Samurai X: Complete [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I was first introduced to this film by my friend seven years ago, and I have ever since fallen in love with Japanese anime. Seven years later, having enjoyed such excellent films as Grave of Fireflies, Spirited Away, Akira and Macross Plus etc., this film, Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuhen(as it is known in Japanese), still holds a special place in my heart and will never be replaced by anything.

What makes this film a classic is the degree of perfection the makers were aiming at from every angle. Examine it from a superficial perspective, the drawing for instance, is lush, sensual and very realistic. When falling leaves drop in water you can see the ripples; when blood drops on snow it really sinks into it. Everything is shaped and executed with utmost poetry and beauty, and this is true even for the bloody scenes in the movie. In a fighting scene in which Kenshin kills the girl's fiance, the camerawork strikes me as breathtaking and highly effective, it really gives the action speed and momentum and makes it sparkle with fire.

More importantly, the story and characters are what make this film memorable. I have to congratulate the makers of this film because they had an excellent script to start with, into which they weaved elements of tragedy and oriental fatalism, making it into an epic and legendary tale of love and sacrifice. First off, the story starts with a gory scene of massacre, the sky has a color of blood, and the music is gloomy and spine-tingling, setting up a tragic tone for the entire film. In this setting we meet the little boy Shinta(later to become Kenshin) for the first time, he is the only presence in that scene that resembles innocence in this world, but soon later his innocence will be forever lost as he witnesses the killing of the three sisters.(This scene is carried out with ruthless realism and precision, for some people it can be unbearable.) Kenshin's life is tragic and ill-fated right from the beginning. As we keep on watching, we grow attached to the characters, we feel for them, for their sacrifice and suffering, and the rare moments of joy and peace they have.

The contradiction in Kenshin's life is that, he believes that through killing he can help bring a new world to the people, but each time he kills he feels tremendous guilt and unrest. To find solace and justify for his actions, he keeps reminding himself that he is serving for a cause that will eventually bring salvation to the people from war, famine, and corrupt government. But slowly he begins to realize the fact that the people he's trying to eliminate are just oridinary human beings; by killing them he is actually destroying families and making others suffer, and that in turn makes himself suffer in guilt. All this makes him nothing more than a killing machine, a tool! The more deeply he realizes about this truth, the more tormented he feels inside his heart. So at this point, a new character is introduced, the girl named Tomoe who is a heavenly figure shrouded by an aura of mystery and feminine beauty, a person who is bound to change Kenshin's life forever....

I loved the way history and fiction are intertweaved in this film to create a story that is simultaneously legendary and credible. It has been remarked that the character of Kenshin is loosely based on a real person, and the political figures featured in the anime have all existed in history. After thoroughly enjoying this film, I actually spend some time looking into the history of 19th century Japan, specially on circumstances surrounding the Meiji Restoration and various key figures in that revolution. And this research has led me to greater appreciation of the film. More often than not, you don't get such succesful combinations of history and fiction in films alot; another good example that immediately comes to mind is the award-winning film of 1984, Amadeus, which retells the life of Mozart in a comical and sensational way.

Finally, I'd also like to comment on the music in this film. The music is amazing from beginning to end! Not only in the sense that it effectively supports and amplifies the drama, but the music alone forms an emotional journey. It is soulful and introspective, at times sad but weepingly beautiful. If you listen to the soundtracks in full cycle, scenes in the film come back to your mind in vivid details. I remember when I watched this film for the first time, I was left spellbound and speechless as the ending theme sounds its first notes. In the end the music takes you all the way back to where the story started, at which point you hear little Shinta talking to his master, and you are overwhelmed by a flood of emotions as this gruesome but hauntingly beautiful tale is brought to conclusion in a cyclic form.

In my opinion everything about this film is masterful and recommendable. This is a very serious work of art that has raised the artistic quality of anime films in general to an admirable degree. Heart-felt gratitude to all involved in the making of this film!

All fans of "Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X" will surely love this complete box OVA/OAV set. It is very suspenseful and holds your attention till the ending of this tragic-yet-happy tale.

When buying this box set, you are getting your money's worth. Usually, this box set runs anywhere from 90-100 USD in some stores, but on Amazon, it practically cuts it in half.

This product does not appear to be a bootleg and is very accurate on the subtitles.

There is also another OVA/OAV box set that has a black box and is a little more expensive. Personally, I favor this one. In the other box set, you do not get the following:

Reflection: Director's Cut
Trust & Betrayal: Director's Cut
(Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X) The Motion Picture*
Reflection
Trust & Betrayal

*The Motion Picture is sometimes listed as Japanese only when searching for the "Language" on some sites, such as this, but with this DVD box set, it DOES come in English and also in Japanese, with English subtitles.

(All DVDs = English/Japanese with English subtitles)

That is what you get in this box set, besides the wonderful box art and the beautiful DVD cover art.

[Risk]
The risk of purchasing this box set, or any box set for that matter, is damage to the box itself, not necessarily the DVDs, but hey, sometimes it happens.

Note: On the side of the box, you may see a small logo that says: Rurouni Kenshin or Samurai X. They are both the same.

Little kids should not be watching this. The suggested rating in my eyes would be at least an audience that is mature enough to handle the dialog and the little suggestive themes that are featured. Roughly: 16+

Also: The title is a little misleading, considering it only says 'Samurai X - Complete', but this is NOT the Anime, it is the OVA/OAV collection.

I have always been a fan of the original Rurouni Kenshin series and this complete collection of the OVA is but the topping for an amazing series. The artwork is incredible. The use of CG was correctly used and didn't take away from the experience. The sound was also great as well as the video quality in general. I have two very minor problems with this OVA though despite the fact that i believe it to be near flawless would be 1. The menus are rather dull. Virtually no extras are offered being that this is somewhat of a collectors edition and 2. The American voice acting like most anime is horrible. I would highly recommend while thinking of buying this fine product that you first of all don't rely heavily on the menus, it is the anime you are buying it for and second, put the audio in Japanese; the voices sound better and you get more of the story because they edited some elements out during their translation process. Other than this I would say that this collection is perfect for any anime collector. You will not be disappointed.