Shigurui: Death Frenzy (Shigurui)

Shigurui: Death Frenzy is a twelve episode anime series that nearly covers the initial seven volumes of the Shigurui manga by Takayuki Yamaguchi. I’ll start out the gate by saying, this one isn’t for the kids. No sir. Japanese Anime, widely known for its extremely graphical content, has given birth to a new gem that will have your heart palpitating with each sickeningly blood-drenched moment. Shigurui’s tale of a violent power struggle commands attention. Shigurui starts off as your basic Samurai tale during the Tokugawa peace. In the year 1629, a daimyo under Tokugawa Tadanaga has initiated a tournament to satisfy his own blood lust. Instead of fighting with bokken, wooden swords, the competitors would fight with traditional weapons.

Fujiki, a one armed swordsman is about to throw down against Irako, a blind swordsman. As the crowd looks on, the story dissolves into a series long flashback that explains how these two men came to that point in time. Shigurui does in fact contain a lot of nudity, sex, bondage, near-rape, incest, and abusive treatment of its female characters. If any of that offends you in any way, I suggest you stay away from this series. There is not one moment during this series where the mood lets up. Unlike Afro Samurai, there’s no Ninja-Ninja for comic relief. From the moment you see the first two competitors, you’ll realize that Shigurui is anything but your typical tale. The story is interesting and totally watchable, just not emotionally engaging.  It bears down on you with a heavy weight that never, ever lets up. Every scene, set in the night or the day, seems designed to depress.  Regrettably, we only get half of the story. Sadly, Shigurui falters where so many other anime shows do. The ending. More specifically, the lack there of.

I really wish I could give this a perfect score because it is so harsh and uncompromising but still manages a beautiful and artistic palatte that flourishes which give this anime a credibility that few examples of the genre have anymore. To be honest, I almost abandoned Shigurui somewhere around the first 2 or 3 episodes. It tends to draw moments out to create a feeling of tension and often contemplation. The action sequences aren’t really your run-of-the-mill choreography. Slow-motion animation, freeze frames and close-ups are utilized. Madhouse did a bang up job on production. The animation is spectacular. It is really something to behold. The series really harnesses vivid animation skills as well as very sound story telling. If the tension is the foreplay and the fights the consummation, then Shigurui Death Frenzy is certainly the anime equivalent of tantric sex. Though we’re working with a completely human cast, the art style has an easy time in showcasing which of the characters are heroic and villainous. These incorporations blended with the occasional artistic shots like dandelion seeds floating in the wind, offered a lovely contrast to the brutality of the overall production.  I saw this on Blu-ray and I recommend you do as well. A stunning series that should be added to your anime library immediately.

Final Grade: B

For more reviews like this one and others:
http://japancinema.net

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1233119/



This anime can be summed up in one word. TENSO! (for those of you who don’t know the meaning, just do a Google image search and you will quickly learn) it was like watching the entire series with your eyes bulged out of your head. The entire thing was intense from the start to the end. Hell it even made snowman intense.

Seriously though it was actually surprisingly good. However, you have to like films that involve martial arts, specifically the way of the samurai, no ninjas, not Bruce Lee, fucking samurais.

The story was so intense that the most I could watch in one sitting was two episodes before I had to give my body time to relax. I have never had any series/movie do this to me. There was literally no time at all that the series let up. Just when you think it does and you see a snowman, it’s like “oh thank god, I can relax” but the something fucked up happens and you are back to being on your guard.

The story was AWESOME. One of the best samurai stories I have ever seen. It was however so complex that I still have a ton of unanswered questions though, but mostly in a good way. There is also no way for me to summarize or even gives hints at the story though, it’s just that complex of a story.

The animation was top quality. Not the best I have ever seen, but the artwork, the cinematography, the genius of it all is probably the best that I have ever seen in an anime.

This is again one of the best, most complex animes I have ever seen. But you will be tense the entire time. I think I have a muscle on my back that has a knot in it from being so tense while watching this.

The only thing that really pissed me off was the ending. It was not what I was expecting, but it also never answered my question about the very first episode. And the ending was not nearly as epic as the rest of the series. For such an amazingly strong series, it sure finished with a weak ending. Or at least it seemed that way to me. Maybe I need to watch through it again to understand it better, but it just seemed weak.

All in all if you love anime, the way of the samurai, or just really great, really complex stories, then this is for you. Just make sure to watch it in Japanese with subtitles, the English version is a wussy sauce by comparison.  

Total Score = 8

Last updated: 2010-01-21 13:21:03 by Tolll