Peacemaker Volume 1: Innocence Lost - Anime From Japan
- Anime From Japan
- Jared Elswick
- 10/01/04
- click here
The Review //Known as Peacemaker Kurogane to most people, Peacemaker is a show that I have never actually heard anything good about. Everyone I know who has seen this show is only mildly impressed by it, but after seeing this first volume I really don't know what they were thinking, because Peacemaker is awesome. Any show that reminds of Rurouni Kenshin this much must have something good going for it, I guess I'm just the first person to notice it.
Visually, Peacemaker is just as impressive as you would expect it to be coming from Gonzo. The colors almost seem a little dull at times, yet they retain a sense of vibrancy that could almost confuse your eyes if you don't pay enough attention. Throughout all four of these episodes I couldn't notice any aliasing or cross coloration, and the incredible animation in this show meshes quite well with this wonderful transfer. As for the audio, you get the choice of an English 5.1 track or a Japanese 2.0 track, so I obviously went with the English track. Voices, for the most part, sound amazing and really suit the characters quite well. The score for this series fits the tone of the storyline very well and while there isn't a ton of directionality in this volume, the rear speakers did see a little action and the front speakers managed to provide a good sense of directionality to make up for the lack of rear directionality.
Peacemaker follows the story of 15 year old Tesunosuke Ichimura. He is a fiery red head that really has no patience for anything and has dreamed of joining the Shinsengumi ever since he and his elder brother Tatsunosuke watched their father die at the hands of the nefarious Chosu clan. Tatsunosuke has cared for Tetsu ever since their father died and has just recently joined the Shinsengumi himself...as an accountant. Tetsu tries to join the Shinsengumi, as they are actually looking for new recruits to join in the battle against the Chosu clan, but he's rejected because of his size, and then he's trampled by the 10th squad of the Shinsengumi.
Feeling rather saddened by this ordeal, Tetsu and Tatsu sit by the riverside having a peaceful conversation when a pig, named Saizu, runs into Tetsu's back and sends him flying into the river. As it turns out, this pig is the pet of a man, a rather effeminate man named Souji Okita (although this man does not reveal his name as of yet). Tetsu lets it slip that he wants to join the Shinsengumi and defeat a man named Souji Okita to gain a foothold in the organization, and being a rather well known man about town, Souji says that he can arrange for him to meet with this Souji. When the trio arrives at the Shinsengumi's headquarters, they're greeted by an old man who runs the place and then by Souji Okita himself, who just happens to be the man that took then to the headquarters. Souji Okita, the famed commander of the 1st squadron of the Shinsengumi, is an effeminate looking woman.
To everyone's surprise, Tetsu and Souji actually fight, and it's a rather lengthy one at that, with Tetsu taking quite a beating, but not without giving Souji a rather hard time. Tetsu is actually a rather good fighter to everyone's surprise, but he still gets his ass handed to him, and possibly even worse if the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, Toshizo Hijikata, steps in, telling everyone that this fight is meaningless and that he still doesn't want a kid in the Shinsengumi, especially one that wants to learn the sword of vengeance.
So, even though Tetsu has been rejected once more, even after showing his prowess as a fighter, he doesn't want to give up hope of joining the Shinsengumi. So he sits outside the front gates, all night in the rain without sleeping. The next morning, Souji and Toshizo find him at the gates and Toshizo finally allows him into the organization, as his page, and then Tetsu passes out. Much to his surprise though, Tetsu is nothing more than an errand boy for Toshizo, at least for now. He manages to get into a few skirmishes throughout the volume, but for the most part he's making tea or washing clothes. He also gets to meet a few more people in the organization. He meets with one of the Watchers, which is really just a ninja in the Shinsengumi. He also meets the 2nd, 10th and 3rd squadron commanders. And on a side note, the 3rd squad commander is named Hajime Saito, just like in Rurouni Kenshin.
As you can tell, there is a lot of stuff that takes place in this volume, and just about all of it is great in its own way as we are either learning more about the situation or meeting new characters. Peacemaker is just what I was hoping it would be and I can't wait to get into more of this awesome show. Rurouni Kenshin fans will enjoy this series most though, well I think so anyway, but there is something genuinely good about Peacemaker that should make it a fan favorite for quite a while.
The Score10/10
Posted on Friday, October 01, 2004 (Archive on Monday, November 01, 2004)