Customer Reviews

Samurai Deeper Kyo - Sea of Trees (Vol. 3)

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

 

 

This has been a 'samurai' series with quite a few odd twists. So I was a bit surprised that this DVD actually returns to the mainstream. That is, lots of fights with people making fighting moves that require shouting out strange names like 'bug eating loon' (I made that up). In retrospect, it is pretty well done, but in a story that hands out complexity like popcorn. The more character development, the better. In this set of episodes, most characters develop in the context of their battles, which can be a bit confusing.

The primary source of opponents is the Jyunishinshou clan. In normal Japanese legend these were 12 generals who guarded the Buddha. But in this alternate history they are kenyou (monsters) who carry out the wishes of their lord. Everybody gets to fight them, and they don't always lose. They, and Kyo are in a desperate race to find Kyo's real body. Who wins will determine the fate of the world.

In addition Sasuke Sarutobe makes his real debut with his own Muramasa blade. Sasuke has appeared so far as a ninja in the service of Yukimore Sanada. Now he moves into center stage as a full player. Of course, he challenges Kyo to find out whose Muramasa is Tenrou, on of the 'true' Muramasa's. After a spectacular fight the two men settle into an uneasy truce, as Sasuke undertakes to lead Kyo to the Sea of Trees.

The pieces I haven't quite fit together is that this series is the retelling of Ieyasu Tokugawa's rise to power, and the aftermath of those events. Everyone bad and good is taking part in a story that is part history and part invented legend. All of this is to a purpose, but it has yet to come completely clear. It may take more familiarity with the Shogunate's history to catch all the references. The liner notes do their best, but sometimes they make things even more complex.

This series continues to be intriguing on many levels. But I have to repeat an earlier warning. The dubbing is horrid, Mostly due to the compulsive use of heavy accents to differential character types. I found the English so hard to listen to that I gave up and stuck with the Japanese and subtitles. I suggest you do the same.

This dvd is great, although not as good as the last. They go to the sea of trees. There aren't any plot twists, but there are a lot of fights. There is still a story. We also get to see an episode for Benitora. This dvd has the best animation to date though. The battles are also clever. One more thing... Mahiro doesn't make that much of an appearence. You know what they say, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. 5 stars though. 5 stars.

Every time a large group of anime characters wanders off into a forest, they're inevitably going to split up and end up fighting individual baddies one at a time. That pretty much describes all of "Samurai Deeper Kyo - Sea of Trees," which bounces merrily into a round of fairly impressive fights and the final revelation of who "His Majesty" is. Too bad it's saddled with some horribly sentimental moments and a weird "demon portal" subplot.

Since he apparently has nothing better to do, Benitora goes wandering off to pay homage to the grave of his late master. There he encounters his old classmate Mekira, now a member of the J'nishinsh' -- and since he also killed their master, Benitora is understandably eager to kill HIM. Meanwhile, Kyo's little group encounters Sasuke, a preteen ninja with a sword that looks exactly like Kyo's (cue battle to see whose is the real one), who has been sent to guide them to the Sea of Trees.

Unfortunately, soon they're fighting a new round of kenyou warriors sent by His Majesty (worst supervillain name EVER) -- and Sasuke is confronted by an old friend from his pre-Yukimura days, who is now helping the kenyou. Kyo is forced to fight two kenyou at once (childlike Antera and gay hulk Bikara) only to lose a member of his party to the J'nishinsh'.

"Samurai Deeper Kyo - Sea of Trees" is a much smoother ride than the last couple DVDs -- there aren't as many still shots, and the focus is on the fighting rather than convoluted fantasy story. It also serves to introduce Sasuke, who's a pretty awesome character: a silver-haired preteen who is almost as fight-happy as Kyo, and is pretty clearly the second-coolest character of the series.

Unfortunately... the story is still pretty messy. The plot is full of holes (how come Yukimura isn't a kenyou if he was at Sekigahara?!), about-faces (so sudden the kenyou are "just people too"?), and the fights keep getting interrupted so the J'nishinsh' can bicker/whimper sentimentally over each other. Seriously. For some reason when Bikara and Antera are crying and hugging, Kyo just stands there and stares. Even Benitora's moment of glory is tainted by a mushy "true strength comes from within" message. Blech.

What's more, Sakura drops a big fat "here's the whole point of the series" speech at the end of the last episode... and very little of what she says actually makes any sense. It feels like the writers are making stuff up as they go along.

Sasuke and Benitora are the ones who get the most attention here -- we see where the preteen ninja came from and how he came to serve Yukimura (and his smile when they first meet is simply adorable), as well as some history on Benitora's wandering days. Unfortunately, Kyo spends most of these episodes glowering and frowning, Yuya is there just to be a damsel, and Okuni is.... well, there's no real reason for her to be there.

As for the newer characters... well, the J'nishinsh' tend to be more goofy than frightening, although they do provide some good fight scenes. Sasuke's big-haired ex-friend Kotaro is much creepier -- he seems to have a stalkerish gay crush on a kid who's only twelve (and was only seven when he left!). Ew.

"Samurai Deeper Kyo - Sea of Trees" is the best part of the series thus far, but it stumbles over the goopier parts of the story. Enough with the melodrama! More fights!