Samurai Flamenco Part One Review (Anime)
Samurai Flamenco has had my attention since it’s simulcast days but for whatever reason, I never did watch it. Now Anime Limited are releasing it in the UK, I get to see what I missed out on.
I sat down and watched all 11 episodes within a day as it had me gripped. It reminds me of one of my all-time favourite anime, Tiger & Bunny, where the main character looks up to heroes and vows to become a hero himself but with this we see Masayoshi Hazama from his debut and on his journey to becoming a hero of legend. Samurai Flamenco quickly becomes a well-known name due to recordings becoming popular on the internet, and it isn’t long before Hazama finds himself the target of thugs and the interest of the public and police. Hidenori Goto is a cop who’s aware of his true identity as a recent friend, and he’s working towards keeping Hazama’s identity safe so that he can become the hero he wishes to be – as long as he doesn’t break the law!
Hazama has praised heroes since he was a child and it’s always been his dream, even though teachers had told him there’s no market for it and other children grew out of it. However, he isn’t the only person to still share the dream of being a hero and his appearance spurs others into motion, which in turn forces the cops to keep a closer eye on them as they attempt to stay relevant in a city with heroes protecting it. Nobody has superpowers of any kind, and so we get to watch people come together for justice, and so that the citizens can smile freely and sleep peacefully.
So, before watching Samurai Flamenco I had heard of several people being annoyed and shocked by a twist that happens midway through, and whilst I will not spoil it, I will say that this twist makes perfect sense in terms of the show, the characters aspirations and, well, it’s hinted at a fair bit. The story doesn’t lose momentum, the characters development gets even better and I only really have good things to say about it! What might be a show that disappointed a few is one that totally impressed me, and I’m very glad that Anime Limited have brought it over to the UK otherwise I might’ve missed this absolute gem of an anime.
It’s consistent and visually beautiful with a great use of colours, lighting and character design that’s nostalgic in its traditional superhero outfits but, of course, they’re Japanese-influenced; I really did feel like a kid at times who might be watching Power Rangers again! I really like the hero outfits and weaponry, especially Samurai Flamenco’s weapons which are hidden as office stationary, and I’m unsure how anybody could really be displeased with this on a visual level, even if I understand that the plot and characters may not be to everyone’s liking.
I’m impressed with how lively the world is and it comes across as a breathing thing rather than background animation, and the slice of life moments are just as fruitful as the action-centric moments. Being a show based around aspiring heroes, there’s a lot of action to go around which doesn’t disappoint with plenty of flair, fluid movements and special moves that are unique to each character – it’s a blast to watch and it oozes with creativity.
The OST follows the same level of quality as other aspects of the show with the OP and ED being joys to listen too, and the rest of the OST fits in perfectly with whatever is happening on-screen – there’re more than a few heartwarming and action-packed scenes in the series, so it’s good to see the OST not lag behind. The voice-acting, which is available in Japanese or French, obviously with subtitles, was spot on. Admittedly, I only watched it in Japanese and so it was a tad annoying that each time I booted the disc up it would be on French by default, but that didn’t take away from the talented voice-actors and actresses who help to bring Samurai Flamenco to life.
Samurai Flamenco can only be described as a hidden gem for me. I’d heard some less than savoury things about the series but I don’t see where those complaints hold up here as the plot, character development and twists are expertly handled and perfectly blend in with the themes presented in the show, and nothing seems completely unexpected. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve seen in part one, and I’m excited to watch the rest of it when Anime Limited release part two in 2016.
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