes are brilliant -- Dan Green is especially fun ("I gotta pee!"), but almost everybody produces some hilarious stuff ("Mizuchi is blowing from inside you..." "Excuse me, I just had a burrito")

Even the characters don't work, though they're fascinating in concept. Kyo is introduced as a bloodthirsty, terrifying man... but not only does the "thousand man slayer" hardly ever kill anybody, but he becomes a sentimental mushball at random times. The same thing happens to the fight-happy goofball Benitora (I thought he hated his dad?). Yukimura is a far more interesting character -- a laid-back nobleman who always seems cheerful and flirtatious), but can be as deadly as Kyo.

"Samurai Deeper Kyo" had plenty of promise, but for some reason the writers went out of their way to squander every shred of it.

As the title says, anyone expecting this to be like Kenshin will probably be disappointed, but this series is worth a watch. One of the things that I really loved about this series is the fact that it has a hero that you love to hate and hate to love. Demon Eyes Kyo. Basically a jerk through much of the series you can't help but to find yourself loving him, and hoping that at some point he finally gets his body back and kills Kyoshiro. Who knew that cheering for the villaing could be so much fun?!

After reading several "sterling" reviews of this series, I decided I would go ahead and take the plunge. I am extremely happy that I did. I love Japanese history and this is an especially awesome time period featured in this anime. All I can say about the reviews I read that said "Nothing Like Kenshin", yes...you're 100% right. At the same time, why would you want something like Kenshin? Kenshin is its own story and it is very good, but why would you want another anime just like it? Each writer has their own creative vision...this particular story was written NOT to be like "Kenshin" or Ninja Scroll or any other anime. For that it was a great show. The characters are believable, and yes there are twists and turns...but...WHAT story is good that you know the ending before the beginning? All this to say...if you look at the main title "Samurai Deeper Kyo", and watch the whole series...you will understand that maybe the title wasn't quite written correctly and maybe should've read... "Kyo: A Deeper Samurai." For those who are into this historical period of Japan. You will understand. To the rest...content yourselves with not buying the series if you're looking for a regurgitation of another series...anyway you look at it you will be disappointed.

As already stated, nothing like Kenshin. I liked most of the storyline, the weird looking monsters sort of looked out of place, (maybe because i wanted something more like Kenshin) But overall i liked watching the series up until the last episodes, which was pretty far-fetched and seemed to tie up the loose ends, or confuse you so much you don't care anymore.... in that case it reminds me of Kenshins' episodes after he defeats Shishio.... Sometimes when a writer can't stretch it anymore, you end up with a few episodes that are worthless.

Again.... This show is worthwhile... but the ending was not. My advice is to preview the whole thing first, (maybe just skip the last episode lol) maybe you'll really like it, maybe you'll be happier you didn't spend $100+ when you really wanted something more like Kenshin ^_^