Carried by the Wind - Tsukikage Ran - A Tale of Two Travelers (Vol. 1)

Rating:
Summary: Tale of a Wandering Samurai...Woman?
Review: Akitaro Daichi is said to be the genius behind this series, and if so then I owe him big time. I remember once I saw an episode or two of Jubei Chan:Ninja Girl, and while I didn't care for the humor much, one thing stood out in my mind. That show had the most amazing action sequences I had ever seen in my life. Samurai cartwheeling and summersaulting through the air while the swords clashed...BEAUTIFUL. So naturally I was very interested when I heard the same guy was responsible for this series. But then, I read reveiws on the Internet, and they all said that this show was lackluster, boring, no good. These reviewers need to be shot.

First thing's first. Do you like Samurai flicks? Black and white Kurosawa? The whole Ronin Samurai thing? And above all, Samurai sword fights? Then this show will blow your mind. For starters it has two EXTREMELY likable main characters, wonderful animation, and a great opening and ending (the intro in particular REALLY harkens back to the old Samurai movies of yester-year). The plot of every episode will remind you of every Samurai film plotline in the book. But this show is not TRING to be original. It is trying to pay a light-hearted tribute to Samurai Sagas with awesome fight scenes. And that it does well.

While the show is mostly comic, it still mangages to pack quite a wallop when it comes to drama. Every episode has some, and the show just seems to get better and better (with more depth) as it goes along. But the REAL reason to watch this one is the fight sequences. Truly, they must be seen to be believed. Lightning fast and done in the perfect martial-arts Samurai style (jump, duck, weave, and smack five or six opponents at once, one flick of the sword and you're either knocked out or dead).

And let's not forget the OUTSTANDING dub on this one either. I've seen a lot of truly terrible ones lately, but the English voice cast on this show is about as perfect as they come. The tone of the show (and the real meat of the characters) is captured perfectly, allowing you to laugh one minute and (particularly in one or two parts) feel misty-eyed or cut-at-heart the next. And interestingly, although there are a lot of fights and a fair amount of killing, I cannot recall seeing any blood in any of the episodes (personally I believe in Jackie Chan's philosophy of give me action, but spare me the blood and gore).

If you really like Samurai action, and in particular Samurai-themed anime, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

Rating:
Summary: Daichi does it again!
Review: Hi. Let me start off by saying that I am a big Jubei-chan fan. I saw that series and instantly fell in love with. It was hilariusly silly, yet had realy good character devolpment, great action, and totley likeable characters. When I heard that the directer, Akito Daichi, had made another anime involving samurai and sword fights, I became very excited. I expected more incredible action, hilarity, and great characters. And I was not disapointed. Tsukikaze Ran is not exactly as funny as Jubei-chan, but it is still very funny. However, this apears to be a bit more of a drama then Jubei-chan. The action is actuly better than Jubei-Chan. this is highly recomended.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, and we need more of this!!!
Review: I'm a lot more of a chambara (samurai film) buff than I am of anime. This one is anime but thankfully (for me) doesn't contain the SF/horror/fantasy elements, but sticks to basic chambara conventions.

What a marvelous anti-dote for the overdose of wafting, servile females we see too often, not only in samurai films but in too many American and European films as well (though it's gotten better recently). This series pokes gentle fun at so many of the cliches that show up in chambara films -- the lone, mysterious (usually broke) ronin who wanders into a local bru-ha-ha in some town, and with a few flicks of the sword...?? Only this one is female, and obviously so. What she is NOT is the typical helpless and frail sort of female. Her sense of honor rules as always in these types of films -- and she does love that sake!

And then there is Lady Meow. Another woman with a code of honor, who drives our mysterious hero up a wall, but comes to the aid of her travelling friend.

This stuff is Wonderful and Marvelous! I'm addicted to this. MORE, MORE, MORE....!!!!! I wonder if and when some producer will eventually do a "live" version of this series.

Rating:
Summary: A Samurai drama or a Samurai joke?
Review: The story is a simple one. A sake-drinking Samurai and a dimwitted matial artist who talks WAY too much end up joining forces to defend the weak and fight evil. No, not really. First, both are female, both love their sake, but only the Samuari can hold it, and both are ALWAYS getting into trouble.
Ran, the sword carrying Samurai, is a loner and REALLY hates company. She hates it when people wake her up or get in the way of her meal. And she won't run from trouble.
Meow of the Iron Cat Fist, can't hold her drink and loves to lecture people, mostly about on how powerful she is and how evil they are. And she always seems to fall into trouble.
The four episodes are good, but not great. The titles pretty much give away the plots - the first episode allows us to meet the characters, the second has to deal with sake, the third with a baby and the last with...well, that one is harder to explain. I won't give anything else away.
The extras are more interesting - detailed liner notes, art gallery, commercial collection, a cool fold-out and previews.
I take one point away because the ideas behind the series and the plots, so far, it isn't anything a Hollywood hack couldn't think of. The fighting scenes ARE realistic looking and remind one of a real, old fashion, Samurai epic.
So if you like Japanese Samurai movies, Japanese history or fighting females, this is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Very funny!
Review: This is great! I found it to be very silly and yet somewhat dramatic at the same time. The idea of a sake-loving female samurai and an idealistic, cat-based martial arts fighter teaming up is fantastic! The animation is very smooth, and the fight scenes rival anything you might find in Rurouni Kenshin. In fact, when fighting, Ran puts me in mind of Kenshin himself, being extremely fast, adept at her art, and able to take out ten or more guys in a matter of seconds. And her sake-swilling ways make me think of Kenshin's kick-ass, sake-loving mentor Hiko Seijuro.

(In case you can't tell, I am a big Rurouni Kenshin fan.)

Lady Meow is a martial artist in the style of the Iron Cat Fist, and is very effective, taking out a whole group of men just as fast as her partner Ran. She is idealistic to an extreme, and gets into sticky situations rather easily. Her movements are somewhat feline, probably due to her karate style.

The voice actors in both versions are great, from the minor characters in each episode all the way to Ran and Lady Meow. Ran's voice is appropriate for her age, although her English voice actor still puts that feminine touch to it. In that Japanese version she sounds much more masculine, which makes it easier for the other characters to think of her as a man. Lady Meow's voice actor in both versions is well aware of how excitable the character is (I cannot recall the last time I saw someone make that many faces), and it shows in the incredible voice-acting.

This is a fun, light-hearted series that even in the harshest fights never fully takes itself seriously. And that is just what it is supposed to do!

Rating:
Summary: A female Toshiro Mifune!
Review: Tsukikaze Ran is a sake swilling female version of the type of samurai hero that Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, etc.) made famous. I loved it!