Samurai 7 (2004) User Reviews

Time changes. But its thematic essence isn't.

[pip-7 · 9/10 · 24 June 2006]

Based on the old samurai film made by Japan's legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Samurai 7 is probably the first remake ever to be fully approved by the Kurosawa Estate after years of being 'unofficially' spawned into several versions by other international filmmakers.

This animated TV series tells the story of a maiden and her friends who seeks for the seven warriors who are willing to protect the rice fields in a faraway village from the bandits (basically, the premise is almost the same as the original, albeit with different arrangements and settings). Despite the fact that the show's anachronistic nature (humans and robots roam in this industrialized-world of feudal Japan) seems to be ripped off from a Final Fantasy game, it still retains the crucial themes and its dramatic storytelling that make the original Seven Samurai a legend among film buffs. It's an entirely new realm, everyone may admit, but hey, it's still worth the price of its complete DVD collection.

Let's start off with the animation flow: generally, it's really good but no, it's no Miyazaki (and it's not even up to the par with the giants like Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion) but its butt-kicking action scenes are undoubtedly impressive anyway. The only thing that ticks me off is the 3D robot designs and stuff: they seem to be way too obvious and easily distract viewers from enjoying the story in its entirety. If only they were designed as they were on any Gundam shows (and hey, some of the giant mecha samurai DO resemble of Gundams, only stiffer) Characters develop nicely throughout the show, with some valuable info slowly coming out into the light, revealing the main reasons behind the feudalistic atmosphere and yes, there are some hidden pasts behind each of the characters that will augment only the story's thematic plot.

There are so many reasons why Samurai 7 is both loved and hated by not only fans of Mr. Kurosawa but also anime buffs as well. But I'll leave this up to you. For me, it's one of the best stuff everyone can expect in terms of its visual feast and enticing storyline.

One of the Best Animated Action Series ever.

[kinetsmac · 9/10 · 5 July 2007]

That's right. I'm not a fan of anime, and I probably never will be. I can understand how others can enjoy it, with the quirky characters and bright colors, but for me, it just stands as a mostly un-enjoyable genre.

As for this series, Samurai 7, a futuristic recreation of the classic black-and-white masterpiece? I absolutely loved it.

Samurai 7, while taking some generous liberties with the original film (obviously there weren't giant mechs raiding villages back in any 30's film) stands on its own as an engaging story that uses top-notch animation and clever translation/writing to keep itself intriguing. The CGI for the numerous robots and the hand drawn animation for the rest of the characters all looks great, though I did notice in the later installments of this series that there were points of animation that suddenly looked sub-par. Don't ask why, my guess is that the better animator got sick or something and they called in a cheap replacement.

But what really makes this series stand out, and is also a feature I feel is desperately missing from the majority of the anime genre, is the simple, relatable humanity of the characters. As with any "team" film or series, which have large ensembles of interacting and different characters, Samurai 7 relies of the simple yet difficult art of human subtlty and foibles to deliver diologue and conflict that is above and beyond most animated features. Even for the characters that are mechanical (I don't believe its ever explained how the people are put in robotic bodies)you feel a definite attachment and understanding for them, and in the process, you care for them.

There are virtually no over the top anime-staple "weird faces," or whatever they're called by anime fans, where an over-the-top emotion causes the face of a character to become "super-deformed." I find this a welcome breath of fresh air, and its absence truly keeps the idea that these are actual people in the story alive, though some odd character designs do occasionally mar the experience, if only for a few brief, forgettable seconds.

As for the action, fear not. Fans of sword fighting hack-and-slash, beat-em'-ups will be well satisfied. Especially between the hand drawn characters, the fighting couldn't be better, with a beautiful mix of "Kung-Fu" and "Samurai-champloo" esquire combat that truly leaves you breathless. My one complaint in this aspect of the series is that the giant mech characters, who are each about the size of a building, seem a bit helpless to the small, faster human characters, who dice them up like cheese at a deli over and over again. Fortunately, as the mech characters are few, this never really bars anything down.

While the visual style may irk Seven Samurai purists, and the storyline is greatly molded to fit this post-war, cyber/steam punk universe the plot is set in, open-minded fans of Seven Samurai and its several spin-offs ("Magnificent Seven" anyone?) will find tons to love, as well as anime and animation fans in general who have never seen the film.

Dig up this vastly underrated series. Trust me, your in for one hell of a ride.

Immensely enjoyable.

[mmushrm · 9/10 · 14 January 2011]

To be honest I had been aware of but avoiding the Samurai 7 series. The reason was that it was a "remale" of the Seven Samurai. I had no inclination to watch a animated remake as I felt its would be the same story but with drawings. Well I was wrong. I finally watched it and the 1st few scenes had me hooked. Yes its a remake of 7 Samurai but different setting and story arch. It uses the premise (inspired by) of the 7 samurai. All the characters are there and follow the same personalities but are at the same time different. The art work is brilliant in the beginning of the series but part way through the standards fell. Its like they changed artist. It has the Japanese style of combining 2D with 3D with nice colouring to give the show a period feel. Highly recommended.

Very well done variation on the original Kurosawa film

[ChungMo · 4 February 2006]

First of all, this high quality anime series comes from the Kurosawa company so it has the blessings of the Kurosawa family for whatever that's worth.

At first I was skeptical about the transference of the story to some sort of fantasy future. The city setting is impressive while similar to futuristic cities seen in other anime. The film "Metropolis" is one. In fact the whole production is of the highest quality in terms of art direction. This is one good looking anime series. The music and soundtrack are really good also. But it would be meaningless if the story and the characters didn't have something to offer the viewer. And something they do. While not in league with the strong characters of a "Cowboy Bebop" or other top animes, Samurai 7 has a well thought out and developed crew. The story is paced for a full series so your memories of the film have to be tempered. There is a new sub-plot and a number of invented incidents. The whole production has the integrity of the Zatoichi film series and other classic samurai dramas.

The creators of this series do experiment at some points with mixed results. One early episode seems to have been done entirely by an artist from the "Fooly Coolly" series. The expressionistic loose art style works and doesn't work at the same time. There are some other anime concessions (beautiful girls, mega destruction) but overall it doesn't hurt the series.

Some notes on the US DVD release: The video quality is excellent but the sound and translation are a mixed bag. The dubbed track is different compared to the subtitle track. A lot of dialog is dumbed down or changes the original intent of the Japanese writers. I recommend avoiding the English track for this reason although the voice actors are very well cast and do an excellent job. The sound mix is sloppy at times. With episodes 5 - 8, the Japanese track has the sound effects turned way down, giant crashes sound like small drops, but the English track has the music and sound effects overpowering the vocal track.

Fun and Enjoyable Adaptation of Seven Samurai!

[gabrielbeugelmans · 10/10 · 15 May 2006]

First of all, this is definitely a high quality anime series that does have the blessings of the Kurosawa family.

At first I was unsure about the story being changed into some sort of fantasy future. The city setting and the "robots" are pretty impressive though.In fact the whole production is of the highest quality. This is one good looking anime series. The music and soundtrack are really good also. But it would be meaningless if the story and the characters didn't have something to offer the viewer. And they do. While not in league with the strong characters of other top animes, Samurai 7 has a well thought out and developed cast. The story is paced for a full series so your memories of the film have to be kind of tempered. There is a new sub-plot and a number of invented incidents.

The creators of this series do experiment at some points with mixed results. There are some other anime concessions (beautiful girls, mega destruction) but overall it doesn't hurt the series.

Some notes on the US DVD release: The video quality is excellent and so is the sound and translation . The dubbed track is different compared to the subtitle track. A lot of dialog is slightly different or changes the original intent of the Japanese writers. I recommend avoiding the English track for this reason although the voice actors are very well cast and do an excellent job. The sound mix is sloppy at times. With some episodes, the Japanese track has the sound effects turned way down but the English track has the music and sound effects overpowering the vocal track.

Overall, I believe the series is very enjoyable and fun while not being over the top...9/10

As a fan of the original movie, i like this very much

[Radalan · 9/10 · 7 October 2005]

This is an Japanese Animation series made as a remake from the Japanese 50's Seven Samurai. The characters are the same and the plot is almost the same. But the difference is that this is based in the future as the nobuseri (bandits) whom were mechanized samurai before are robbing the villages around the "world". So one village decides to send a "water maiden" her sister and a peasant Rikichi to find a suitable crew of samurai to beat the bandits. The movie has great battle scenes (as the battle in the beginning of the first episode where the armies of mechanized samurais fight). there's about 28 episodes in the series. The Soundtrack is great and the plot is great too. Action is good. And the actors are great. There is nothing bad for me in these series. I hoped that they would actually continue the series etc.

i would give 9/10 for this anime series as it is a good remake from a great movie.

ABSOLUTE FLEX

[meissotruey · 7/10 · 29 April 2020]

Wow, just wow. Years ago i saw this series and was amazed and now, going through immense growth in every direction, changing views, maturing i still feel a lot, when i see this series. This entertaining and emotional fantasy story finds time to reason about many things. After finishing it i'm just interested in 2 things: how long have you been carrying the pain inside of you? How long have you been hiding that sadness in your eyes when you smiled?

Samurai 7

[renegadeviking-271-528568 · 8/10 · 10 January 2020]

A great civil war has left the people of a futuristic Japan shattered, and the samurai jobless. Many of those samurai become bandits who steal rice from villages with the overwhelming force of their giant robots and mechanized body. The village of Kanna, shrouded in mists on top of a cliff, is tired of being pillaged harvest time after harvest time and left nothing to eat but firefly fare. They go to consult their village elder for advice.

"We must find samurai to fight for us," he growls. The villagers look shocked. "But we can't afford samurai!" they say, "We have nothing to offer them for payment except rice! How can we find samurai we can pay with only rice?" The elder looks at them with a steely eye and says:

Let me lay this out on the table: I loved Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Now for those of you who don't know, Seven Samurai is a Japanese film epic dating back to the 1950's that consistently appears on many critic's "Greatest and Most Influential Movies Ever" lists, and for me it lost none of its potency despite aging half a century. So when I heard that Gonzo had released an anime adaptation of Kurosawa's masterpiece with mecha, steampunk and a "fight the system" storyline, I feared the worst. Yes, the storyline had been approved by Kurosawa's estate; yes, the studio gave the anime twice the budget of a non-high resolution animation and yes, the anime was directed by Toshifumi Takizawa of Dirty Pair TV fame. But I had seen too many butchered Hollywood remakes of classics not to be worried.

If you peeked ahead at the rating, you'll see that I enjoyed Samurai 7 to give it four stars, despite a few caveats I'll write about later. If I had expected it to be Seven Samurai Redux, it would have been a lot less, because the anime looks silly in comparison to Kurosawa's original. But to expect that would have been unreasonable, because Samurai 7 isn't so much a remake, or an adaptation- it's a tribute made with very deep respect for the memory of Kurosawa. With yes, mecha. I enjoyed Samurai 7 on its own merits, regardless of its source material.

There's plenty to be enjoyed in this anime. Gonzo's cast of characters largely mirror the original movie, but here because of sheer length they are given a chance to shine more than in the original epic, where the cast was a bit crowded. The best example of this is the youngest samurai of the bunch, Katsushiro. Seven Samurai clocks in at over 200 minutes plus Intermission, during which we see Katsushiro quickly grow from young, uncertain samurai to... well, still a bit uncertain of his place in the world, but hopefully wiser. Samurai 7 weighs in at over twelve hours, which makes watching Katsushiro's growth seem more natural, and come to a more satisfying conclusion. His romance with Kirara is also better developed simply because Samurai 7 has more room, and because Kirara is a stronger player in the anime, though the anime blazes its own path in how their union turns out. In fact, the anime does a fine job of taking all of Kurosawa's samurai and making them its own, not just carbon copies of their movie doppelgangers, especially when the anime goes into its final, closing arc.

There is an extra storyline in Samurai 7 that doesn't appear in Seven Samurai about how merchants have become the ruling class, and how the peasants and samurai fight back against an evil emperor. The "fight the system" theme is pretty common in anime, and snobbier anime fans than I will write off the closing arc as cheap, and not in the spirit of Kurosawa's original work. To be blunt, these fans don't know their Kurosawa. The original Seven Samurai was criticized in Japan because of its theme of valuing the needs of the individual over the needs of the community, which is a strongly held Japanese virtue. Kurosawa's films were becoming increasingly Western, and he would use his movies for the next forty years to argue that the individual should not be the instrument of the group. Samurai 7 epitomizes that idea with bloody rebellion. And for me, once the anime left Seven Samurai's plotlines and told its own story, the anime really took off.

The pacing is great; each episode steadily builds towards the climax. The music is serviceable despite bland opening and ending themes, and the action is fun. I get a kick out of watching samurai take down giant robots ten times their size, and deflecting lasers (yes, lasers!) with their katanas. The action is hindered, though, with washed out animation and very ugly slow mo cuts. ANN says in their encyclopedia that Samurai 7 was a very high budget release, and if that's true, the animation doesn't show it. It looks ugly, especially near the end. It gets so ugly sometimes that I had difficulty following the action. And that's a pity; this might have been a full five stars if it wasn't for that.

In the end, though, Samurai 7 is a fun title that pulls off a tough balancing act of honoring its source material and entertaining its audience, who may not know or care for Seven Samurai.

Decent anime adaptation of a timeless classic

[Rectangular_businessman · 7/10 · 28 August 2022]

I remember there was a certain level of controversy towards this series back then when it was originally released: After all, The Seven Samurai is often regarded as one of the best films ever made, and there were some people who considered this show didn't live up to expectations.

My biggest gripe was how Kikuchiyo, my favorite character from the film, was turned into some sort of generic robot character here; but I guess that it would have been impossible in any way to match the excellent role played by Toshiro Mifune. And eventually, I got used to it.

Personally, I think it was a decent adaptation, disregard of some anime cliches ; both the animation and the soundtrack were fairly decent. Maybe the plot was stretched a bit too much in some parts, but still, an okay series.

This is not a waste og you'r time!

[frederikfoldbergff · 10/10 · 4 July 2019]

This is the best anime i have seen so far like the story about it Wacht it 👌 You Can see it om Netflix

An interesting retelling of the 'Seven Samurai' story

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 1 August 2014]

This series, loosely based on the classic film 'Seven Samurai' is set in a world that resembles feudal Japan but also features futuristic machines. The farmers of Kanna village are fed up with living on gruel because mechanical bandits keep stealing their precious rice harvest so they decide to engage the services of a group of samurai to help them fight back. To this end three member of the village; water diviner Kirara; her young sister Komachi and farmer Rikichi head to the nearby city to find samurai. They manage to find several but finding ones willing to fight for them will not be easy. Eventually they manage to recruit group; some experienced others less so. Kirara also catches the eye of Ukyo; the adoptive son of the city's leader and will need the help of the samurai to get away from him. Once back at the village they manage to fight off the bandits but their fight is far from over and not all of them will survive.

I had been put off this series by trailers featuring lots of 3D mechs battling in space and a rather gloomy DVD box cover but once I started watching it quickly became apparent that this was something special. The main characters were interesting and emotionally involving; this was particularly true of Katsushiro the young samurai who has yet to see combat and is changed forever when he does; experiencing both excitement and tragedy in battle. The main character designs look great and they are well animated, the 3D mechanical bandits they fight aren't so good; they stick out too much from the main 2D animation. Those wanting plenty of action shouldn't be disappointed and those wanting some lighter moments should like it too… some good laughs are provided by Komachi and her new friend, the mechanical samurai, Kikuchiyo. Ukyo proves to be an interesting antagonist; at times it seems like he might not be bad after all and at others he seems conniving and dangerous. Overall this series was much better than I expect it and I certainly recommend giving it a go… and if you do don't skip to the next episode when the credits start; after the 'coming next' prologue there is a little section featuring Komachi writing a letter to her friend Okara.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

Average

[coles_notes · 5/10 · 7 June 2022]

Of course based on the similarly titled 1954 epic Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa, this "updated" anime follows essentially the same beats as the original, but with a lot of extra fluff and about triple the run time. Following a town being attacked by "bandits" as they need to assemble seven samurai to defend them, with only the rice they sow to pay. The original Seven Samurai is a 3 1/2 hour long black and white film from the 50s, so I totally understand if much of a modern audience wouldn't like to sit through it, and if this is aimed at the audience that was churning through hundreds of episodes of One Piece, Naruto, and the like, whats one more. It's a proficiently produced anime, its styles are good, the voice acting is fine, the plot is meh, but honestly all fairly par for the course. I just don't know if a such an honest take in the original really needed to be revamped in to giant samurai robots and what are essentially ronins with super powers. Its only 26 episodes so if you're obsessed with ninja / samurai anime I guess if you must.

Kurosawa's masterpiece changed into post-apocalyptic sci-fi anime, hmm

[Quinoa1984 · 2 April 2006]

I just watched the first episode of this take-off on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai on IFC, dubbed into English (and possibly edited in other ways I'm not sure). At first I wasn't sure what to make of it, and in the first five minutes or so I had no idea what connection, if at all, this had to Kurosawa's original story. Then as the episode unfolded I could see the relationship to it, if only on a loose basis; large mechanical machines in battle and dominance over people has a farming community panicked, leading to reaching out to find samurai to protect them. In the first episode there is only minimal swordplay towards the end, as the "one" is discovered, at least one of them I could figure.

In order to have more of an appreciation for the show, I think, one has to take it sort of apart of the original film. The original 1954 classic takes from both samurai/Japanese lore, as well as the Western genre (originally some John Ford influence in there), forming into this big, but focused epic. Watching this series, I could see this owes a lot more to the dozens of other anime like this, where samurai are cast against the light of a science fiction backdrop (some of the opening animation made me think of Star Wars, also a connection to Kurosawa coincidentally), as technological forces of mass destruction face off against those ultra-skilled with a sword, or maybe more. The hero of this episode, for example, and who I can imagine has a much greater role in the course of the series, is like the Takashi Shimura character from the Kurosawa film crossed with one of the characters from an ultra-stylized Magma comic book, to give a generic comparison to be sure.

I'll keep on watching the series to see how and when the action unfolds, and I'm even intrigued enough to seek out the uncut, Japanese-language version of the DVD. But make no mistake, this will divide (or just make made) those who place the Kurosawa film in such high regard, as to whether such a work of art can be transposed into a well-made, if not that spectacular on a first go-around, anime show. Those who are already fans of the animation style anyway may gravitate to it, however when compared to programs like Fist of the North Star and Ninja Scroll it isn't quite the caliber either. My recommendation- if you have IFC, it's worth a view, but if you are expecting a literal translation from live-action film to animation, look elsewhere.

I loved this...

[extraplay-61838 · 9/10 · 19 April 2022]

I loved this, it found me and gave me 26 episodes of fun and delight.

I didn't give it the full 10/10 only because like Ukyo - I am not a fan of robots - normally anything with robots in, is a turn away. However the characters and the relationships were brilliant, and it was good to see on UTube that others felt the same concerning the deaths of some of the characters.

So good that it should have had a sequel

[anupamcin-429-258809 · 10/10 · 29 April 2022]

I have seen many Anime (I am a fan) but this series is by far the best one that I have seen. This has a lot of heart. Character building is top notch and so is the storyline. One relates to and empathizes with the characters in the series. I wish that there would be a sequel to this!

IFC should brink it Back

[tommypezmaster · 10/10 · 23 May 2007]

This show was my favorite and know what? it was only on for 2 years, whats up with that? all the good shows are on for a short time like Samuria 7, Donkey Kong Country (Show), Cardcaptors, Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Hamtaro and oh, lets not forget about Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Inland!!

Instead, they put on the bad shows that are on every channel like CatDog, Baby Loonley Tunes, The Buzz on Maggie, and the rest of the baby clan. the good show have got to be brought back.

I mean this show is better than the Bad shows. Samurai 7 is a good show, The plots & characters are decent & original. CatDog failed to be that good.

IFC is really faithful now that there airing anime & DVDs are probably gone dunning it's cancellation

Great series

[blackmamba99971 · 10/10 · 26 April 2011]

This was an excellent series about the farmer, the farmers life, and the war between the common man and an emperor. During this series, it was a wonderful look into the politics of how a simple merchant dealer's son became an emperor. Now in the middle are seven samurai warriors who must stop this new tyrant from up heaving a peaceful village which grows and deals their rice to the emperor for fuel cells to the capital city which flies above the ground. These fuel cells are then traded with mechanical bandits which are ex samurai turned machine. Kambei, a samurai of pure instinct and excellence with his sword is called in by a simple water priestess who hires his help to stop the oncoming battle at her village. With him are Katsushiro, a rogue young samurai who wants to learn how to fight properly and asks Kambei for help, but refuses. In his so doing, Katsushiro then later understands it is only his unique qualities that make him a samurai to stop the emperor. Also with the two are Kikuchiyo, a man turned machine who was a farmer before his transformation. More of a humorous sidekick than anything else. Gorobei, a street performer ex soldier who uses his skills to dodge any attack as part of his act. Relentless but flamboyant. This also worked well with th efforts to the cause of stopping the emperor. Kyuzo, a marvel two sword wielding Cuisinart who is as silent as he is deadly. Kambei and Kyuzo once fought against each other, and Kambei knew he could not beat him. Yet both call a truce to stop the carnage. Shichiroji, also part of the great war with Kambei as Kambei's pilot. Excellent swordsman and spears man, but does not like the fighting. Also just as wise cracking as Kikuchiyo which adds the fun times to hard times. Heihachi, an engineer of the utmost technical skills. He is a samurai, but at a distance. In fact he would rather chop wood than fight. But with all aspects of fighting, there has to be a goal. And for this to happen a water priestess named Kirara, hires Kambei to stop the evil which plagues her village, who is Ukyo a son of a merchant dealer who became an emperor. His ability of causing great damages with his conniving is the cause of everyones troubles. Now in his state of insanity, he becomes infatuated with Kirara for her beauty and innocence which Ukyo admires and wants her for himself. But his father Maro feels his son has gone too far. And joins forces with the samurai to stop his own son. All in all this series is an excellent example of how differences and politics can sometimes cause too much power for one to handle. The music was top notch, and the battles were perfect. Great sequences of sword fighting along with extra firepower. I recommend this series to those who love to watch the code of the samurai in its fullest extent and clarity.

'Samurai 7'

[SoulfulFX · 10/10 · 14 July 2007]

This series is a reinvisioning of the 1954 Akira Kurosawa film. The basic story is the same -villagers plagued by rice-thieving ex-Samurai turned bandits hire Samurai from the city to defend their village paying them nothing but rice. This version takes place in a post-war future that mixes machines with some old-world environs in a beautifully animated ensemble that conducts values of noble Samurai versus the corruption of the merchant class with the peasants caught in between just trying to stay alive with some dignity.

The series has a few advantages over the movie in that the extra time it takes to plot out episodes lets you see a more vibrant interaction and development of the characters. The "steam punk" elements may seem to trounce the realism and action Kurosawa included in his original film, but I believe the updated imagery helps convey Kurosawa's story to 21st century audiences. And if you still doubt that, Kurosawa's film in 1954 is considered one of the earliest true "action" films with elements still used to this day. 'Samurai 7' may or may not be a trend-setter, but its imagery, music, and plot do Kurosawa's story great justice.

Good animation, bad story.

[bmnov-59297 · 4/10 · 8 April 2020]

What could have been something well done, I found it was painful to watch. Some good moments, a good animation, but a really bad story to follow.

It' all about the rice...

[mabuse786 · 10/10 · 30 January 2007]

This is an intelligent adaption of 'The seven Samurai' as Anime. Yes, it is a typical Anime with comic elements but beautifully told and crafted excellent from cinematographic point of view. The story is never boring over all 26 episodes so it keeps you watching until the end. I found myself yearning for the next episode just to find out how the story continues and was never disappointed. Enterntaining, sometimes funny and sometimes sad, that's how a good drama should be. The character development is excellent and because you have the seven main characters plus some side-kicks, there are enough interesting things which can be told about these characters for 26 episodes. Each episode, something new is revealed about the characters in a natural way, which fits excellent to the development of the story. It is the theme of 'The seven Samurai' and the only movie, I know of, which got approval from Kurosawa's family. However, I would say, loosely based on. There is some small love story but the most impressive parts are epic fights taking place in huge battle scenarios with thousands of robots and huge battle castles - at the climax of the story towards the end. The story itself circles around 'RICE'. This is the main element the Samurai fight for. It is also about oppression from the leaders and their political games between robot Samurai, rice farmers and the land lords. This is the setting for the story about the farmers, trying to get help from jobless Samurais - after the big wars have ended - to fight against the oppression of the 'Lord of the heaven' and their relation with the salesmen, taking the rice from the farmers with force. I can highly recommend to watch it and you will see - It's all about the rice.

It was a legendary masterpiece!

[TheSuccessorOfTheReaper · 10/10 · 16 April 2012]

I'd like to say, I'm a little bit prejudiced about the samurai themed animes because of the Afro Samurai. Samurai Champloo was the first series proved me I was wrong. I was reluctant to watch Samurai 7 both being prejudiced about Samurai themed animes and the average point on IMDb. I thought if it couldn't even be over 8, it wouldn't be impressive. Then I watched the series and it was everything. Thanks to directors and writers, I watched this kind of a amazing series. What does make Samurai 7 legendary? Story, characters (both psychologically and visualization), philosophy and especially last episodes. I've watched pile of animes so far. I can say that when they made a good plot, they couldn't prepare a good end or the opposite of the situation was acceptable but extraordinary works. And also those extraordinary works had couple of things I'd like to change. But Samurai 7 is something else. I don't know what to say. Everything was natural. The main characters were dying one by one in a reasonable way. Even the characters I didn't expect them to die but I can't complain about it. I'm so sad to see them dying but this was the top of my admiration. They didn't make up unreasonable situations or reasons in order to save characters' life. This was an epic masterpiece. I really respect whoever contributed to create this masterpiece.