Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

When one speaks of Japanese filmmaking, there is no one figure that is more unavoidable, no person who looms over the landscape of the art form more than the legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Of his thirty films, one of his most influential and wide reaching works outside of Japan is arguably Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai).

Seven Samurai has been at the core of many creations, directly and indirectly over the years. From 1960's remake, The Magnificent Seven, which turned Kurosawa's story into a Western to the Indian film Sholay (1975), its impact has been far-reaching.

Thus, director Toshifumi Takizawa's adaptation of Kurasawa's Seven Samurai is unusual only in that it takes the form of this sweeping 26-episode animé saga, rather than a live-action film. Samurai 7 (Samurai Sebun), closely follows the plot of Kurosawa's original film while blending different genres of animé together. Feudal Japan and superhuman samurai stories combine with mecha against a backdrop that blends CG animation and stylistic drawings that look almost like ukiyo-e.

The story tells of a futuristic world, where the rustic blends with the technological. After a long period of war, the ruling merchant class has oppressed the peasant underclass -- the farmers. Hungry and weary of surrendering their harvest of rice to cruel bandits -- rogue samurai who have converted their bodies into machines and prey upon the farmers, stealing their rice crops --- one village decides to seek the aid of ronin (masterless samurai) to help them defend their village. With nothing to offer in payment but rice, the village elder comes up with the plan to find seven hungry samurai.

As the series unfolds, it is revealed that there is much intrigue going on behind the scenes of the capital city, a floating warship with weapons of unimaginable destructive capabilities where peasant women, kidnapped from their villages, are being held captive by a corrupt emperor.

Samurai 7 is an unquestionably one the highest achievements in the world of animé. It's visual palette is artistically rendered such that the hand-drawn animation and CG effects blend effortlessly and one is transported into this steampunk, feudal world of the honorable samurai. Once one starts watching, from the very first episode, "The Master," it's nearly impossible to stop. Of course, the producers of this particular series had very strong source material to begin with, but stretching a classic film into a 26 episode animated series -- and doing it well -- is an accomplishment to be proud of.

The Picture

Samurai 7's wonderful blend of animé styles and Japanese visual art forms presents itself on Blu-ray Disc in a 1080p/24 AVC/MPEG high definition transfer from Funimation that looks clean and detailed showing no hint of damage or wear from the original sources. The line art is finely discernible and artifacts are nowhere to be found. The style of the series, however, has a softened, diffuse look about it overall; an almost ethereal, veiled appearance. Having never seen the series, be it in standard or high definition, I'm inclined to say that it artistic intent rather than any problems with the transfer itself, but it would be impossible for me to know for certain without access to the original masters.

The Sound

Typically for Funimation, Samurai 7 is granted the full-on lossless treatment with two Dolby TrueHD 5.1 options coming in the form of an English dub and the original Japanese language track. Also typical is the aggressive nature of the mix that never holds back, fully utilizing all six channels to the fullest. The surround channels are filled with both ambient effects and discrete directional sound effects. Everything from the sounds of footsteps to explosions and falling rain is panned around the room. The subwoofer is also quite active throughout, with deeply extended low frequencies. Dialogue is clear, and directional panning is used to follow action, not only across the front three channels, but around the entire 360-degree soundfield. This is a lively, dynamic and thoroughly engaging mix once from Funimation.

The Extras

For such a sweeping epic of an animé release, supplements are scarce on Samurai 7. What is provided is an audio commentary by the English voice director Chris Bevins, head writer for the English adaptation Jared Hedges, and voice actress Colleen Clinkenbeard (Kirara) for the first episode, "The Master." On Disc 3, there is a brief promotional video for the series; the opening and closing song sequences are provided with out title credits and trailers for additional Funimation releases.  I'd add that I believe it was a missed opportunity to provide a commentary by the English staff alone and not by the original Japanese creators of the series, which might have yielded some deeper insight into the production and adaptation.

Final Thoughts

What an incredible challenge it must have been to take on the work of Akira Kurosawa and turn it into an animé saga. That the creators of Samurai 7 were so successful is proof of what can be accomplished in the world of animation. It is not just the realm of Saturday morning cartoon drive for the diaper wearing crowds; it can and routinely does have serious artistic merit.  Samurai 7 is a series that, once you start watching, you don't want it to end. Funimation have done yet another fantastic job bringing this modern classic to Blu-ray, with a fine video transfer and rollicking soundmix that is fun all around. This is highly recommended to any fans of animé, or any interested in what the genre is about.

Where to Buy

• Samurai 7: The Complete Series on Blu-ray Disc (Amazon.com)

Product Details

• Actors: Inukai Junji, Zarah Little, Bill Flynn (II), Maria Vu (II)
• Director: Toshifumi Takizawa
• Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
• Audio/Languages: Japanese (Dolby TrueHD 5.1), English (Dolby TrueHD 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region A
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating:  Not Rated
• Studio: Funimation
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: February 24, 2009
• Run Time: 625 minutes
• List Price: $99.98
• Extras:
  • Director/Actor Commentary
  • Staff Commentary
  • Promotional Video
  • Textless Songs
  • Trailers