KAZE NO YOUJINBOU

DESCRIPTION

CAST

REVIEWS

• 

  TurtleRoshi

  65/100
  Good mystery/action anime based on Kurosawa's Yojimbo

  Background

  This is a 2001 anime by Studio Pierrot based on the Akira Kurosawa movie, “Yojimbo” which came out in 1961. Akira Kurosawa, if you don’t know, is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and easily the greatest Japanese filmmaker of all time. The first movie I watched of his was actually Yojimbo. I saw it on Amazon’s catalog a few years ago and decided on a whim to rent it without really knowing all too much about it or Kurosawa at the time. I really liked it. To the point where I ended up watching a lot more of his movies, my favorites being “Seven Samurai” and “Rashomon.”

  So I saw this anime’s title, read the synopsis and was intrigued upon seeing it was based on Yojimbo. Anime usually does a pretty good job with adaptations. The most famous anime adaptation people might know is “Gankutsou” which is based on the 19th century French novel “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas. Often though, it’s hard to beat out the source. For Gankutsou, I had actually watched the anime first and read the novel afterwards. Even watching the anime first, it was clear the novel was better and that a lot was changed in the anime, beside the obvious change in setting/time period. However, as an anime, Gankutsou was still excellent. Trying to be completely and utterly accurate to the source is, I think, unnecessary. With that said, Yojimbo no Kaze, the anime, is not as good as Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. But the good thing is that it’s different enough, with a different enough setting and different enough plot that it doesn’t matter. There are still two opposing groups/gangs, our main character does act as a bodyguard for both initially and the main character is still a cool guy that’s good at fighting. However, the main character’s coolness is closer to someone like Spike than what was in the original. Aside from some basic influences from Yojimbo, it’s not just a retelling of the movie in anime form.

  Art/Animation/Sound

  The art initially felt underwhelming and I was getting ready for some outdated 2001 art and animation. However to my surprise I really liked the designs and how they turned up the animation and style when necessary. One of the most common things they did was this interesting masking effect. They’ll do it often in different ways and it really does a good job of hamming up the mystery aspect, especially with the slightly cheesy mystery ost playing when they do this.

  

  My absolute favorite too is when they cut to the key scene 15 years ago that connects everything in the story. The black and white looks excellent and it definitely grows on you as it comes up throughout the show.

  

  They also will occasionally have deep, thick lines and shadows for the characters and a somewhat monochrome look which is very striking.

  

  For animation and overall quality, there are definitely certain episodes that they spent more time on. Especially episode 13 and the last episode which they clearly put a lot of their budget in. It’s not like studio ghibli or modern studios where every episode or frame is meticulously animated but in important moments where emphasis is needed, they clearly have the skill to do so and it’ll often suck you in into that moment when they do it.

  Main Review

  Jouji Kodama arrives at the town of Kimujuku in search of a man named Genzo Araki. Kimujuku is an old declining mining town and isn’t very hospitable to outsiders. In addition to that, there is a conflict between two groups there, the Tanokuras and Ginzames. There are also suspicious reactions from the people there when the name Genzo Araki is mentioned. Not necessarily in a “that name is taboo ‘round these parts” way but basically something the main character picks up as them hiding information or giving a quick answer to quickly get him searching outside the town. He ends up staying in the town when he saves the daughter of the Tanokura head. Both groups see him as a dangerous unknown but are also allured by his power and charisma.

  Before all this though the anime shows a black and white scene of a snowy day in a train station and people rushing around as something is happening and meanwhile a kid is looking on. With all this, we have to wonder, what exactly is that scene about, what relation does it have to Kimujuku at all, why did Jouji come to Kimujuku looking for this man and in fact who is Jouji? The two most interesting driving questions for me throughout were definitely what’s up with that event and who Jouji is.

  A strong point about this show is that it constantly makes you question everything with every new piece of information that is slowly discovered about the people in the town or the incident. Characters that you think are frivolous end up becoming very important to the story. You also constantly switch back between thinking this person is the villain, or this other person is, to maybe they’re the good guys or they’re the victims. Sometimes you think there are two main parties involved but then it becomes three or four. Who is an enemy or friend to who becomes a question as well, even Jouji’s own alliances.

  Eventually though, there is enough information where you can more or less guess what happened at the event so when it is finally revealed, it makes sense but doesn’t feel super shocking. And, as it got to the final episodes, initially I was feeling that it was too blockbuster-y and maybe felt like it was wrapping things up somewhat shoddily. However, that definitely changed at the final episode where it felt like everything wrapped up nicely, there was a good twist and pretty much all my questions were answered. It also felt like I finally had a connection to Jouji as a character and not just as this cool guy archetype.

  One negative I’d say about the show is that there were definitely times that it dragged. I might just be spoiled with anime of today which is generally far more lean and fast paced. Still there were episodes like 7 through 9 which basically felt like filler and could be completely cut with no difference at all to the story. There was definitely a feeling that in some parts it could be faster and in other parts that it could take a bit more time to fully explain. An example is that they could’ve done a full episode on the backstory of Sanae or a few full episodes going through that event and how it went down. They definitely could’ve done it while still keeping the twist at the end, or even yet, maybe take the time from some of the cut episodes to have an epilogue of some sort.

  Overall, it was a solid enough mystery action anime. I think it’s an anime I would probably enjoy more and maybe consider as underrated had I watched it earlier and had some nostalgia glasses on. Still, even watching it now, it was solid and there are scenes that I think I will always remember for their visuals and for the story aspect behind them. I’d try it out. It might not be the best bang for buck in terms of episodes but it has good story points, animation and visuals at different times that will keep you motivated enough to get through a few more episodes and then a few more episodes, and rinse and repeat until you get to the end.

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