Shigurui: Death Frenzy Blu-ray delivers great video and solid audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Two damaged warriors wear the scars of a twisted and violent past. Bitter rivals for the secrets of their master's sword and the right to his daughter, these samurai inflict wounds on each other that would destroy lesser men. The final chapter of their saga unfolds within a brutal samurai tournament, a gruesome contest arranged to satisfy the bloodlust of a cruel tyrant overlord. The disfigured legends of the blade must summon the strength for one last battle - A final lesson in the artistry of violence where nothing is more beautiful than the kill.
Shigurui: Death Frenzy is a twelve episode anime series that nearly covers the initial seven volumes of the Shigurui manga by Takayuki Yamaguchi. Released in 2007, the series was produced and animated by the Madhouse studio, and directed by Hirotsugu Hamazaki (Texhnolyze). Although this box set is labelled as providing the complete series, it only covers a portion of the manga story arch, leaving half of the story left untold. It's unclear at this point if Madhouse will revisit the anime series upon the completion of the manga, but as it stands, this is all we're going to get for the time being, which may be offputting to some viewers (since the series essentially ends without a conclusion and never ties back in with the circumstances that are introduced in the first episode).
Set in Japan during the 1600's, the show opens up with a deadly tournament conducted at the request of Tokugawa Tadanaga, the feudal lord of Kanagawa. In this tournament, a blind swordsman is set to fight a one-armed swordsman as entertainment for the territorial noblemen. However, the setup for the fight is merely an introduction to the intertwined fate of two men with a gruesome past. The remainder of the series tells the tale of Fujiki Gennosuke, a strong-willed apprentice at the Kogan dojo, who may become the successor to Sensei Kogan Iwamoto, the demented leader of the Kogan-Ryuu martial arts school. One day, a wandering ronin named Seigen Irako pays the Kogan school a visit and challenges the young Fujiki to a duel. Fujiki is defeated, and Irako expresses his desire to become a pupil at the school. Over time, the two men develop a rivalry for the eventual role as successor to Kogan Iwamoto, who slips further and further into madness as each day passes. Although their pathes eventually diverge, the two men are unable to forget the past and seem destined to face each other in order to demonstrate who is the greatest fighter of Kanagawa.
This is one of those shows that certainly isn't for everybody. The sheer brutality of events that take place throughout the course of the series aren't for the faint of heart and will likely be deemed distasteful to the vast majority of potential viewers. However, I found myself caught up in the story by the third episode and able to push off the sense of disgust from time to time in order to find out what would eventually become of Fujiki and Irako. That doesn't change my opinion of the unnecessary inclusion of shocking material throughout much of the series, but it does show the strength in the overall storytelling that I was willing to brush off the occasional bouts of nausea in order to stick with the story. Above all, I appreciated the attempt to design a production feel that mirrors fuedal Japan and presents a society that could be an accurate (though extreme) representation of what life in those times may have been like. The devotion Fujiki shows to his demonic Sensei is hard to understand in present-day terms, but taken within the context of the period, it isn't too hard to picture men following a code that compels them act in a way that defies human nature.
Getting back to the "mature" aspect of the show, I want to make it abundantly clear that this show contains elements that make even Ninja Scroll look tame. There are multiple decapitations, abdominal guttings, moments of cannibalism and depictions of women being treated in ways that will make your stomach churn (including rape and incest). I'm honestly not sure I'll be choosing to revisit this show again in the future for that precise reason, and I think it's completely appropriate to warn potential viewers that this show takes violence to new blood-drenched extremes. I'm never one to shy away from blood-letting in anime and there's nothing wrong with showing the wounds that result from a swordfight, but I simply didn't see the point in several of the more disgusting scenes within the series (some of which are too offensive to discuss within this review).
As you can see from the screenshots, the series contains the usual high level of quality (for a television production) that we've come to expect from Madhouse Studios. Character movement is fluid and the animators incorporated an interesting use of transparent skin during fight sequences to simulate muscle movement in the performance of "special skills". I also loved the occasional artistic shots (dandelion seeds floating in the wind) which offered a lovely contrast to the brutality of the overall production. If you enjoy the animation of other serious-themed productions such as the Samurai X OVA or the Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust film, you'll probably find a lot to like about the animation in Shigurui: Death Frenzy.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 26Mbps), Shigurui: Death Frenzy looks quite good on Blu-ray. Since this is a television production rather than a theatrical release, the level of detail in the animation isn't awe-inspiring. Clearly, the texturing and detail would need to be higher for a theatrical showing, but shows like this were intended to be viewed on an HDTV television with a typical size of 50 inches or so. As a result, it won't look nearly as good on a 100 inch screen when compared to a 50 inch screen. Having said that, the show still contains a reasonable level of clarity and it's abundantly clear you're watching the show in high-definition. Colors are mostly drab and borderline monochromatic, but I loved the stylistic choice to tone down the color spectrum in favor of allowing the crimson hue of blood to stand out in the foreground of the many grisly sequences. if I had one minor complaint about the stylistic choices for the show, it would be the pervasive use of grain that gives many sequences a noisy characteristic. It's most prevalent in flashback sequences, where it appears the intention was to make you feel as if you were watching an old reel projection with image stability issues and some large specks appearing on the film. It's not overly distracting and adds to the gritty nature of the show, but those with an aversion to heavy grain or noise should be aware of its presence. Lastly, I noticed a couple minor instances of banding and felt slightly disappointed in black levels and contrast from time to time, but I never noticed any instances of artifacting or color waver from scene to scene.
Overall, Shigurui: Death Frenzy looks quite good in high-definition, but the presentation is hampered from time to time by stylistic choices that detract from the visual experience.
There are two audio offerings on the disc, with the primary track containing the English dub in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and the secondary track containing an inferior Japanese mix in Dolby Digital 2.0. For fans (like myself) of the native language track on anime releases, you'll have a tough decision between accepting the above-average English dub, or sacrificing the robust clarity of the lossless track for the unimpressive Japanese version. I skipped back and forth between both options equally and never really settled in on a preference. The English track is noticeably louder, with crisp clarity in the dialogue, music (which features the use of Japanese period music that will transport you back to the age of the samurai), and surround effects. There isn't tremendous opportunity for widespread spacial separation on the level of such films as Sword of the Stranger, but that's because the fight sequences in Shigurui consist of one move that typically leaves the opponent dead or incapacitated. Instead, we have subtle environmental effects that travel through the rear surround field, and occasional dialogue or narration which supplements the non-verbal character expressions that dominate the show. If you're looking for an upbeat, action-heavy listening experience, Shigurui will not meet your expectations. However, if you find yourself caught up the subtleties of the track, you'll notice a great deal of effort went into recreating the sounds and music of fuedal Japan.
The list of extras isn't extensive, but I'm still pleased to see Funimation make an effort to provide something additional for the fans.
Commentary tracks: On episodes 4 and 10 we're given an optional commentary track with the English voice director (Christopher Bevins) and a couple of the main English voice actors. The track focuses on the intricacies of each character and how this production differs from other anime television shows. I'm a little ambivalent toward the inclusion of the commentary tracks, since the dialogue doesn't offer much revelation regarding the themes of the film.
Production Artwork: Broken down by characters and settings, this sketch gallery isn't all that fantastic unless you are dying to view every last extra on the disc.
Last up, we have textless opening and closing renditions of the theme songs, as well as trailers for 8 other series or films from Funimation that are currently available on DVD.
Viewer opinion of Shigurui: Death Frenzy will likely fall into three camps. There will be those that outright despise the entire production due to the shocking violence and gore, those that feel the violence is disturbing but not to the extent that it ruins the overall value of the production, and those that find the violence and gore somewhat amusing or entertaining. If you fall into the middle category like I did, I'd suggest you consider a rental prior to making a purchase decision. If you fall into the latter category, you already know this is the type of series your going to love, and might as well order yourself a copy on the spot (just remember there may never be a conclusion to the anime series).
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