Samurai 7, Vol. 4 - The Battle for Kanna

Product Description Last minute preparations have been made as the impending battle for Kanna draws near. When the Nobuseri arrive without notice, the training implemented by the samurai will prove the village's fate. While Kathsushiro and Kirara struggle with their feelings for eath other, Kyozo confirms just how fearless a samurai can be - embarking on a solo mission into the heart of the enemy camp. Deploying waves of attack from every direction - from ninja-like foot soldiers to the giant Benigumo machines - the Nobuseri will not stop unitl Kanna is completely annihilated. In the furious climax, not all of the Samurai will survive. There is no turning back. Amazon.com As the broadcast series Samurai 7 (2004) reaches its midpoint, the fight between the peasant-farmers of Kanna village and the oppressive bandits begins in earnest. The conflict pits drawn characters armed with swords and bows against CG mecha laden with guns, and the results are predictably one-sided. The samurai leap onto the gigantic machines and cut through metal plating with well-aimed thrusts and slashes; the peasants take out the lesser robots with fire-arrows. Director Toshifumi Takizawa stages the fight scenes competently, but his work lacks the panache of Kazuhiro Furuhashi's martial choreography in Rurouni Kenshin. In Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa recounted a small-scale conflict involving equally desperate farmers, warriors, and thugs. After the bandits have been defeated in Samurai 7, Ukyo and the evil merchants in the capital still have to be dealt with. (Unrated, suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon