Forum - View topicSamurai X: Tsuiokuhen - #1?
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Ramadahl
Posts: 325 Location: MK, UK |
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This is a topic I meant to make a while ago, and the recent furor over the number 1 spot on the rankings brought this to my mind. I watched Tsuiokuhen and - I wasn't that impressed with it. So I guess what I'm asking is; what made it appeal to such a proportion of people that it's been at the top for so long?
Personally I'm not entriely sure why I didn't find it that great - not "bad", not "worst ever" like several Harutards have been rating it recently, I think I rated it simply "good", or something like that. However I'll try to break things down. First off, I guess I could have been guilty of building it up too much in my mind, something that can happen to any of us, although by this point I was starting to take the ANN ratings with a grain of salt, courtesy of Elfen Lied. Still, when somethings been at the top since forever I suppose some expectations are only natural. On a more "first impressions" view I wasn't to impressed with the voice acting - sub or dub - quite unusually, I'm not one to generally complain about voice acting. But this time the voices just seemed wrong, on Hiko and Kenshin especially, although Tomoe wasn't bad. Also the graphics were something of a negative point - on a technical level that could be forgiven, as it was made in '99, but I personally found the actual style to be unappealing. Moving on to the story itself - the component that I suspect most people will extol - I was once again left disappointed, although this time the reason is less to do with the actual quality than the fact that I'd already read the particualr chapters that were animated from the Kenshin manga. So, my thought process while watching it was along the lines of; "Oh, they're just doing that bit from the manga... that's nice... hmmm... the manga kinda did it better though...". Nevertheless I don't regret buying the boxset or anything, and I still think that the series works fine as it is, I just don't see it as anywhere near a masterpiece (like I do, say, Haibane Renmei for example). |
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Fui
 Posts: 339 |
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You're in the great minority, and that's fine, since you're entitled to your own opinion.
Personally, this was one of the most powerful animes I've yet to see. First of all, you have to like the style. It's completely different from the Rurouni Kenshin series, and is without a doubt aimed at a more mature audience. The storytelling isn't cheesy or childish like in some of those shounen series, and I really enjoyed that aspect. It was more like a historical documentation of a fictional legendary assassin, Himura Kenshin. I was quite absorbed by the storyline. Once again, it wasn't ridiculous and fast-paced, but much more realistic. The events that took place seemed plausible in real life, and were probably based on factual occurrences at the end of the Edo period in ancient Japan. The tension was always high in the series even if there wasn't any explicit fighting or conflict, and that made it particularly exciting. Character development was also quite well done and realistic, and thought the relationship between Tomoe and Kenshin was brilliantly executed. The animation was phenomenal for an anime; I have no idea why you thought it was a negative. If you watch the OVA and watch the series, there's no comparison in quality. You can even watch some of the same fight scenes animated in different styles in Seisohen, although that one wasn't nearly as well received. If you didn't like the style, that's just a preference thing. Again, the OVA is much more realistic and if you get a bunch of big-eyed characters with crazy haircuts running around in the same setting, I don't think it would be as good. The voice acting was well done in my opinion. The voice of Kenshin was the same as in the TV series, so it's not like they butchered it or anything. I think the voice and the persona matched very well, because Kenshin's words are always gentle and mature, which I think made him elegant despite his skill in killing. The idea of a noble gentleman with bloodstained hands is one of the themes in the OVA, and I thought the voice suited it well. I didn't like the NA dub for it, but that's just my preference. On your last point (story), well that's just your thing, then. I'm the same way, so I don't like reading a novel or book before watching an animated version of it, because I already know what's going to happen and the events seem regurgitated and no longer novel. Animes frequently follow the manga, and people usually get frustrated when they don't. I don't think it's anything short of a masterpiece. |
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 12086 Location: Frisco, TX |
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I think what makes Tsuioku-hen most enjoyable for Kenshin fans is that it's such huge transition in terms of atmosphere.
After watching season one and the Kyoto arc, then being thrown into something that's the complete opposite of the cheery and typical shounen mood one would expect, you get this dark and melancholic flashback of Kenshin's days as Hitokiri Battousai, which in my opinion is a great shock and contrast in comparison to the lighter rurouni of the TV series. I saw the anime version before reading it in the manga, but it's basically the same thing minus the subtle comedy, that Venom guy, and the original character designs. If you didn't enjoy it, I don't know what to say. I'm still irked about the 17 Worst Ever ratings that people have spammed, though... |
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ManOfRust
 Posts: 1935 Location: Seattle, WA |
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I agree with Tony K. that a big part of its appeal is in the transition in mood from the TV series, but for me it was also the chance to see what exactly drove Kenshin to become the person he is. The TV series has a much lighter atmosphere, but behind everything there is always the shadow of Kenshin’s violent past, especially in the Kyoto story arc. Although you know it’s what is driving a lot of what he does and how he conducts himself, they never go into the specifics of his life as the Battousai. You get to see the mostly happy go lucky Kenshin and crew and only get hints of just how deep the psychological wounds of his past run, but you know that for his former life to have made him into someone who basically lives for the purpose of atonement it must have been pretty serious and traumatic.
Knowing that things are not going end happily for Kenshin as you watch the OAV just makes the story that much more poignant. He wants to do the right thing, but just gets swept up in both the overall events of the time and also in the machinations of those who control his life. spoiler[When he finally thinks he has found some shred of happiness, even that is taken away from him in one of the most dramatic scenes I have seen in any anime.] You finally see the pain that molded Kenshin into the character that exists in the TV series, the man that lives to try make payment for the horrible things he has done. I wonder if the OAV would have as great an effect on someone that has not seen the TV series first. I can’t imagine it would, although I think it would still be a powerful story by itself. You just would not have the emotional investment in the Kenshin character that you get from following his life through 2 seasons of TV episodes. Coming from the manga (which I have never read) would probably give you yet another different perspective. Perhaps the overall enjoyment of Tsuioku-hen is dependent on your previous exposure (or non exposure) to the other elements of the Kenshin universe. Certainly, having super high expectations going in might make you especially conscious of any minor flaws. For me, I hadn’t read that much about it when I saw it except that is was much more serious in tone than the TV show, and so I had few preconceptions and it turned out to be a very powerful experience. It’s not my absolute favorite anime, but it’s close and I certainly can’t argue with it being in the #1 spot in the rankings. |
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SharinganEyes92
 Posts: 816 |
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Well, I, as an idiot, watched the Trust and Betrayl OAV before the series, but it was still pretty intense. spoiler[When he closes his eyes to shop down, and then he opens his eyes and he sees he's cutting through Tomoe as well as the bearded guy was pretty intense.] I thought it was good, and I did feel somewhat of an effect as you're talking about for people who've seen it, because I used to watch it on Toonami years ago. But I didn't see up to Kyoto arc, just a little bit into the Oniwabanshu (?) arc, so spoiler[when they showed Saito (I think it was him, because when I read the Kenshin manga, he looked similar to a guy in the OVA), I didn't know who the hell he was, and why exactly the Shinsengumi were so important.] Of course, since it was several years after watching some of the series, I still didn't grasp how great the OVA truly was. But after I finish the full Rurouni Kenshin series (which I happened to pop into my DVD player yesterday yesterday), then I'll re-watch Trust and Betrayl, to get the full feel of the OVA. However, on its own, it was still great and I still think it was one of greatest animes (even though it was an OVA) I've ever seen. |
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