[Emerald Emblem]

Hyakka Ryoran Samurai Girls[Blu Ray][UK]
Studio: Arms
Licensor: Kaze
Distributor: MangaUK
No. of Episodes: 12+6 OVA‘s(5 minute)+6 manga specials

I go into this series, after watching the first 2 episodes during the season it aired and just forgot about it, now I’ve taken a punt for the Blu Ray release, is it a show worth your time?

The show takes place in the not so distant future in an alternate 21st century where an ancient shadow is hanging over Great Japan and is threatening to engulf the country which is ruled by the Tokugawa clan, our protagonist Muneakira Yagyuu is called by the Tokugawa clan to succeed the Yagyuu dojo, Muneakira holds a power he can‘t control and when a girl falls from the heavens and kisses him she becomes a Master Samurai, with this power, it‘s up to Muneakira and a collection of female samurai to unravel the mystery and save Great Japan from the looming darkness. The story follows the investigation of the ‘Spirited away’ incident and the mysterious power Muneakira seems to have of being able to create master samurai. This plot isn’t strictly followed and there is plenty of fan service, tits and all and character building, though mainly of their affection for our lead male. The story only really progresses in the last 4 episodes, the rest of the time it’ll depend what you think of the character interactions and how much fan service will mean to you. It’s not a strong plot focused anime so take this into consideration.

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She's gonna slice you up!

Animation next, I have to say the graphics are just lovely, everything looks like an oil painting but the characters get more definition, it’s a very stylish show which uses ink strokes for transitions and when battles take place after every blow is struck you get ink splotches splattering your screen, it may be annoying and distracting to some but I appreciate the uniqueness of the whole thing, they have tried something different and fitting of the setting and they do that very well, the added high definition the blu ray offers makes it look far better than the 2 episodes I watched when it was airing.

The characters in a little more depth now, our leading male Muneakira Yagyuu is your typical upstanding member of society, his training in the way of the samurai means he is very respectful and considerate of the girls around him meaning he is dense when it comes to girls feelings…But this doesn’t stop him finding himself in perverted situations. The first main female Juubei Yagyuu is your happy go lucky girl, she’s not the brightest bulb and loves food, her personality completely changes in Master Samurai mode. The second main heroine Sen Tokugawa is the princess archtype, using her social status as a point of superiority over the others and can be rather self centred. The final main female Yukimura Sanada is a short, loli bodied tsundere arhctype, smart and a master feng sui reader.

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You have been duly warned

As for the sound, well the background music is fitting and quite great, though it was the last 2 episodes I really noticed some awesome instrumentals as to be expected from a last battle situation. The OP and ED however I found very catchy, but for different reasons, such as the ED just being a catchy light hearted tune, whilst the opening a more elegant sounding song, Now the dub itself has some big names, such as David Matranga for Muneakira and Luci Kristensen as Sei, but for all these names I felt the dub was lacking in emotion for the most part, though the thing that made me swap to the subs was a scene where Jyuubei starts scoffing down the food she was given, it sounded unnatural. But then the original Japanese voice cast includes Rie Kugumiya as Yukimura Sanada.

Overall Hyakka Ryouran Samurai girls is an anime that puts forth style over substance, you won’t find a strong plot here but a decent one to keep you going that only really kicks in later on, the rest of the time indulge yourself on slapstick and sexy comedy, plenty of tits with some action scenes that are well choreographed mixed in. Stylish art style with some fluid animation and a soundtrack that is suitable with one or two stand out tracks. If you like your fan service harems then this is one you won’t want to miss out on, others might be swayed by the unique art style and fight scenes but for the rest, looking for a strong plot with relatable characters, this isn’t for you.

Overall is not an average, rather it is my own personal enjoyment of the series.

Now to review the actual Blu Ray itself. The front cover is simplistic in it’s execution, that is an image of Juubei and Sen on a Japansese style patterned background with the title in the top left hand corner, the bacl is much the same, with 4 screen caps near the top features below and the synopsis after that, an image of a future character in the series is on the left hand side next to the synopsis. The disk art is the same as the front cover. But there is a 3rd of the background that is white where character image of Sen (Disk 1) and Yukimura (Disk 2) are placed, it may not be the greatest thing to do but it’s fine. Special fatures (Which are on disk 2) Includes 6 short OVA’s that consist of even more tits and fan service, and 6 Picture book specials which are simply mini comics. A collection of trailers and a Promo video for the series and textless opening and closing credits give you plenty more to explore though lack of insider interviews might disappoint fans. A very good blu ray overall I think.

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[DictatorBunny]

I mostly agree with you except for the story. I would've given it a 7. I know the story was not the best thing in the world but it was atleast decent, not bad and not great.

Great review though. I couldn't of done it worded the Anime any better myself. ^-^

[Darkchao45]

Story getting a 6 doesn't really create much motivation to watch, but Ive had it in my HDD for a while now....I should at least watch an episode or two. Great review as always.