Red Hot Chili Samurai Volume 2

July 29, 2010 — Zack Davisson

3.0 out of 5 stars No spice

Red Hot Chili Samurai Volume 2 (Kokaku Detective Story)

There are plenty of manga series that start off slow and pick up with the second volume. The first volume may be little more for a pilot, introducing the characters and laying out the tone and pacing without diving too much into the ongoing story. “Red Hot Chili Samurai” is not one of those manga.

The first volume was well-drawn but plagued with issues of convoluted story-telling, lack of clear plot, and lame gimmicks taken from other series. Author Katagiri didn’t seem to have much more than the idea of mixing the basic plot of the popular TV samurai drama “Mito Komen” with the cast of Samurai Champloo, and throwing in a chili-eating gag because as he says “there were so many characters eating sweets I figured a chili-eating character might be a good change of pace.”

All of these same problems are still here in volume two. The story barely continues over from the first volume other than having the same characters. The chili-eating Kokaku Sento is having ethical issues with his teammate Ento over whether or not they should be killing. Ento thinks that carrying a sword means having to kill, whereas Kokaku relies on his crane-tattoo to put the fear of the lord into his assailants without having to kill them. From there the itinerant hatamoto Shikki-sama comes back into Kokaku’s life, tracking down the son of a lord who has fled to live the simple life of a fisherman. At some point in time, Kokaku rides around on a motorcycle, created by the boy genius Tsumugi, everyone goes hunting for a cat and a potential assassin whose face looks like an ukiyo-e print, and Kokaku and Shikki get into a dance competition.

I have gotten more used to Katagiri’s angular faces and spiky hair, and the art on “Red Hot Chili Samurai” is improved. Katagiri draws a mean fight scene, with his characters exploding at each other rather than just facing off. He also has a way with kimonos and period ware which add to the over all style.

The problem is that although he is a good artist, Katagiri lacks storytelling skills. His panels are a convoluted maze, and there are floating dialog balloons attached to no one in particular so it is hard to keep track of who is talking to whom. Some attempt at character development is made, but it quickly fades to business as ususal. Kokaku goes through a minor crisis of confidence swiftly to be replaced by a full-page spread of him slipping his kimono off his shoulder to expose his tattoo and dropping his tagline “because I am the hero.”

It is series like this that make me wish there were more writer/author combinations in Japanese comics. Katagiri has all the drawing skills necessary to pull of a fun action-orientated adventure, but he can’t seem to be able to plot out a story or to write more than “cool scenes” that get everyone into combat as soon as possible.

Maybe things will pick up with the third volume, but so far the odds don’t look good.

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Blind Menace

July 9, 2010 — Zack Davisson

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mirror-Universe Zatoichi

Blind Menace (Sub)

The blind masseur Sugino-ichi is just like the blind masseur Zato-ichi, with a subtle difference. While both roles are played by legendary actor Katsu Shintaro, when Zatoichi comes upon a woman in need, he immediately sets forth on a crusade to lift her from her plight with no thought of reward for himself. When Suginoichi comes upon a woman in need, however, he rapes her and the discards her into the street, maybe have a chuckle later when he hears how the woman killed herself, saying that it wasn’t such a big deal she needed to die over it.

“Blind Menace” (Japanese title: “Shiranui kengyo”) is the evil twin of the long-running “Zatoichi” series. The film could almost be seen as some sort of twisted parody of Zatoichi were it not for the fact that “Blind Menace” pre-dates the first “Zatoichi” film by two years. It makes you wonder what director or producer saw Katsu in this film and thought “he does that blind bit really good but maybe if the character was a kind vagrant wanderer rather than a rapist and a murderer we might have something here…”

From the opening scenes of “Blind Menace,” we see that Suginoichi was just born bad. He spends his childhood using his blindness to scam people out of money, and he doesn’t grow up any better. As a student of the Shiranui Kengyo (Kengyo being the highest official rank of blind masseur, able to work on the shogun and royal family, the descending ranks being betto”, “koto”, and “zato.”), Suginoichi would still rather get ahead by graft than by craft. He has set his sights on assuming the Kengyo’s rank and position, but would rather have it now rather than suffer through the years required to earn the position. When one of Suginoichi’s casual murders is overseen by career criminal who goes by the name “Severed Head,” an uneasy partnership is forged between the two as Suginoichi uses his massage clients to glean private secrets that Severed Head and his gang can take advantage of. Suginoichi’s greed is not contained by petty evils, however, and he plots to murder the current Kengyo, his master, something which even Severed Head balks at.

Although “Blind Menace” is going to constantly be compared to Zatoichi (and justifiably so, as Katsu clearly used the same mannerisms, facial expressions and style of movement to portray both blind characters) it does stand on its own as a dark and interesting film with a villain as its protagonist. Suginoichi is truly a despicable character, who performs some vile scams that managed to shock me more than fifty years after its release. There is one scene in particular that I don’t want to spoil, but it is a rare gem of villainy that Suginoichi concocts.

Director Mori Kazuo would go on to direct a few entries in the Zatoichi series, including the The Tale of Zatoichi Continues and Zatoichi at Large, one of the most acclaimed Zatoichi films. He does good work here in “Blind Menace,” managing to keep the tone light when Suginoichi is doing his charming best and then suddenly shift to a darker tone as Suginoichi’s true face is revealed.

“Zatoichi” fans might be a little shocked with “Blind Menace” do to the sexual violence and despicable nature of the usually loveable Katsu Shintaro. However, anyone who has seen Katsu’s other films, like the Hanzo the Razor series that Katsu produced himself, will be less shocked at seeing Katsu in this kind of role.

Animeigo has put together a solid release of “Blind Menace,” along with their usual fantastic job with the subtitles (really, the do the best Japanese subtitling in the business) along with program notes, a trailer and cast and crew biographies.

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Ultimate Samurai Miyamoto Musashi

June 24, 2010 — Zack Davisson

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally released in the US!!!

Ultimate Samurai Miyamoto Musashi (5pc) (Coll)

Ask an American samurai-film fan about legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi (The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi) on film, and they will probably think of Inagaki Hiroshi’s Samurai Trilogy staring Mifune Toshiro. Ask the same thing to a Japanese samurai-film fan, and they will most likely think of this series, the five-film series by Uchida Tomo and staring Nakamura Kinnosuke (Portrait of Hell). Both are adaptations of Yoshikawa Eiji’s famous novel Musashi, but in Japan the Uchida/Nakamura version is by far the more famous.

While I love the Mifune Toshiro, in Inagaki’s trilogy it is hard to separate the actor from the role, and it is much more “Mifune as Musashi” than Nakamura’s performance here. Over the five films, Nakamura develops the character of Musashi from the wild beast of his youth to the sage warrior who duels on Ganryu island. Nakamura was a kabuki actor who transferred over to film, and his acting style is more nuanced than Mifune’s energetic performance.

Uchida’s “Miyamoto Musashi” follows Yoshikawa’s novel faithfully, from Takezo and Matahachi’s survival at the Battle of Sekigahara, to Takezo returning alone to their home villiage and romance with Matahachi’s fiancé Otsu. After three years of study, the wild Takezo is transformed into the educated warrior Miyamoto Musashi and sets out to test himself against the great fighters of Japan. Lurking in the background is Sasaki Kojiro, who watches Musashi’s development as a sword fighter and who waits patiently for Musashi to refine his craft until the two face off at there famous duel at Ganryu Island.

This set contains all five films in Uchida’s Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi – The wild youth of Takezo, who would become Musashi, and his relationship with Otsu, the former fiancé of this best friend Matahatchi, and who would be the love of Musashi’s life

Duel at Hannya Hill – After devoting three years to study, Musashi’s first test of his new skills is against the swordsmen of the Yoshioka Dojo and the spearmen of Hozo’in Temple.

Birth of the Nito-ryu Style – Musashi’s next target is a duel with the famous sword master Yagyu Sekishusai, which leads to the creation of Musashi’s renowned two-sword technique.

Duel at Ichijyo-Temple – Musashi’s ongoing fued with the Yoshioka Dojo comes to a conclusion when he must face off against all seventy-three of its members.

Duel at Ganryu Island – Finally, the most famous duel in Japanese history plays out again on screen as Musashi stands against Sasaki Kojiro and his massive sword, the Drying Pole.

Animeigo has put out a beautiful collection of these five important films. (Although I have come to the conclusion that Animeigo can’t help but put out a beautiful collection, because their standards are so high!). The five films are packed in space-saving slim cases, and extras include commentary by Stuart Galbraith IV (The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune) on the first film, and program notes and trailers for all films.

Posted in Animeigo, Japanese Film, Samurai. Tags: , , . 1 Comment »

Red Hot Chili Samurai Volume 1

March 16, 2010 — Zack Davisson

3.0 out of 5 stars Mild at best

With that hot cover and awesome title, the anticipation was high for “Red Hot Chili Samurai.” (Japanese title “Kokaku Torimonocho” or “Kokaku’s Samurai Detective Story”) I am a fan of food that tips the top of the Scofield scale myself, but unfortunately this comic has more of the piquancy of a pimento than a raging Scotch Bonnet.

In the author’s note in the back, Yoshiisugu Katagiri admits that “Red Hot Chili Samurai” started off as a gimmick and little else. He was contacted by a new magazine called “Beans Ace” about doing a series, and quickly came up with a period samurai piece similar to the long-running and popular “Mito Komen” television series. If you aren’t familiar with that show, it follows a basic pattern of retired Vice-shogunTokugawa Mitsukuni and his two samurai companions roaming Japan in disguise looking for injustice. They usually get into fights with some local ruffian, which finishes with Mitsukuni revealing the seal of the Shogun that shows them as official protectors of justice.

Yoshitsugu used that basic story-pattern for his series, and in order to give his character a unique identifiable characteristic had him eat hot chili peppers. The only reason for this is that Yoshitsugu noticed a preponderance of sweets-eating heroes, like L from L, Change the World, and figured a spicy-food eating hero might be a change of pace.

It is obvious from the start that there was no real story-plan for “Red Hot Chili Samurai” other than the opening gimmick. The episodes were released as a couple of one-shot stories for the magazine, with the chance of a continuing feature being based on popularity. The stories follow the same basic patter of Mito Komen, with Kokaku Sento and his companions Inaba Ento, Mimasaka Ran and Shou infiltrating some den of vice then start slashing away from the inside. When the battle is over, Kokaku slides his kimono off his shoulder to reveal his crane-mark tattoo revealing that he is the heir of Hanshu and thus a hero. Rinse and repeat.

The biggest problem with “Red Hot Chili Samurai” is the lack of any cohesiveness in the story. Yoshiitsuga is clearly just making it up as he goes along, without any clear objective or story for his characters. He pulls influences from wherever he can, as is clear in the Samurai Champloo -like pairing of a rough wild fighter (Kokaku) with a bespeckled and studious warrior (Ento) and a spunky and cute girl (Ran). Later, two other cast members are added in the form of Shikki, an aristocratic and uptight military man who is the opposite of Kokaku, and Tsumugi, a child inventor who adds further randomness to the series by creating Polaroid cameras and radio-controlled cars in Edo period Japan.

The artwork is nice, although nothing to rival that brilliant cover. I did find the storytelling too choppy, and the book jumps from panel to panel without much transition or focus on story continuity. All of the faces are all harsh angles and spiky hair, although Yoshiitsugu does have a way with patterns, especially on the kimonos.

This first issue is not a total lost and there is some potential here. When Kokaku goes undercover as a prostitute it is pretty funny, although there is no explanation why he chose that particular route of infiltration other than it makes for good comedy. Towards the end of the book, a storyline seems to be coming together, and it might just be that the author has hit his stride with the characters and that volume two will be an improvement.

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Sleepy Eyes of Death: Collector’s Set, Vol. 1

February 17, 2010 — Zack Davisson

Sleepy Eyes of Death: Collector’s Set, Vol. 1

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cold-eyed Killer

Ichikawa Raizo is one of the few Japanese jidai geki actors to star in two successful and long-lasting series. Katsu Shintaro was Zatoichi, and his brother Wakayama Tomisaburo was Lone Wolf and Cub, but only Ichikawa was both the earnest ninja from the Shinobi No Mono series, as well as the stone-faced nihilist known as Nemuri Kyoshiro, known in translation as “The Sleepy Eyes of Death.”

Ichikawa’s film series is actually the second attempt at creating films from Shibata Renzaburo’s 1956 “Nemuri Kyoshio” (“Sleepy Kyoshiro” in English) novels. The Toho-produced series staring Tsuruta Koji lasted only for three films from 1956-58. The novels were later “re-booted” in 1963 with actor Ichikawa Raizo, and those are the sleepy eyes we know and love.

Although the character of the “Super Samurai” appears constantly in Japanese film, Ichikawa’s Nemuri Kyoshio is cut from a distinctly different and darker cloth. Shintaro’s Zatoichi is quick to deal out death to wrong-doers, but his kindly nature and inability to wind up with the girl at the end of the movie puts him more in the league of Tora-San that in Ichikawa’s dark hero. By contrast, in the third film in this boxset, “Full Circle Killing”, Nemuri Kyoshiro cruely rapes a girl, and then spends some part of the film defending himself from her attempts to get revenge. Definitely not one of the good guys.

The series grows with each adventure, with the first few films being enjoyable but not ground-breaking, and then with the fourth film literally all hell breaking loose. Nemuri Kyoshiro’s story is revealed, being born of a Christian priest who fell from grace and raped a Japanese woman during a Black Mass to Satan, he is a man who has been cursed from birth. The effects pump up a notch in number four as well, with his “Full Circle Cut” technique suddenly drawing psychedelic tracers in the air instead of the bland circle from the first three films. Number four in this set will give you a good taste of what is to come.

Ichikawa’s death from cancer at the young age of 37 cut short the “Nemuri Kyoshiro” series, although he still managed to make twelve films, the last of which was finished with the use of a stand in. Daiei films tried to continue the series with a different actor, Matsukata Hiroki, but by then the sleepy-eyed killer had become permanently associated with Ichikawa Raizo, and no substitutes would be accepted.

The four films in this set are:

“The Chinese Jade” (“Nemuri Kyoshiro: Sappocho” or “The Murder Scroll”) – Based on actual history, the smuggler Zeniya Gohei and Lord Maeda both attempt to recruit Nemuri Kyoshiro in a desperate battle to recover a statue of Chinese jade. Inside the statue is a slip of paper showing the relationship between the Lord and the smuggler, which could spell the doom for Lord Maeda and his million-koku estate. The Kyoshiro in this first is much more of an idealist than the cold-hearted killer of the later series, and it is interesting to watch his progression. One a special note Wakayama Tomisaburo pops up here as a Chinese Shaolin monk Chen Sun who wants to pit his hand-to-hand skills against Kyoshiro’s Full Moon Cut.

“Sword of Adventure” (Nemuri Kyoshiro: Shobu” or “Match Game”) – The political theme of the series starts here, as Kyoshiro finds himself entangled with officers of the Shogun, specifically the Minister of Finance’s attempts to reform the currency system, and the Princess Taka who sees those reforms as a threat to her extravagant lifestyle. Kyoshiro befriends the old minister, which makes him a target to the Princesses plots.

“Full Circle Killing” (“Nemuri Kyoshiro: Mangetsu Kiri” or “Full-Moon Cut”) – Kyoshiro is again at odds with the Shogun, specifically his illegitimate son Katagiri Takayuki, whose mother has slowly been killing off all of the Shogun’s sons in order to assure Takayuki’s ascension. Takayuki desires Kyoshiro’s rare Musou Masamune sword, and Kyoshiro desires Takayuki’s pretty fiancé. Both men are more than willing to take what they want by force. Wakayama Tomisaburo reappears here as Chen Sun, although sporting a ridiculous pompadour for some reason.

“Sword of Seduction” (“Nemuri Kyoshiro: Joyoken” or “Seducing Sword”) – This one is the best of the boxset, when Kyoshiro comes into contact with a group of Hidden Christians who have knowledge of his birth. They beg him to protect a woman, known as the “Virgin Shima,” and who the group claims is a blood-relative of Kyoshiro. From here, the idealistic Kyoshiro of the first series is dead, and the sleepy-eyed killer mercilessly beheads Christian priests and cuts down unarmed nuns in cold blood.

Animeigo has shepherded “The Sleepy Eyes of Death” series since the days of VHS and then Laserdisc. The series appearance on DVD has been highly anticipated, and Animeigo has not let us down. All four disks are conveniently packaged in a folding box, and it is hard to believe that this much awesomeness takes up so little room on your shelf. As always, the subtitles are impeccable, with your choice of yellow or white, and a few other options such as “expanded subtitles” which offer cultural notes along with the dialog. There are also an interactive map of Japan, extensive production notes and a booklet with excerpts by Patrick Galloway who wrote Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook.

I can’t wait until the next boxset is released!

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Samurai Champloo: The Complete Collection

February 2, 2010 — Zack Davisson

Samurai Champloo: The Complete Collection

 
5.0 out of 5 stars A spicy dish served up hot
 
It has been several years (five to be exact) since I watched “Samurai Champloo,” and while I always knew it as good I somehow forgot that it is in fact one of the greatest anime series ever produced.

“Champloo” is an Okinawan word (more properly pronounced champuru) meaning “mix” or “blend,” and is most often applied to traditional food dishes such as “Goya Champloo” or “Stir-fried Champloo.” It’s basically a mixed stir-fry with a seemly infinite number of potential ingredient, and a very fitting description of Watanabe Shinichiro’s “Samurai Champloo.”

An eclectic blend of ancient and modern, hip-hop and koto, and pretty much everything else thrown into the mix, this is a Japan where a wild swordfighter uses capoeira moves to slice and dice with a fury, an enormous man known as the Oni smashes skulls with his massive club, and two twin brothers compete in a match to graffiti Himeji castle. Watanabe is a heck of a chef, and manages to balance all these seemingly dissonant elements into a tasty dish that might even top his previous concoction Cowboy Bebop.

The story features a bookish but deadly ronin (Jin), a wild sword-swinging roustabout (Mugen) and a kooky but determined waitress (Fuu). The trio is pushed into an unhappy alliance, several times attempting to split up, yet always finding their destinies inexorably intertwined. Fuu leads them on a quest for the “Samurai who smells of Sunflowers,” providing the McGuffin that keeps the story moving. Each episode changes in tone and character, moving effortlessly between comedy and drama, tragedy and action.

Each ingredient supports the flavor of the other perfectly, creating a variety of story possibilities that couldn’t be found by following just one personality. Categorize “Samurai Champloo” as “hip-hop samurai” is too much of an easy dismissal; the series goes much deeper than that. Along with hip-hop music and culture, the series features Japanese history like the hidden Christian sects, and samurai movie mythology such as Miyomoto Musashi and the female ninjas kunoichi. Every episode is a surprise, and every episode had be glued to the screen in anticipation of what would come next.

Watanabe’s trademark style is on fine display, with some of the most fluid animation you will ever see and a quick and flowing story punctuated with quiet moments of reflection. The story builds at a good pace, allowing all the characters to develop in time. With twenty-six episodes, there is plenty of time to build characterization and identity, and while Jin, Mugen and Fuu appear at first to be mere stereotypical genre characters, they deepen with each telling.

This boxset is a pretty sweet package for this amazing series. Produced by Geneon and released by Funimation, it has all twenty-six episodes on seven disks, each with its own slim case. There are four episodes per disk, meaning that no quality has been lost by squishing too many episodes on a single disk to save space. Inside each case is an essay or comments by one of the people who worked on the series, giving insight into how it was created and what goes into such a collaboration.

The only possibly thing I would have wished for this box set is that Funimation had double-packed the DVDs into the slim cases, as they have with most of their other series. With as many DVDs as I own, space can be a premium at my house and so the smaller the packaging the better.
Posted in Anime, Funimation, Samurai. Tags: , . 2 Comments »

Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai

January 16, 2010 — Zack Davisson

 
5.0 out of 5 stars What would you do for your company?
 
The system of vassal and lord is one that has persisted through out all of human history, despite all attempts political, religious and moral to change it. The one below is expected to suppress his personal desires in order to support the one above. The worker toils long hours so that the boss may take a luxury vacation. Over the years the lords have come up with various philosophies and codes to make it seem as if this suffering and repression is somehow natural, even noble, ensuring that the vassal would willingly sacrifice for the lord’s pleasure.

One of the harshest and most unforgiving versions of these codes appeared in feudal Japan. It was known as bushido, the way of the samurai.

The film opens when a young man (Nakamura Kinosuke from Shogun’s Samurai, Goyokin)) is attending to his dying fiancé (Mita Yoshiko, Samaritan Zatoichi) at a hospital, who appears to have attempted suicide. Standing by her bedside, the man remembers a group of diaries that he read when his mother passed away, detailing the lives of his ancestors, all of whom were from the aristocratic samurai class and followed the code of bushido. He slowly goes through all of their horrible lives, living them over one-by-one, and watching how each of them sacrificed something precious and worthwhile all in the name of “bushido,” of the honor of subservience to a lord.

Nakamura plays the role of all of his ancestors, seven in total beginning with the grizzled samurai Jirozaemon who takes his own life in order to “follow his lord” to death. Jirozaemon swears that not only will he give his life for his Lord Hori, but all successive generations of his family will live to serve the Hori families whims. From Jirozaemon, with each generation this oath is fulfilled at greater and greater personal sacrifice. A father is asked to dress up his underage daughter as a “living doll” to be presented as a bribe to a senior official. A young samurai catches the eye of his lord, who demands his use for homosexual pleasure, then has the samurai castrated when the he dares to fall in love with a woman. Throughout the years these horrors are repeated, from samurai guard commanded to execute an innocent man with a saw, to WWII kamikaze pilot. Slowly, the man realizes how little things he changed, and that he too offered up his fiancé to his “lord” in no less cruel a manner than his ancestors before him. .

The first of only two Japanese films to win the prestigious Golden Bear award from the Berlin Film Festival (“Bushido” in 1963, and the second being Miyazaki’s Spirited Away in 2002.), “Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai” is director Imai Tadashi’s testament to the inherent unfairness of the ancient samurai code that was still being honored in Japan. At a time when Japanese workers were being told to “be like the samurai” and to give their entire lives to the company for which they worked, Imai held up a mirror to the country and asked those same workers exactly what were they being asked to sacrifice and for whom. The film was also a reaction to the propaganda films Imai was forced to make during WWII, showing the honor of personal sacrifice and how Japanese should be expected to give everything to ensure the goals of their leaders.

While there are plenty of excellent actors on display, Nakamura is the real superstar in “Bushido,” winning the Japanese Best Actor award for his performance. He is a true chameleon as he switches effortlessly from ancient warrior to beautiful catamite youth. Even without Imai’s powerhouse directing Nakamura’s performance is worth the price of admission.

Animeigo has put together their usual excellent package for the release of such an important film. Probably my favorite of the extras available was an essay by samurai scholar Randy Schadel discussing the truth behind bushido, and how it was essentially an invented code enforced on the peasants but followed by few of the aristocracy themselves. Also included are several pages of liner notes explaining the intricacies of the film and some of the more specific cultural notes. Unfortunately, these extras are only included in digital form on the DVD and are therefore somewhat hard to read, but they can easily be printed off from the Animeigo website.
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Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi Volume 2

January 14, 2010 — Zack Davisson

4.0 out of 5 stars Underwear assassins

Misplaced samurai Yoichi gets his first real challenge with the arrival of Tsubame Tsubasa and Takatsukasa Angela, heirs to the Tsubameben Tenryuu -style ninja school. Like Yoichi, Tsubasa and Angela have spent their lives removed from the modern world, training in their archaic martial arts style. As the last two practitioners, they worry that their heritage and traditions will fade away. A mysterious stranger makes them a tempting offer: He will fully fund and support the Tsubameben Tenryuu -style of martial arts, so long as they perform a single task for him. Kill Yoichi.

This second volume of “Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi” continues in the same “lighthearted and naughty” -style of the first volume. The rivalry of the Ikaruga girls for Yoichi’s affections is put aside as the four sisters step off the stage to allow Yoichi to clash with the greater threat. Tsubasa, the actual inheritor of the school, is a shy girl who just wants to lead the normal life of a high school girl. Her servant, Angela, is fiercely determined to advance the ancient martial arts style, and won’t allow Tsubasa to lax in her duty to her ancestors. Angela soon uncovers Yoichi’s single weakness; his inability to concentrate when confronted with a female body. Angela decides the best way to take him down is to take it off, and both Tsubasa and Angela are soon stripped down to their underwear to take him on.

The fan-service is pretty heavy in “Samurai Harem,” much more so than in books like KimiKiss although you would think the opposite by looking at their covers. Yoichi seems to project some magical aura that causes any girl who gets near him to trip on something and land in a compromising pose with her skirt flipped up and custard dripping suggestively from her face. Everything is perfectly innocent, of course, except that for all his gallant veneer Yoichi can have some pretty interesting thought balloons which are only given away by the sudden geyser of blood from his nose.

Even with this aspect, “Samurai Harem” tells a good “harem” story, with all the girls being equal matches for Yoichi’s affections while Yoichi himself remains oblivious to the contest. Artist Minamoto Yu has this certain “innocent face” that she draws on Yoichi every time he is in a particularly compromising position to let us all know that he is actually a sincere and good person.

With that said, while I am a fan of fan-service in general (Hey, I like Sundome), there was one scene in “Samurai Harem volume 2″ that made even me cringe. When Yoichi’s aura works its magic and the busty Ikaruga Ibuki winds up face-down with her skirt in the air, her panties actually speak with the sound-effect “Bow Chika Wow Wow.” That might of been some creative translation going on, but either way you still have a speech balloon coming directly from a girl’s underpants, and that’s something you would usually find in an entirely different type of comic!

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Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi Volume 1

December 22, 2009 — Zack Davisson

4.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the modern world, Yoichi

The word “harem” in the title should clue you into what you can expect from “Samurai Harem” (Japanese title “Asu no Yoichi” meaning “Tomorrow’s Yoichi.”) Yes, it is that kind of manga.

The set-up has 17-year old Yoichi Karasuma, who has spent his entire life deep in the mountains training to be a bushi warrior, being sent into the city by his father. His father feels he has nothing more to teach Yoichi, who must now test his skills and resolve in a different manner. With a letter of introduction, Yoichi arrives at the home of the Ikaruga dojo, ancient allies of the Karasuma family. Almost entirely abandoned, the dojo is now the home of the four Ikaruga sisters, only one of whom maintains the family’s martial traditions. Hijinks ensue.

The conflict and comedy of “Samurai Harem” comes from Yoichi’s naivety and old-fashioned ways conflicting with the girls and the modern world. Yoichi still dresses and lives like a old-style samurai, and has never spoken to a girl before or lived with electricity or gone to school. Even though he is a master of the blade, he is pretty much a clumsy oaf with everything else, and about twenty pages into the book he finds himself with panties on his head and his hands in places they shouldn’t be, all while trying to explain to the eldest sister Ibuki that it isn’t what it looks like.

It is a familiar situation, crossing Love Hina with Ranma 1/2although Yoichi is a much more earnest character than Ranma or Keitaro. Yoichi is conflicted between his desire to walk the true path of the bushi, and the sudden desires for something softer and sweeter that he had never had to deal with before isolated in the mountains. His supposed rival, a local tough guy named Washizu, isn’t quite sure how to deal with Yoichi. Yoichi beats Washizu soundly every time they brawl, but Yoichi seems to treat the encounters as fun rather than the beat-down Washizu wants to deliver.

The four Ikaruga sisters all have distinct personalities and their own way of reacting to Yoichi. Eldest sister Ibuki (the main target for Yoichi’s affections) is large-chested and good-natured, but prone to excessive fits of violence that leave everyone feeling the smack down. Next sister Ayame is a sarcastic modern girl addicted to her cellphone, although some of her harshness is a screen for her deep shame at being so flat-chested and always second-best when compared to Ibuki. Sister number three Chihaya is a glasses-wearing bookworm who aspires to be a manga artist. She comes off as one of the most interesting characters, as she realizes that she has found herself in the middle of a typical manga storyline and decides to manipulate circumstances to the most outrageous effects, so that she can use it for her artwork. Last up is the typical sweet and shy youngest sister, Kagome, who is a dead-ringer for Shinobu from Love Hina and also can’t seem to keep her underpants off of Yoichi’s head.

Formulaic? Totally. But you either like the formula or you don’t. I like it, and thought that “Samurai Harem” delivered a good variation on a favorite theme. Cute girls in compromising positions, some samurai action (but not too much), decent characters and a fun storyline…”Samurai Harem” isn’t going to go down as one of the greatest manga of all time, but it is definitely worth the read if you like the genre.

Posted in Manga, Samurai, School Girls, Tokyo Pop. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »

Hana: The Tale of a Reluctant Samurai

November 23, 2009 — Zack Davisson

5.0 out of 5 stars Even more than flowers

With every new film, Koreeda Hirokazu (After Life, Nobody Knows) shows himself to be one of the giants of modern Japanese film. He seems to have inherited the space left behind by Itami Juzo (Tampopo, Supermarket Woman) telling Frank Capraesque tales of kindness and affection overcoming insurmountable odds, creating a world where life’s bitterness is always tempered by the sweet and simple joys that life can provide.

Koreeda is definitely a stylist, and it should come as no surprise that his take on the samurai genre, “Hana” (Japanese title “Hana yori mo naho,” or “Even more than flowers.”) has this same bittersweetness. With this film, Koreeda has taken one of Japan’s most recognizable stories, a tale told for more than two hundred years and always with a fist pounding the chest and a grim face, and turned it into a sweet love story.

The story is Chushingura, known in English as the “47 Ronin.” The real-life tale of the loyal 47 Ronin who avenge the death of their Lord Asano has been re-told and filmed countless times since the incident occurred in 1701. The title of this film is actually a reference to the event, being a snatch of a poem recited by Lord Asano before his enforced ritual suicide. “Though we may regret the scattering of the flower petals in the wind, even greater is the regret in my heart.”

Koreeda has used Chushingura as the decoration for his main story, of a samurai named Soza (Okada Junichi, who appeared in an early made-for-TV adaptation of “Chushingura”) who has been charged with the vengeance-killing of the man who slew his father. Soza’s father, a proud samurai, was killed not on the battleground but in a dispute over a game of Go, and the clan looks to Soza to reclaim his father’s honor and to prove himself as a samurai. Soza, however, is not a violent man, and has whiled away three years pretending to seek the killer while actually whiling his time away in the dire poverty of a series of row houses, and getting to know the people living there.

Life in the row houses allows for an ensemble cast, including a few of the 47 Ronin who are hiding out and plotting their revenge. Soza strikes up a friendship with a neighbor named Osae, (Miyazawa Rie, who had also appeared in a previous adaptation of “Chushingura.”) and her orphaned son, who looks on Soza as a father-figure. A three-stooges like trio of comedy relief try to figure out how they can increase their excrement, which is sold to farmers and pays for the New Year’s mochi. In a plotline straight out of The Goonies, a cruel landlord plans to evict all of the tenants of the row house unless they can come up with the back-rent all of them own. Cue the wacky plan and let the hijinks begin.

The only film I can really compare “Hana” to is Kurosawa Akira’s The Lower Depths. This is a story of love and life amongst the lower classes, and of those who face the demands of their station as opposed to the whispers of their hearts. It is a peaceful, quiet film with no action and no dramatic conclusion. And it is beautiful. The music is especially delightful. I am not sure what kind of instrument is playing but I love the sound and it fits perfectly with the tone of the film.

If you like Koreeda’s films and the message that he sends, then you will fall in love with “Hana.” I certainly did. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking that all samurai films need heavy-hitting heroes and bold drama to make for a great film experience.

Posted in Funimation, Japanese Film, Jidai Geki, Samurai. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »
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