Ronin Warriors (Yoroiden Samurai Troopers) Message (OVA) DVD Review. DVD VISION JAPAN (DVD VISION)

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Rather than having a ton of the usual samurai action that fans have come to expect...“Message” has about 2 hours worth of talking.

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Ronin Warriors (Samurai Troopers)

Message (OVA)

Review by: Devin Pratt

5 Episode OVA

Company: Bandai Entertainment

Running Time: 150 minutes

Region: 1

Rated: PG (fantasy violence)

EXTERNAL EXAM

After fighting the evils of the netherworld for so long, the Samurai Troopers have been living rather peaceful lives, separate from one another. With no more evil sorcerers or spirits to worry about, they consider their job as Samurai Troopers over. Little did they know that yet another new adventure was about to begin.

A mysterious woman named Suzunagi has been searching for the Troopers. Luring each of them out one by one into the open, she forces them to call on their armors. However, the end result of that is each Trooper being trapped inside of a newer version of their armor. Why is she doing this? What grudge does this woman hold against them?

The questions only accumulate, as Touma finds a mysterious book dating back to the Edo period of Japan. What makes this book so special? It contains stories of every single battle the Troopers ever had, as if someone had foretold the Troopers and their fight against Lord Arago! Just what is going on here? Will the Samurai Troopers ever lead a peaceful life, or are they forever cursed with the fate of fighting?

This is the beginning of the end for the Samurai Troopers.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: Being over ten years old, these episodes look surprisingly good. Only a bit of graininess is present with some dirt specks here and there. Other than that, it’s only the age of the animation that stands out.

AUDIO: There are Japanese and English 2.0 stereo mixes included. Each is a pretty basic stereo track with no noticeable problems.

EDITS: To be consistent with the TV series, the dub features its names for the characters (Touma – Rowen, Shuu – Kento, etc.). Some dialogue in the dub is also toned down a bit when discussions of death come up.

EXTRAS: You get a reversible cover for the DVD case: one side has the Ronin Warriors logo while the other has a Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers logo. Both sides have the same artwork. The description for this set of episodes is different on each side, as well. You also get a full-color insert with a bigger picture of the cover art on one side and a shot of the gang on the other.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: This is the grand finale in the Yoroiden Samurai Troopers series! After spanning 39 episodes and 2 other OVA series, the show about five teenagers turned samurai concludes with a really sharp, yet entirely story-driven 5 part series. Director Kazuki Akane (Escaflowne, Heat Guy J) tells a slower paced, dialogue driven tale, which is quite a departure from what the usual Samurai Troopers story is like (action packed with samurai goodness).

ACTING: Much like the previous OVAs, the acting here is about average. The Japanese actors do a good job, but even with a dialogue-heavy script no one seems to really stand out. Mitsuki Yayoi (Char’s Counterattack, Wings of Honneamise), the voice of Suzunagi, is the only newcomer to the show, and even her acting isn’t too strong.

The Ocean Group gang returns once again to dub these episodes; while Shin (Cye) still has his annoying English accent and Shuu (Kento) still has a rather forced “tough guy” voice, the dub cast sounds pretty good compared to how they were in the TV series. Much like the Troopers in this story, I guess the actors themselves have grown a bit.

FAN SERVICE: References to the TV show and the “Legend of the Inferno Armor” OVA. As far as other “fan service,” there’s one scene some ladies might get a charge out of. During one episode, Shuu is doing push-ups. While that might not sound too interesting, the camera angle is; they decided to focus right in on his butt.

FINAL EXAM

So here it is, the final Samurai Troopers OVA. This show has been a staple for many anime fans (myself included), so some may imagine this show going out with a bang. Some might even guess that this last hurrah must have the greatest battle the gang has ever had before.

Yeah, some might have guessed that. Which probably means that a lot of people were left feeling disappointed after watching this.

“Message” is something I was not expecting. Rather than having a ton of the usual samurai action that fans have come to expect from Samurai Troopers, “Message” has about 2 hours worth of talking. Don’t be fooled by the images in this review, either; there is very little action here (none of which is even worth mentioning). The story really isn’t the problem here; in fact, I thought it had a decent plot. The major problem with it lies in the pacing. Something interesting I found with “Message” is that this OVA suffers for the exact opposite reasons that “Gaiden” suffered. The story is well done and well thought out, but there are just way too many episodes used to tell it.

Each episode is about 75% old footage from the TV series or the second OVA, and about 25% new footage. While it’s not really out of the ordinary for this to happen (just look at the Gundam movies), there is definitely a problem when a large amount of old animation is used mostly for padding. Hell, even a lot of the newer animation is used for padding. An example of that is in episode five; it contains no less than 7 minutes of Ryo leaning against his bed listening to his answering machine. That’s it. He just sits there and listens. This reminds me of the last few episodes of Evangelion when the budget was starting to reach rock bottom. The only difference is that this is an OVA; budgets are supposed to be better for these.

Perhaps the overuse of old animation wouldn’t be so bad if it actually had a good purpose for being used. Nearly every frame of animation from the TV series is used to sort of coax you into staying with the story. For example, there’s a part in episode 4 where Suzunagi is talking about the changing seasons. While she is going on and on about this, you get to watch part of an episode where Ryo’s katana are broken and White Blaze tries to steal an enemy’s pair for him. Maybe there is some sort of underlying meaning in that, but for me, I just scratch my head thinking, “What does this have to do with anything?.” I swear, these episodes could have easily become some kind of radio drama

While I don’t think the new animation is much to look at, the character designs look a bit nicer than usual. Art director Mitsuki Nakamura (whose credits include the original Mobile Suit Gundam series and movie trilogy) takes the look of the Troopers and ages them nicely; everyone looks much older and somewhat hardened from battle in this tale. The gang has never looked this good before. It’s just a shame that we don’t get to see any good fights with this look.

While I’m usually one to enjoy an anime for its story more than its action from time to time, “Message” is some serious overkill considering what it’s based on. I just feel disappointed that Samurai Troopers had to end like this. The TV show had some great action with an interesting story that progressed over time. This, on the other hand, plods along slowly for five episodes with lots of talk and no action. What’s worse is the fact that this whole story could have been over and done with in at least two or three episodes.

In the end, the Troopers go out not with a bang, but with a whimper. The “message” is loud and clear: if you’re looking for action, stick to the TV episodes. If a lot of gab sounds like your cup of tea, then by all means give this a shot.

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