Shigurui – Anime Review
DVD Rating: 
Distributor: Madman Released: 2007 Genre: Anime/Supernatural/Action Credits: Writer: Based on the novel by Norio Najo Rating: R 18
This DVD was supplied by Madman Entertainment
New Zealand for review
Shigurui is astoundingly graphic. And by that we mean it’s seriously cool. The story alone is fantastic stuff but with animation so detailed and vibrant, Shigurui just jumps off the screen, transporting you back to 16th century Japan where the “beauty is in the kill”. Get ready for some serious brutality.
Shigurui is set during the reign of Tokugawa Tadanaga, circa 1629. A world where prowess with the sword is all that matters to two young warriors. The plot focuses on Gennosuke Fujiki and Seigen Irako, two skilled Samurai who meet under fateful circumstances and who are destined to cross each other’s bloody paths time and time again.
The story of Shigurui is masterfully written. Although the style in which the anime is set seems a little confusing in places – sentences that are left open-ended in the middle of cataclysmic events makes for a some-what fragmented story. However, this type of story-telling is the first I’ve encountered in anime, and gives it a refreshing outlook and an interesting flow.
The graphic nature of the animation may not be everyone’s thing but even at its most violent, it is an essential part of the story and breathes life into the very souls of the characters. There is a copious amount of blood and gore in Shigurui and scenes of death are commonplace as are sexually explicit encounters with a generous amount of nudity.
Shigurui is split into several chapters on each disk and is based on 32 chapters of the manga (as opposed to the novel). The original novel was written by Norio Nanjo and is titled ‘Suruga-jō Gozen Jiai’.
The DVD comes with a beautifully presented booklet that includes in-depth history on the real characters of the time and also includes details of daily life in feudal Japan as it would have been during the period that the story is set.
It’s rare to see an anime so well-written and entertaining. Shigurui is an absolute delight. If you enjoy anime like Samurai Champloo or even Samurai 7, you shouldn’t miss this.
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