Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Samurai Girls: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

The 36DD Samurai.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 15, 2011

It’s not that often that a cursory knowledge of feudal Japan is required to enjoy a typical ecchi outing with more than the usual amount of gratuitous “fan service,” but that’s the case with Samurai Girls. This is one of the coolest looking animes in recent memory, but this is most definitely a case of style over substance, where a series of gorgeous animations decorates an empty and often frivolous storyline built around fairly stereotypical characters. Though the series is set in a sort of alternate universe where its home nation is known as Great Japan, and though the timeframe is resolutely modern day, there are references to the Edo Period liberally sprinkled into the show, notably its reference to the Tokugawa Shogunate, so a little background research can help smooth the way into understanding at least some of what’s going on. That’s the substance side of things, as far as it goes. There is obviously an audience for this sort of entertainment, one probably consisting largely of libidinous younger males who can fantasize about the pulchritudinous babes on pretty much nonstop display throughout Samurai Girls, including copious full frontal nudity. And the overall series is commendably “arty,” with some really appealing designs, including unusually detailed characters, beautifully rendered backgrounds, and some interesting graphic effects sprinkled into the mix. And while those selfsame libidinous young males probably couldn’t care less about Samurai Girls’ sleek look (other than the naked babes, that is), my sense is it’s the look of this series that is going to be its main attraction for those not tending toward salacious salivating at the unclothed female form. Though the series is based on a well regarded light novel franchise by Akira Suzuki, the anime doesn’t have the requisite storyline momentum (at least in its opening episodes) that a lot of adaptations manage to have, and what that leaves is, yep, you guessed it, pulchritudinous babes in various stages of undress. If you’re not puritanical, or indeed if you actually kind of like the ecchi approach toward things, Samurai Girls may not exactly be the most challenging show to ever come down the pike, but it’s certainly one of the more scenic.it’s certainly one of the more scenic.

As beneficial as programs like Photoshop and CGI technology have been to the art of film and film promotional material, something “handmade” and individually distinctive may have been lost in the process. Take a look at movie posters from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and those handcrafted paintings are often sumptuous and jaw dropping. Though painting per se had largely gone the way of the dinosaur by the time of the 1960’s, one of the more prevalent poster artists of the day was a guy named Bob Peak, a very distinctive illustrator whose work graced the posters for such well remembered films as My Fair Lady, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Apocalypse Now. But it was Peak’s gorgeous work for Camelot that kept springing to mind as I watched Samurai Girls (though it might be useful to scroll down the page linked to above and take a gander at Peak’s poster for Ophelia to get a better idea of what’s in store for you in the anime). Peak’s wonderfully well detailed work, full of filigree and incredible color, is very similar to Samurai Girls’ design aesthetic and it makes the series quite an amazing visual feast a lot of the time.

The protagonist of Samurai Girls is actually a samurai guy, a young man named Muneakira Yagyu who finds himself in the middle of a dangerous power grab taking place at a samurai training academy set up for the youth of military families. (In his long overcoat and with his mussed up hair, Muneakira more than a little resembles a grown up version of Saint-Exupéry's Little Prince). Muneakira first accosts and then befriends two girls he finds hiding in his dojo, and he soon figures out they are involved in a fierce battle to decide whether or not the Tokugawa Shogunate will remain in power. Muneakira also discovers, quite by accident, that he has the power to actually create samurai goddesses of a sort, a power that literally drops from the sky when a naked girl (could it be otherwise in this series?) floats down from the heavens and after a passionate kiss from Muneakira transforms into a samurai warrior.

Samurai Girls tries to work both sides of the aisle, so to speak, referencing actual historical figures and elements while staunchly maintaining its more or less modern day alternate universe setting. That’s understandable, but it may be part of what could keep this series from finding a larger audience. Few if any people are going to take the time to actually research the Edo period (despite my admonitions above), and will therefore not fully grasp some of what’s going on here. And others may not cotton to the weird amalgamation of historical tropes like samurai in a technological setting. And that, to get back to the gist of things, leaves the nubile scantily clad women.

By far the strongest element of this series is its really brilliant visual acuity, a design aesthetic that is both beautiful and well realized. Very infrequently in anime have characters been so artfully and carefully rendered, and many of the backgrounds are equally ornate and detailed. The series also regularly utilizes a sort of Disney-esque multi-plane technique which adds a proto-3D look that is very compelling. The fact is you might very well feel less than charitable about Samurai Girls as a whole, but if you’re a fan of cool looking series, no matter what their actual content may be, chances are you’re going to like a lot about this show.

Samurai Girls: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Samurai Girls arrives on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 and the results are largely spectacular. This is such a cool looking series that even those without any particular interest in quasi-ecchi offerings may well be tempted to check this out just for the astoundingly well done visuals. Colors are fantastic, beautifully robust and exceedingly well saturated. Line detail is nothing less than phenomenal, and the multi-plane technique which adds a kind of 3D ambience really pops in this high definition presentation. The series is also full of graphical elements, including ink splotches which dot various scenes (and keep us from seeing various naughty bits), and those also look great. In fact some of these episodes utilize a monochromatic black and white look which offers beautifully rich black levels, excellent gray scale and top rate contrast.

Samurai Girls: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Samurai Girls is offered with two lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mixes, one in the original Japanese and the other an English dub. Both of these tracks feature excellent fidelity, with clear and clean dialogue and really good reproduction of the series' nice score. This series no doubt could have benefited from a surround mix, especially with regard to some of its action elements, but what's here is very well done, if obviously very narrow. Dynamic range is excellent and the series has its fair share of LFE, as well as a number of inventive sound effects scattered throughout its episodes.

Samurai Girls: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Narrated Comics (HD; 15:17) is a set of six whimsical comic book like frames with narration that tell stories either directly related to the main Samurai Girls storyline or which are tangentially relevant.
• Blushing Maidens in the Pact (HD; 19:21) is another set of six features, this time mini-OVAs that give additional information about various characters.
• Japanese Promotional Videos (HD; 4:08)
• Japanese TV Promos (HD; 00:32)
• Production Sketches (HD; 5:03) play along to songs from the soundtrack.
• Clean Opening (HD; 1:32)
• Clean Closing (HD; 1:32)
• Trailers for other Sentai Filmworks Releases

Samurai Girls: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Samurai Girls may have shot itself in the foot (and/or bosom) in terms of wide audience acceptance by its gratuitous fan service and its quasi-ecchi feel. That's really too bad, because this series is phenomenal from a visual perspective, and it looks absolutely stunning on this new Blu-ray. Prudes and puritans are warned to stay far, far away from Samurai Girls, but if you have a bit more tolerance for naked females and lots of panty shots, there actually is some other scenery to enjoy here, even if the overall storyline never quite catches fire the way it might have. For sheer visual ingenuity alone, Samurai Girls is Recommended.