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DVD Reviews of Samurai Champloo Volume 5 and Tetsujin 28 Volume 1

© Holly Ellingwood

Samurai Champloo volume 5 continues the ancient Japanese saga of two samurai and a moxy woman traveling to Nagasaki in search of the "Sunflower Samurai". Samurai action, comedy and drama all blended at its best, this is likely the best anime of the year. Combining hip-hop, kinetic action, wacky comedic moments, and a great samurai tale, Samurai Champloo has it all. When last we left our trio, they had separated and were each facing certain death. Fate seems to have more in store for them though as they are reunited and set back on their path; though not without a few hitches along the way. There's a hilarious episode in this anime about the birth of graffiti in Japan, and even a graffiti duel. Most memorable is the last episode on this volume, which is a mesmerizing tale of tragedy and danger for our trio. It was the best episode yet out of an already excellent series. With lush, beautiful backgrounds, detailed and flowing action, this still ranks a high 9 out of 10 kendo swords and should not be missed.

Rating: This series is rated 16 and up for violence and language.

Extras: Extras on volume 5 include conceptual art, promo video, and Geneon previews.

Release Information: Samurai Champloo volume 5 (of 7), being released by Geneon Entertainment, contains episodes 17 to 20 and is available now.

Tetsujin 28 volume 1 "Monster Resurrected" is a sci-fi action series the likes of Astro Boy and Steamboy among some titles to name. Set in post World War II, a young and brilliant orphan, Shotaro is a detective. One day he comes across his late father's last experiment, a giant robot called Tetsujin, the 28th model and last one that his father made. With his beloved robot, he sets out to fight evil wherever it may lie. A very stylized anime, it pays homage to much earlier giant robot series such as Gigantor. In keeping with that, it sticks to a similar though slightly revamped animation style that gives you the sense of history and style of anime while bring in color and a bit more depth. The anime, though a bit simplistic, has an interesting blend of historical WWII facts blended with a slight science fiction twist. There's a lot of adventure as well as compelling mystery. It is above all an anime with a good heart. Even though I'm not an overall fan of giant robot series, I found myself wanting to find out what happened next. This anime managed to keep my interest over 5 episodes. For a genre that's not my thing, that says something about the quality of the storytelling here. A fine adventure series particularly for fans of the genre and younger viewers, this series ranks 7 out of 10 kendo swords.

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