Anime The official Samurai X (not Rurouni Kenshin) thread. WARNING SPOILERS

[Magnum Apex]

[font=trebuchet ms][color=darkblue]Some of us always strive to enjoy the best of the best. We want to get the top quality on whatever it is we enjoy doing. In the case of anime, followers look for that one masterpiece that grabs our hearts and takes it for a roller coaster ride. A story so perfect and so deep that can reach even the most simple-minded, cold-hearted of individuals. A cast of characters so rich and lifelike that is capable of blending reality and fiction. An anime so complete that conveniently fits into our concept of perfection.

This anime is the culmination of the story of Rurouni Kenshin, [i]Samurai X: Reflection[/i].

I'm positive that, like me, some of you have watched the complete television series of Rurouni Kenshin. There is no denying that it is one of the most drawing series in television, period. It isn't without its flaws, but the strong events that took place in the story were deep enough to leave a mark on us lucky viewers. For 80% of that strength, watch the Shishio saga, the undeniably highest point in the series.

However, there's a lot more to tell about Kenshin than what has been shown on television worldwide. Enter Samurai X.

Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal tell the story of the Hitrokiri Battousai, Himura Kenshin, before the start of the series. They were released as 4 OAV episodes in Japan, and ADV has released them on VHS and DVD in America. These are amazing series that no one should miss. Any Kenshin fan must watch it. They are superior to the TV series. Still, this thread focuses not on the beginning, but on the end...

[I]Samurai X: Reflection[/I] was released by ADV just a few days ago. It tells, in two half-hour OAVs, the final chapter in the story of Rurouni Kenshin. Don't worry; I won't spoil anything for you. Even though I accidentally read the outcome beforehand, the whole two episodes are packed with so many strong scenes, that I just couldn't help but cry and be shocked, amazed, angered and surprised all at the same time.

If anyone sees this DVD in stores, buy it. If you have yet to watch the series, I suggest that you do; then, watch the first 4 OAVs, and then watch Reflection. You will regret watching Reflection earlier.

There are a few key flashbacks throughout the episodes that just hit you with a nostalgic force that one can hardly avoid. The level of emotional stress I felt far surpassed anything I've ever seen on a television or theater screen, anime or not. There are Neon Genesis Evangelions, there are Boogiepop Phantoms, Serial Experiments Lain, and then at the top, crushing them all with a swift blow... is Samurai X: Reflection.

One won't get the full enjoyment of the OAVs if one hasn't gone through the ups and downs of the story the TV series tells. Regardless, you will enjoy its greatness. I guarantee it. I give you my word.

Finally... I didn't want the emotional feeling to run out while typing this. See, I just watched it... my face is still red, and my eyes are quite tired.[/color][/font]

[center][img]http://members.lycos.co.uk/lodcyke/hpbimg/Samurai%20X.jpg[/img]

[i]Samurai X: Reflection[/i][/center]

[size=1]*I felt this deserved its own thread, since the topic isn't about the TV series, but the ending OAVs.[/size]

[Kyo no Ryu]

So who else saw these OVAs and this movie and loved them? This is for all of them. Post about the ones youve seen and dont read posts about ones you havent.

[B]Samura X The Motion Picture[/B]
I really liked this movie. Very bloody which is always to my liking. We get to see the ultra awesome Saito and the guy I feel sorry for, Sanosuke, in battle. the movie is truly good but its too dramatic for the fact that it isnt sad.

[B]Samurai X Reflections[/B]
This was very sad. Yet very good. It had some nice battle scenes and it was coo how Sano saved him, well, sorta. [spoiler] It was extremely sad to have the knoledge burt into my head that Kenshin is dead and RK is over.[/spoiler]. Poor Kaoru. Maybe theyll continue the series with Kenji...

[B]Samurai X Trust/Betrayal[/B]
This was awesome. Period. Im tired and cannot say any more so bye bye.

[Ares]

I saw the Kenshin motion picture. It was pretty good. I plan on seeing the other two in Japanese on my PC. I just am so excited. I hear they're really good. Samurai X rocks!!!!!!
(by the way, they're bringing out Kenshin manga in November I believe to the states.)

[WW2]

Heh, Samurai X: The Motion Picture wasn't really a RK OVA, since it was made by the same people who did the series.

As for the real OVA's they were awsome. I first bought Trust/Betrayal back when they were first released a couple of years ago.
This was before I even knew what RK was.
After watching it, I was hooked. I don't think there was anything I didnt' like about the series.

Then I was really surprised when I first started watching the RK series since the violence was really toned down, and some comedy was added. But I still loved it, and went on to buy the entire series.

Oh, and Reflection was really good too. I was happy to see Enishi, finally animated. Even if it was only for about 15 minutes. The ending, although sad, was also very good. A fitting end to a great series.:D

[Kyo no Ryu]

Wha???Nobuhiro Watsuki aint dead.... is he??? I hope not... I wish I had the cash to buy the whole series... but thats crazy, Im crazy. Keep em coming folks...

[Dagger]

Meh. Trust & Betrayal has amazing action, and truly delicious amounts of blood and gore. The story didn't really draw me in, though, and the dub just about put me to sleep. Subtlety is one thing; utter lack of expression is something entirely different.

Are the Japanese voices the same as those in the RK series? I own the director's cut, but I haven't watched it subbed yet, which is slightly shameful.

Although Trust & Betrayal is more mature and realistic than RK, I find that RK (despite its many flaws) is simply more likeable. Or maybe it's just that the characters show a wider range of emotion.

I plan on eventually seeing Reflection. Hopefully it'll make up for the TV show's incredibly crappy ending.

~Dagger~

[craig8429]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Eternal Otaku [/i]
[B]Wha???Nobuhiro Watsuki aint dead.... is he??? I hope not... I wish I had the cash to buy the whole series... but thats crazy, Im crazy. Keep em coming folks... [/B][/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure he hit the bucket, thats why seshoushin was made by other creators.

[IkkiMechaPilot]

I remeber whatching four OVAs a while ago and loving them but im not sure if they are part of all the samurai X or not so i know theres the 96 episode show but what else is there to slear up my confusion.

[Vash's girl]

I got a promo poster of Samaraui X from suncoast like 3 years ago. I rented the first movie of the series and loved it! It was great! I never watch RK and was shocked when I found out they were somehow related. I noticed the characters look alike (slighty) but what's deal between the 2 shows. I've wondering this for like a year, just never bothered to ask.

[Dagger]

Trust & Betrayal is the prequel to Rurouni Kenshin. Reflection is the sequel. Samurai X: The Movie comes somewhere in the middle of the series, and isn't really connected to the other OVAs.

Trust & Betrayal and Reflection are drawn in a much darker, more realistic style than RK, which has more colorful, flamboyant character designs. For example, in the OVAs, Kenshin's eyes are dark brown. In the TV series, his eyes are bright purple.

Samurai X: The Movie is stylistically similar to RK, and looks nothing like the other OVAs. The "Samurai X" label is something the American distributor just randomly tacked onto Trust & Betrayal and Reflection.

~Dagger~

[Japan]

I saw Betrayal and Reflection from Samurai X. I thought that Betrayal was a bit on the bloody side. Reflection was sad. Though they are both really good. The series that is on Cartoon Network is very good too. I just like Kenshin all around.

[kenshinsbabe]

I saw the motion pic and I saw the series. I have to say, Reflection is the saddest thing I've ever seen. I was balling my eyes out for days. I really can't belive that[spoiler] Kenshin died like that. It was sad, refreshing, and, to tell you all the truth, I think I lost a bit of myself after watching Kenshin die.[/spoiler]Now that I've got that off my chest, I'm going to continue being in denial now.

P.S: How do you do the black liney thingy?

[color=hotpink][size=1]Edited to add spoiler tags. *QA*[/color][/size]

[Kyo no Ryu]

you press [spoiler*]then[/spoiler*]. I agree, I totally lost myself. When I saw that fatefull moment I just held back tears like crazy. It was hard too. It sucks that thw tiger died and Kenshin didnt[spoiler]live[/spoiler]

[Guest gendou ikari]

I rented this at a local blockbuster yesterday, I expected something similar to the OVA's but, what I got was a mix between the art in rorouni kenshin, and the dark character development in the Smurai X OVA's.

What intrigued me the most was the particuarly dark mood, this was nothing like the happy go lucky rorouni kenshin episode's, this was the reality and brutality of the meji restoration.

Samurai X, the motion picture does a wonderful job of portraying character emotions, and how two sides viewed the war. It follow's Gentasu's point of view, who leads a revolt against a british ambassador, Saito's point of view, who simply carries out his policemen duties, and Kenshin's view , a man caught in the middle of a desperate struggle for modernazation.

Heck, it was soo good, my own mother watched and enjoyed it with me.The plot is simple, as in all Kenshin based films but it is...Powerful, basically Gentasu and Kenshin are friends, who in the end, are forced to kill one another, what drives Gentatsu is the death of his best man, what drives Kenshin is his obvious sense for justice.

The art was very similar to Rorouni Kenshin's. while the dark mood was very similar to the Samurai X OVA's. It was a remarkable movie to say the least. At first the voice acting may seem a bit off (Yahiko sounds a bit older) but after the first 15 minutes you should get used to it.

It really captures the emotions and brutality of war, I strongly reccomend it. I would simply like to know what you think of it, who your favorite character is, and what your favorite part is.

My favorite character is Gentatsu because of his head strong attitude and his love for his men.

My favorite part is the battle in the courtyard (Blood bath), because it captures the brutality of war, and Gentatsu's lust for revenge.Below is the cover artwork, which is very well drawn.

[IMG]http://www.stseiya.com/animedvd/dv305eb.jpg[/IMG]

Thank you for your time, and Dzey Jenn.

[Kenshin_K]

I liked Samurai X,the motion picture, but it's been a few months since I've seen it. I do remember the voices, though. Yahiko sounded kinda like Sano and then Kenshin and Sano almost sounded like Yahiko. I thought it was kinda funny. I'll probably have to see the movie again to talk about it in-depth though.

[Guest gendou ikari]

..... :confused: ....I don't really think that Sanou and Kenshin sounded like Yahiko.
But that's really besides the point. I strongly reccomend that you rent it again, it is soo far, one of my favorite anime based movies.

My mother thought that the lighting and background effects were superb, but she hasn't seen that many anime's outside of Miyazaki's works.

The music was also well orchestrated and planned, and I enjoyed the old school style art. I watched it over today, and loved the prelude to the blood bath sean.

I was a little shocked, though, that Kenshin would call out ,"Flying dragon slash!" before one of his techniques, I was like "WTF! You just gave away your technique you jackass!" Besides this, rather embarrasing sean, I thought it was one of the best movies I had ever seen in a while.

[Flo]

I didn't like Yahiko voice in the movie it sounded to mature for him.Oh well.i've two of the Samuri X movies both are alsome.The only flaw I saw was the fact that the blood at thee begining didn't look right,i meanit just expoled right out and sounded like a deflating ballon.But beside that it was good.

[Shiguru]

AM I the only person who DIDN'T like Reflections? I like the manga ending MUCH better than that POS. I had a lot of problems with it from the get go. Enishi put to animation and the Jinei bout were the only really cool things about it.

I liked the series up until the 3rd season, then the whole Shimabara arc, Fung Shuei and Divine Medicine routine got retarded. Yes, the filler episodes were funny but the rest sucked.

Trust and Betrayl was my favorite part of the series. You had the ultra cool Battousai, the Shinsengumi Okita that we all know and love. But it had one person who intrigued me and got me to not like Kaoru as much: Tomoe Yukishiro.

Tomoe's relationship with Kenshin intrigued me with her character depth and cool Japanese voice (I've never seen it dubbed.) I like her relationship with Kenshin better than Kaoru's and how she seems so cool all the time. Lets not forget it had Hiko Seijuro XIII the coolest character in RK kicking *** (he made a guy EXPLODE).

[Flashlight]

Shiguru, you're definately not the only one who didn't like it. While the animation was again supurb, just like the first four OVA's, however, it was really just a waste in every other department. The first OVA was just a recap episode, which didn't really recap the series properly at all. The second was basically a quick sum up of the rest of the manga. I have to admit the ending was quite nice, the atmosphere and everything just fit in that scene. Unfortunately everything leading up to that did not.

The structure was broken and it was actually a bit unnerving for me to see Yahiko and Koaru drawn in a more realistic style (Though I got used to it).

Of course, with good animation the fight scenes looked spectacular, but I didn't see enough reasoning for them. Sure, there was a clear reason, but I just wish it could have been fleshed out more. I also wish some people (Especially Enishi) could have been given more time to develop as a character. Actually, the more I think about it, I wish they would have just skipped most of the manga and simply given us an ending. Though, then people would be complaining they skipped most of the manga.

In the voice acting department, the Seiyuu's did a fairly good job. I can't really complain. I never heard the dub track, so I can't comment on that either.

All in all, the only thing that I really liked about the Reflection OVA's was that they (finally) provided some closure to the series. Everything was really too rushed.

Also, this is a good a time as any to mention I hate the Samurai X title. The original titles were Rurouni Kenshin rather than Samurai X, ADV just decided to change the name (Thankfully they provided reversable covers). I like the subtitles (Trust and Betrayal, Reflections) it's just the name (And the fact Kenshin isn't a samurai) that irks me.

The movie was the first of Kenshin I ever saw, and on the of first anime titles I ever bought, so it carries some nostalgic feelings with it, but in truth the movie wasn't all that. The beginnng and the ending were the real highlights of the film, but the middle dragged and there were a lot of reused cells. I wish they had kept the japanese name for this one especially, which I believe is translated as: Requim For The Ishin Patriots. Anything with Requim in the title has to sound good :D

I loved J. Shannon Weaver as Kenshin though, and it's one of the rare times I prefer his voice to the original Seiyuu's. Unfortunately, the dub voice actors for everyone else didn't recieve the same feelings from me.

The original 4 OVAs (Trust and Betrayal) are among the best anime I have ever seen, from the musical score (Done by one of my favourite composers, Iwasaki Taku) to the story telling techniques to the animation (I thought the real and animated styles integrated well for the most part), it was all very well done.

There's not much I really can say, the only big con I can think of is the Seiyuu for Iizuka was just really bland and unemotional. The dub cast wasn't bad (Though the translation of the script could have been better. I realize they have to change sentances and such because english and japanese don't come out at the same length, but it could have been done better in some cases). Most of the Seiyuu's did an excellent job.

Trust and Betrayal are really something. Even though at first it seemed like a gore fest to me, it was marvalous to see how it unravelled into a love story. Truly something.

[Guest gendou ikari]

Trust and Betrayal was slightly disturbing, the artwork was dark , and so was the mood. The eyes were well done and showed an actual soul and emotions. The artwork was stunning and well done. I really liked how the characters actually looked japanese.I liked how it actually became a love story, also. Samurai X remains one of my favorites to this day.

[hitokiri shi]

I didn't really like Reflection either. We watched Trust & Betrayal in my Global class because they said it had a lot of historical facts in it. I have both Trust & Betrayal and Reflection. I want the motion picture but I haven't been able to get it...do to money shortage. It sounds good so far and I really do want to see it though. My favorite was Trust & Betrayal, it explained everything really good and the plot was set nicely. Yeah it did have it's flaws but I thought it was the best. Samurai X will always be one of my favorites.

[naota]

I love these dvd's.These are the dvd's showing how rurouni kenshin was when he was a kid and [spoiler]how he dies[/spoiler].They are 2 seperate titles.These dvd's are very intresting and tell a whole lot about rurouni kenshin.Even how he gets married and.................So I was just wondering if anyone has seen these dvd's?

[COLOR=#503F86][SIZE=1][b]Added spoiler tags. -Solo[/COLOR][/SIZE][/b]

[Japan]

[COLOR=navy]This should be in the anime lounge, but anywho...

I've seen both of these...including the last one of three part series of Samurai X. The name which escapes me. It is really good. I like how it has a much more serious tone than the more funny Rurouni Kenshin. It reminds me of the old samurai black and white movies. I thought that the movies were very well done, and I reallly enjoyed these anime movies.[/COLOR]

[BlueYoshi]

It's funny, because I never liked the original RK series. They were whacked-out and the humour was quite immature, but none the less, it's good to see a change from the cold-hearted badass type of guy. Though, Kenshin's appearance isn't all that anyway. However, I absolutely adore these OVA's

The Trust and Betrayal OVAs are amongst my shortlist of anime favourites. Everything about them, in my eyes, have been flawlessly executed, from story to character-depth, and above all, the animation is just drop-dead gorgeous, no matter how sophisticated it may seem.

The fact that the plot is partly based on true events makes the series less lacking, particularly the romance. I mostly liked the way that the very small bit of fantasy element in the series had been applied to merge with the key events, as it gave a much clearer emphasis on what is and what's not hugely relevant, which gave some meaning to Kenshin's and Tomoe's relationship.

I'm glad I saw the OVAs before the actual series though. From what I heard, the impression that people got of Hiko Seijiro was totally slaughtered because of his appearance in the RK story arcs. I can see why, too, as his personality is completely different, so much in fact, that he's like a new person.

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]Deimos, I merged your thread with the original Samurai X one. Please be sure to check you're in the right forum and that the thread doesn't already exist.[/COLOR]