Samurai Gun Volume 1: Cocked and Loaded - Denkyu.Com
- Denkyu.Com
- Elizabeth Bryans
- 08/16/05
- click here
"The voice acting for the dub is great, one of the best that I've encountered."
It is the bakumatsu period in Japans history, a troubled time when the country began to emerge from its feudal system and into the Meigi government. Anime such as Rurouni Kenshin and Peace Maker Kurogane have dealt with this time period. This conflict between the last shogunate and the Meigi government brought about a new kind of samurai, a samurai that does not wield a sword, but a gun. These samurai are known as the Samurai Gun and they are what stand against the corrupt Shogunate.
Ichimatsu is one of these special samurai, armed with superior strength, speed, agility, and of course guns. At first you see him as a happy go lucky half breed working in a tavern. Beneath the exterior of this quiet waiter is a cunning warrior with a painful past. Ichimatsu is best friends with the local teacher, Daimon, and there is a girl at the brothel that is, well, his girlfriend. Ichimatsu is also opposed to killing, but if something brings up the painful memory of his sister, well, I hope their life insurance is paid up.
Even though Ichimatsu is the main character of this series, the creators didn't focus on just him though. A good story will also tell you something about the other players. Episode one shows you what Daimon does, other than teach. Daimon serves as the liason between their boss and the Samurai Gun. When Ichimatsu decides not to follow orders, it is Daimon who reminds him that according to the twelfth article,
'In the light or in the shadow evil must be extinguished, no matter where it lies.' So Ichimatsu goes to kill the three brothers, sons of the Shogun, who are murdering young women and children, for the fun of it.
In episode two the Samurai Gun has to take care of their captured informant before the Shogun Preservation has their Anti-Samurai Unit torture information out of him about the Samurai Gun. Kurenai, the taverns singer, has her time in the spotlight in this episode with a few flashbacks of her past. This episode also brings in the Anti-Samurai Unit as the villains. The Anti-Samurai Unit has something powerful, brought to them from the west... a steam engine. That isn't all that's new. They have a new torture device that's shockingly fun to use.
Episode three has prostitutes that are being killed, and not by just anyone. Ohana, Ichimatsu's love interest, is the main focus in this episode and her character takes on more depth as the story unfolds. Ohana tells her story of her life at the brothel. How Ohana wound up at the brothel, and what it can be like. A spy for the Anti-Samurai Unit pays for some time with Ohana and drugs her, trying to find out information about Ichimatsu and what she knows of the Samurai Gun. When the Samurai Gun comes to rescue her, something happens to her that will change her life, for the better.
The artwork for this anime is beautiful and clean. Characters with a more vibrant personality wear colors that are more vibrant compared to those who are more serious or dark and sinister. When Ohana flashes back to when she's standing in front of the brothel mistress, she wears a bright red outfit, but the brothel mistress who is mean wears darker clothes, colors in the gray tone. The blood spilled from a wound is very vibrant though, as if it's a representation of life, for that really is what it is. The drawing is clean with attention paid to the details.
The opening theme,
'Samurai Crew' by ZZ is an upbeat rock/pop song. The ending theme,
'Ienai Kotoba' by Aiko Kayo is a soft love song. Both are great and something any fan of OSTs would love. The voice acting for the dubbing is great, one of the best that I've encountered. The timing was great and the voices matched the characters wonderfully. For those of you who are always on the look out for fan service, you won't be disappointed; there is some here and there. The language is a bit questionable in a few places for those of you who don't care for harsh language, but there's only a little of it.
Posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 (Archive on Friday, September 16, 2005)