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Samurai X - Reflection (Rurouni Kenshin)

Samurai X - Reflection (Rurouni Kenshin)

List Price: $29.98
Your Price: $26.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A beautiful work!
Review: When I first saw this DVD, I was shocked!! As ending of Rurouni Kenshin, it's more realistic than the original Manga. It can be really sad in a way. Kenshin could've lived a quiet happy life with his wife Kaoru, his son Kenji and his friends.

However, he always suffers from what he's done in the past. When he worked as "Hitokiri-Battousai" during Bakumatsu, the young assassin believed that what he was doing was right. But the loss of his first wife Tomoe has made him realize that the people he killed also had had their family, lovers and friends and the people who lost their family, lovers and friends suffered from the loss just like he did when she died. And the fact that he used to be "Hitokiri Battousai" makes him try to find a way for taking responsibility for the dead.

There would be some other possible endings for Rurouni Kenshin, and some other answers he could find for what he's done. But at the same time, the answer he's found for it in this story is also possible. Personally I like this ending and I don't think it's depressing, because Kenshin and Kaoru have no regret in the end.

I really love the beautiful animation and the music, and of course the content of this story is really strong. I wanted to give 5 stars, but I really don't understand the fact he went to China (He was sent there by the Japanese government to support the Japanese army to fight the war. But why was he still helping killing more people after he'd been aware of the mistake he'd made???) and the other thing is that if you haven't seen the TV show (until Koyto saga) and the previous Samurai X DVDs, the story line can be pretty difficult to follow. Maybe 60 minutes is little bit too short to explain everything.

If you like Rurouni Kenshin, this is a must-see (you might find this little sad though). It really makes you think. It's different from the ending of the original Manga. The original Manga of Rurouni Kenshin is a kind of Shonen Manga, which basically is for kids. They always focus on action like Dragon Ball. I recommend this DVD to adult-audiences because it is more about Kenshin as a person and about his personality, not about Kenshin as an action star.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: If you love Kenshin...then just go ahead and click on buy
Review: While not to recap what all has been said, Seisohen or as ADV retitled it, Reflection, is the latest of the Kenshin animation, but by no means can you count it the last. The nature of the anime industry is to keep everything viable, even if viewers might think otherwise.

That said, I imported this last year and just yesterday finished watching the ADV version. (subtitled) I couldn't truly recall any major differences in how the two flowed against each other, so while I'm a novice in Japanese, I did feel the translation worked. The animation itself, of course, was a little bit cleaner, being the offical domestic release and all.

One thing not mentioned or I didn't catch, was that the character design is somewhat different than in the last Kenshin OVA. With the introduction of characters of the series, it seems that there was a pull back on the design from more realistic to less. The result is mostly larger eyes and color schemes which refer to the manga and to the tv series. While, nice, I felt the realism of the first OVA made it even more striking. Kenshin has fully orange/red hair in this one and even purple eyes to boot, while his son Kenji, ironically, reminds us more of the character design of the first OVA.

So in essence, Seisohen is less of a venture away from the tv series in character design, than was the OVA that preceded it. The storyline does recap events from the tv series, but its well worth it simply for the slightly different re-interpetations and just to revisit those moments with the much higher quality animation. (The recaps are not related at all to series footage, everything has been re-animated in a different manner). You also get a glimpse of the Jinchu (Revenge) Arc of the manga, which never made it to the tv series.

And yes, this OVA flies left on a tangent from the manga and the tv series, but then again, the tv series did the same with the manga. The underlying themes of all the above, however, remain true and which is why Seisohen is still a great piece of Kenshin animation. The music is also along similar themes, but fails to really capture the moment as it did in the prior OVA. By no means is it a lackdown, just not on the exact same level.

I truly hope that with Kenshin now playing on the Cartoon network, even with its english dub, that the series' popularity will climb higher. Even to the extent that ADV might use its growing clout to attempt to at least offer money for further Kenshin animation. (Long as there's no drop in quality!)

On a pure technical annoying note, the English dubbing of this OVA is done in 5.1 Dolby, while the Japanese is merely 2.0. When will those darn companies think of us folks with home theaters?!
(Gotta love Jin-Roh for that)

Otherwise, buy it, keep it, love it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: TV Series fans, be patient when you watch this
Review: Yet another quality product from the people who brought you Trust and Betrayal. Fans of the previous OVA will love this DVD. Fans of the TV show will have to put up with even more sappy stuff, but the OVA makes up for it with its awesome quality and good fight scenes. Plus, this is the only chance to see Enishi and Kenji in glorious animation, and we get to see Yahiko and Sano's evolution.

But this does have flaws, first of all we need more Enishi, this guy is to awesome to get such limited scrren time in this series; second, the characters aren't very believable. After watching how some of the flashbacks actually "happened" in the TV series, the viewer feels like the characters are just acting in a play, instead of being themselves. The series has much better character development, since the OVA characters are just too dramatic. I was actually laughing on some of the so called "flashbacks" because some characters reacted totally different in most situations than how they did in the series. Maybe Kaoru just suffers from bad memory.

This is still a must have title for Kenshin fans, fans of the OVA will love this sappy story, and TV fans get to see their loved characters in a less relaxed environment, but with better graphics and fighting.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This was OK at best.
Review: I've seen the import version of this and after i saw it I wondered why i watched it in the first place. This ova made it a point to change things that happned in the series and make it seem that Kenshin didn't undergo the character changes in the Kyoto arc. Plus the first DVD is a recap of the series and they changed many of the scenes to make Kenshin seem more sad. Also unlike the manga this is mos certainly NOT a happy ending. I loved kenshin and liked how it was light hearted and this is not a suitable ending, why change the ending from what it was in the manga when the series pretty much follows it?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great story, unparalell animation, beautiful music, BUT....
Review: I was one of those fortunate people that imported this DVD. Being a fan of the first rouruni kenshin OVA, and the animated series, I was looking forward too seeing the conclusion. It was absoloutly beautiful. Sweet, sad, dramatic, heartfelt storytelling that never ever slipped into cheesiness like some unmentionable films (Titanic. Gladiator.) With wonderfully animated and intense action scenes. It Was a love letter too all the fans of the kenshin series. A way too say goodbye too kenshin, Kaoru, Sanosuke, Yahiko, Megumi, Tsubami, Hiko Seijuro, and a few others. The Fates of all of these are revealed in this film. There are some very sly jokes, like Hiko's continuous love of alcohol and stern refusal not too age. It drew a tear as the credits roled, for it was just so heartfelt, beautiful, and touching.

Yet I still have nightmares about what ADV did too the last OVA, having seen a imported subtitled version of The first Kenshin OVA; I was appaled at what ADV divided into two disks and called; "trust" and "Betrayal". Tomoe was rewritten into a Vamp, enishi into an arrogant young man, and Seito was okinas master, plot inconsistancies were abundant. Changes too the plot were everywhere, and nothing was changed for the better. As any fan that understands japanese, or saw the imported subtitle, "Trust" and "betrayal" will tell you, The ADV version was watered down in complexity and depth. I shudder too think that ADV will repeat such a tradgedy with this release. They have already changed the title from Seisouhen (year of frost) too Reflection. So perhaps my misgivings are correct.

Nonetheless, I am quite happy with my import. those unwilling or unable to do so, feel free too pick up this domestic release. Its better then nothing. And I am hoping that ADV for once only changed the title of the DVD and nothing else. Unfortunately they do have a bad reputation for watering down perfectly good anime, but I will keep my fingers crossed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: ...IT'S SAD!
Review: I just finished watching this one, and I have to say it's just SO sad...

Yes, this is closure to the series, but, like it's been said, this is more of a follow-up for the first OAV than the TV show. It's mostly taken from Karou's point of view, so the storyline seems more skewed, since we don't get to see development from Kenshin's side, like in the TV show. Also, it plays with the storyline, not being QUITE accurate, but not completely deviating... at least, not until the end.

Still, you get to see Karou fall in love with Kenshin in a fairly intimate way. Although we get to see that in the TV show, there's something in this OAV that makes you understand why she just stuck with him the whole time.

Hmmm... besides you get to see Tomoe's brother, Enishi, Sanosuke, a grown-up Yahiko (he's COOL!!), Kenshin and Karou's son, Kenji, Megumi, and Hiko-sama. For this alone, I think this was worth it... although... um... tough call. THE END WAS DEPRESSING!!

Let's see... the animation is as good as in the first OAV, the music is equally sad and haunting, and the voice actors did a wonderful job.

Frankly, I think if you really need to finish off the story, watch it, but be prepared for the fact this is NOT the TV show or the manga. There's no joy in it, just like the first OAV, but there's a lot of quiet moments...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ...
Review: I loved it. You should see at the first two sessions in the Kenshin tv series and the Oav's. If you didn't it was great anyways. The emotions in this anime was very powerful. If you are a long time fan of kenshin, you'll nearly cry watching this.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This is not how it's supposed to be.
Review: If you like the first OVA, you may well like this OVA. However! If you are a fan of the TV show, I can't in good conscience recommend it. The problem with this OVA is that it deviates from the manga, in a bad way. The first OVA was faithful to the manga, although overall I think it was darker and more realistic. THIS OVA, however, rewrites important points in the plot of the earlier parts of the manga (which were animated in the TV series) so that it can be more depressing and make Kenshin ... sad! Also, the end of Kenshin's battle with Enishi is completely, completely different from how it happened in the manga. In a bad way! This OVA depicts what would happen if Kenshin hadn't undergone any character development in the Kyoto plot arc, and still had the same attitude as in the pirate arc at the end of season one. And it's nothing good. If you like the first OVA but do not like the TV series, go ahead and buy it. If you can't stand to miss something with "Kenshin" in the title, go ahead, but prepare to be really depressed, and if you are familiar with the manga version of the Enishi plot arc, really annoyed with the OVA-making people. And if you like Kenshin and thus do not want to see him suffer like this, trust me, this does not happen in the manga, and it isn't compatible with events depicted in the TV series (which is truer to the manga); take solace in that.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Wow.....
Review: This final OAV is absolutely awesome! You would never believe how awesome they could make the Jin-e fight look. Unfortunately, this OAV does have its downsides. I am a die-hard fan of the manga, and I was really hoping to see the Enishi saga animated in its full glory, but unfortunately, that segment is only about 20 minutes long, max. It gets a bit of beautiful treatment, but it's nothing like it could have been. The majority of the OAV concentrates on a time 16 years later, and although the story is really good and wonderful, it is also horribly sad. It's not all depression, though...there are several really nice, heartwarming moments. Nevertheless, I much prefer the manga ending and its two bonus stories, which postulate a much happier life for Kenshin and Kaoru. READ THE MANGA.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The True ending of Rurouni Kenshin
Review: This is the final chapter of the Samurai X/Rurouni Kenshin saga. Marketed in Japan as Rurouni Kenshin Seisouhen, the story takes place approx. ten to twenty years after the show ended. The art and music is the same as that of the first OVAs. It starts of with a grieving and lonely Kaoru, hoping for Kenshin's return from China. As she begins to slip from this world, she begins to recall all of their memories and times together. One will see familar fights from the TV show, only they have been re-mastered and are more realistic. The only problem with this movie is one must read the manga first. The manga consisted of four parts, of which only two were animated. The third season of the Rurouni Kenshin TV series was made up on the spot for the TV show. Without reading the third and fourth arcs of Rurouni Kenshin, the movie will seem a little obscure to viewers, though it is not terribly hard to follow. Otherwise it shows the same class, emotion, and beauty that the first OAVs showed. If you love Kenshin, and the rest of the Kenshin-gumi, this is a must have.


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