Samurai Shodown

2 reviews - 4.5 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (2.3)

Samurai Spirits 2

2. Tyrenol

It's probably one of the reasons why SNK had went under for a while. Or maybe it's the problem of making anime based on a fighting-style video game. I saw the American version of the Street Fighter cartoon on (ironically) the USA Network and I felt the need to slap somebody over there.

However, Samurai Shodown had the potential that nobody realized. They weren't just clowns from some samurai era trying to kill each other with a bunch of bladed weapons. It was a sense of well being that a few people couldn't let go. Most of these warriors in "SamSho" were based on a mixture of fabled warriors from throughout the ages.

Okay, so the story is actually filled with sap. And it was made before the "golden age" of supeer moves and SDM's from the King of Fighter series. But I enjoyed it for what it is. And I would've love to see that Ukyo Tachibana scene (which was clipped off from the actual show).

1. Dreamer

Clumsy and pathetic, the first 2 words I found myself thinking about upon watching this. It seems that it has become a duty to produce an anime based on almost every fighting game out there. When I first inserted my VHS (Yep, this one is from the old VHS days) into my VCR, I was expecting something good or at least serious. Well, it began out somewhat seriously, but then.. duh! The main male hero (Homoaru or a similar name) is portrayed as a silly and clumsy character who loves sleeping too much and only demonstrates his powers in every dojo in town in order to take their signs - somehow unfaithful to the game. The other characters are not that better shown either. The visuals have light colors and lousily drawn lines. The animation suffers a similar fate, but is somehow justifiable. The story is boring, even when things get serious, and the story is predictable. Not to mention that the version I saw was the English dub, which is (surprise, surprise!) a very bad dub! Goes to say that animation should only be watched in Japanese.