The Movie

Samurai X - Reflection is the final installment of the very popular Samurai X anime series. Over the course of the series, we've watched a young, abandoned orphan (Kenshin Himura) become transformed into one of the deadliest assassins in Japan, during the late 1800's. Under the strict command of his master, Kenshin kills efficiently, and coldly without remorse. He believes he is making the world a better place with his sword, and never questions his bloody actions. That is until he meets a beautiful girl named Kaoru. This sweet, loving girl that comes into Kenshin's life forces him to look at his own past, and contemplate his assassin ways.

Fast forward a few years, and we come to where Samurai X - Reflection begins. Kenshin has given up killing, and desires to be a diplomat for peace. He is now married to Kaoru, and has a young boy. But as is the case throughout Kenshin's life, he is now away on travels, and has yet to return home. Kaoru, obsessed with Kenshin's absence, waits by the dock every single day hoping for his safe return. Like Kenshin, Kaoru's health is deteriorating, and she fears she will die of a broken heart if her beloved husband never graces the footsteps of home again. While Kaoru deals with her breaking heart, Kenshin battles his inner demons with his past life of merciless killing, and mayhem, and spends the greater part of this movie searching for atonement for his past. In the end it is his true love for Kaoru that pulls him back home.

This is a deeply moving story, and is by all means a fitting conclusion to the extremely popular Samurai X series. Reflection attempts to tie the entire story together with flashbacks and lengthy exposition dialogue to put viewers up to speed with the storyline. The content is extremely emotional, and the animation is exquisite. Those of you who are fans of this series and have followed these characters throughout their lives will no doubt cherish this installment as a near masterpiece, and a fitting end to the life of a truly classic fighting hero.

Those of you who are not familiar with the story and its characters should definitely see the previous shows before jumping into this episode. As profound as this movie may be, it will literally spin the heads of viewers who have no idea what these characters are all about. For instance, the cuts from scene to scene are very sudden and give absolutely no basis for comparison, so newcomers will be extremely confused as to what is happening in the movie. As much as the flashbacks try to help, they ultimately prove more distracting because most will be unsure what is a flashback, and what is happening at present time. Another aspect that will upset newbies is the overly dramatic storyline and dialogue. If you were to look up the word "melodramatic" in the dictionary, is should say, "Please see Samurai X - Reflection for a full demonstration." Believe me, this movie pours it on thick. Every sentence is padded in emotion, depression, and sadness. And if you come into this movie with no compassion for these characters, you'll catch yourself saying, "who cares!"

Ultimately the animation is quite good, and the score, though extremely repetitive, adds nicely to the emotionally haunting theme of the movie. Samurai X - Reflection is definitely not for newcomers, and they should be advised to watch the previous episodes before taking on this movie. But if you have followed the series and love it as many do, than this movie is a must see, as it ends the series in a touching, albeit heart wrenching manner.


The DVD

Video: Samurai X - Reflection is presented in 16x9 widescreen. The video is very clean, and is free of virtually any film blemishes, lines or streaks. This is a great looking movie that is filled with elegant animation. The colors are most definitely on the dull side, but I believe the movie is intended to look this way. On the whole this is a fine looking DVD.

Audio: Samurai X - Reflection offers quite a few audio options. The two that are most relevant is the Dolby Digital 5.1 English dub track, and the Dolby Digital 2.0 original Japanese audio track. Now the fact that the Japanese track only comes in DD 2.0 is hugely disappointing. Why this isn't offered in the same 5.1 audio track as the English dub simply baffles my mind. This is so disappointing because the English track is absolutely awful to listen to. The music for the English 5.1 track sounds excellent, and is played actively in both rear surround speakers, but the dialogue from the English actors leaves a lot to be desired. If this movie gave the option of hearing the Japanese track in 5.1 audio, this would be a much more enjoyable movie. It's too bad.

Extras: There are a few extras offered on this disc, though nothing to write home about. Here we get interviews from the Japanese vocal cast, clean closing animation feature, production sketches, and ADV previews. The only extra feature that has any meat to it is the Japanese vocal cast interviews. These will be somewhat interesting for die hard fans of the series, but will offer no enjoyment for newcomers. All the interviews are slow, boring, and hard to get through. The other noteworthy extra is the "clean closing animation." This is music video of sorts that plays a gloomy song from the movie's score to video footage seen in the film. This feature was painfully boring and made absolutely no sense to me. It's possible that people more familiar with the series will be able to get something meaningful out of this, although I have my doubts.

Final Thoughts

As a standalone movie Samurai X - Reflection doesn't work very well. The plot is very confusing and the scene cuts add little help for explanation. Also, the annoyingly dramatic overtone of this movie becomes way too much for the average viewer to handle. However, this movie works stupendously as a final hurrah to the Samurai X series. Those of you who follow and love the story of Kenshin will most likely enjoy this movie immensely, and will definitely be moved by its tissue invoking emotion. So I highly recommended this DVD for those of you in the know. But if you aren't a follower of the series, you should wait till you are adequately up to speed with the series before watching this movie. Rent It