Series: Samurai Gun: Complete Collection is set in the 1860's in rural Japan. Unlike the majority of shows that display the biggest threat to honest folk being rampaging bandits, this time it is clear that the forces of the Shogunate, the military leader of Japan, are the ones getting away with murder (literally). The documented injustices at the hands of government officials and their minions provide the backdrop for the fictional account of a band of secret vigilantes known only as the samurai gun; handgun toting samurai that right wrongs and set things right, regardless of who is responsible for them, with no fear of reprisal as they keep their identities hidden. Through an established network of spies, contacts, and operatives, the samurai gun are feared by those who do wrong and privately embraced by the common people as their only hope of justice during the waning days of the Edo Era in Japan, the series focusing on one such member of the group; a man by the name of Ichimatsu.

Ichimatsu is a half breed born of a then-rare combination of foreign mother and Japanese father (unusual in the xenophobic Japan) that has only one working eye and a shaggy head of hair that betrays his origins. He works at a local tavern in a small village, living a modest life as a cover for his nocturnal activities. He goes whoring from time to time as part of his cover, never actually doing anything with them as he is too chaste for that, seeking friendship he can't otherwise find with the many patrons that frequent his place of employment (okay, whores as friends was a bigger leap than the handguns in Japan angle to me). When he gets a mission, his contact shows up and off they go, typically showing Ichimatsu as the reluctant participant. See, even though he has killed numerous times in the past, he tells the world how much he hates it and won't do it again, then going off and killing someone to show his protests were so much lip service.

The samurai gun are supposed to be about justice but vigilante justice only with no trials, no due process, and no means for the accused to defend themselves from the same kind of treatment they are reportedly upset over. This is part of the rub that makes Ichimatsu almost believable and the series covers the angle by always showing the viewer great atrocities committed by the accused, proving itself to be as shallow as can be in the process. Using the "two wrongs make a right" philosophy, the samurai guns complete a series of dangerous missions, Ichimatsu protecting his daily identity by use of a metal mask and numerous tricks up his sleeve. He questions some of the missions but goes on them blindly anyway, proving his own bloodlust is as great as his foes accuse him of, even if he finds the suggestion as disgusting, failing to see how much alike they are until the very end.

The basic plot structure of each episode is that a criminal kills some people, Ichimatsu is called to fix things, and after a brief struggle where he is often wounded, he shoots them dead with a hail of bullets from his manly man's gun (a revolver). As the 13 episode series continues, it is clear that the Shogun's authority is questioned by the actions of the group so a special team of anti-samurai gun forces is dispatched to hunt them down. How the ruling Council the samurai gun answer to handles this threat to their existence and how Ichimatsu balances his life with his duty are the primary focal points, offering up very little to think about between the cussing and extreme violence. The MA VSL rating (mature adults, violence, sexual situations, language) seems designed to peak the interest of the teenage crowd since mature adults tend to shy away from the need to swear every line and the graphic violence was often overdone as though strictly for shock value; the kind most of us get over by the time we hit our twenties. Still, there were hints that the series would evolve into something greater from time to time, making it worth a rating of Rent It, even if the conclusion was pretty weak, one of the weakest in memory, for me.

"It is the beginning of the industrial revolution, and feudal Japan is in turmoil. The ruling Shogun are wielding their abusive powers to instill fear and dominance over their oppressed subjects. Beatings, imprisonment, rape and even murder are the adopted tactics chosen to maintain their reign. The bloodshed must end. A group of Samurai have banded together, and, with the development of new weapons and new technology, they have both the will and the hardware to stand up and fight. Ichimatsu is one of these fighters. By day, he works incognito at a local tavern, in the evenings he frequents the brothels, and by the dark of night, he doles out some big-time, gun-barrel justice. He is here to help. He is Samurai Gun!"

Picture: Samurai Gun: Complete Collection was presented in the standard 1.33:1 ratio full frame color, with some decent looking artwork that combined CGI effects (like watching the bullet travel towards the intended victim) and a moderately fluid method of animating movement to liven up the manga-based characters. The prevalence of night scenes introduced some issues with grain, edge enhancement, and compression artifacts but generally, the action in those scenes covered up a lot by virtue of keeping the show moving along. It wasn't bad to watch but it looked older than it really was, perhaps due to budgetary issues related to the nature of the material.

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of the original 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese track complimented by English language subtitles or a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track in English. The surround track made better use of the music and special effects but the vocals seemed to come from the dead center of my home theatre set up in all but the most rare of occasions (typically in action sequences) even then with the separation in vocals being nonexistent on either track compared to the effects. The language seemed to take a lot of liberties on the dubbed track too but the original was more fluid to me so your mileage may vary but the screenplay seemed to be quickly written in either case, especially the dub.

Extras: One of the problems with the thin pack release of series by ADV Films is that they eliminate the extras in order to save you some money, rewarding early adopters with the best material since they paid more into it. I'm not a fan of the practice unless you can buy the supplements on a separate DVD so suffice it to say that having no extras here really weakened my resolve to give this the benefit of the doubt. I would list the "bonus" episode as a great extra except that the box advertised all thirteen episodes as part of the boxed set, integrating it on the last disc as part of the show (this was the episode between #8 and #9 that went unaired in Japan).

Final Thoughts: Samurai Gun: Complete Collection was the barebones version of the series for those who don't care about extras. The series had all sorts of flaws and while I'm not one to hold it to providing historical accuracy (this was completely made up with no basis in reality except that there was corruption in Japan in the 1800's and the country was at war with itself), so many of the elements came across as half baked ideas tossed in to appeal to the lowest common denominator that I almost lowered the rating. Still, Samurai Gun: Complete Collection had some decent artwork and ideas that weren't followed through on and I was briefly entertained from time to time; making it easier to suggest as a rental for anime fans not offended by the lamer portions of the show.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, Best of Anime 2005, and Best of Anime 2006 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.