Hey people!

Just when I was about to give up on the entertainment industry(yes...movies, music and tv) I came across a gem!

It so happened this past weekend (It was really long as we had a public holiday on Monday!) I found myself searching for some in-house entertainment to escape the boredom and stress of the BSS(Broke So Soon) syndrome. So I turned to the telly for inspiration and to my expected disappointment found the same mind-dumbing crap that's always on...apart from the apprentice that is, which is also kind of getting on my nerves nowadays but still makes up for passable tv. I tried checking what's on the movies but as everyone nowadays who watches movies knows, it's all the same script with the same formula just different actors and titles...so as you guessed, I passed on this too. Actually, I was almost convinced to go watch the new Indiana Jones movie but unfortunately someone leaked out to me that it had something to do with aliens(oops!....sorry for spoiling anyone's anticipation of this film),which put me off the film completely. I guess even Speilberg is struggling in getting new ideas?

Any-who, to cut the theatrics short I came aross an anime entitled Shigurui: Death Frenzy on Anime Squish and just couldn't stop watching till the whole series was over!

The story is based in ancient Japan during the sixth year of the Kan’ei era (1629), at the beginning of the Edo period. The Daimyo(feudal lord) Tokugawa Tadanaga, ruler of the land organises a duelling tournament in which the talented swordsmen across the land are to attend. However unlike common sword matches to showcase swordsmanship, Tadanaga swaps the use of Bokken swords (wooden swords) with real swords and by the look of his very eerie deom-rabbit eyes expects a blood and guts galore.

The duels begin with two samurai with quite unusual circumstances, Irako Seigen is a blind cripple and Fujiki Gennosuke is a one-armed swordsman (only in the anime world eh?). However before the match continues the story goes into a flashback 7 years ago piecing together the fate of these two strong characters who now face each other in a truly vicious blood battle.

MadHouse Studios' director Hirotsugu Hamazaki directs this dark tale brilliantly with fluid animation, a solid plot and stunning art-work. As most animes set in the between the Edo and Meiji era expect a lot of blood, guts and limbs and I would recommend parental supervision...even for kids under 15 as there is some nudity and some awkward scenes of sexual nature. What's quite gripping though is the fact that this is one of the first animes I have enjoyed mainly because of the indulging storyline and how it's delivered through the stunning animation (the gore scenes are disturbingly detailed by the way..)

The series has 12 full episodes and I give it a full 10/10 as it is well deserved. I recommend it to a mature audience especially those who do not watch anime as it is a testament of how enjoyable an anime can truly be.

Check it out!

ps: Anyone else come across any interesting finds out there?

Laters!

Tags: Anime Shigurui Animation Samurai Entertainment

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