Once I was a child and Ronin Warriors first popped up on TV, it was one of the crucial unimaginable issues I’d ever seen. The cool armor, the superior villains, it simply stood out in opposition to customary cartoon fare of the time. I even tried to make my very own Ronin Warriors card sport utilizing an ordinary 52-card deck! No, the foundations didn’t make any sense.
However whereas Ronin Warriors was one thing I look again on fondly, I’d by no means actually skilled the Japanese model, Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers. The closest I acquired was the truth that I’ve typically listened to the second opening, “Samurai Coronary heart,” by the superb Moriguchi Hiroko of Zeta Gundam and Gundam F91 fame. The unique was all the time one thing I wished to take a look at finally, however I had it without end within the backlog.
What lastly acquired me off my ass to look at it was the shock announcement that Samurai Troopers is getting a sequel. Whereas I’m positive Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers gained’t require viewers to recollect all the things concerning the first sequence, I figured it was nearly as good a time as any to test this one off the listing. And with a couple of many years between my first expertise with Ronin Warriors and now, I puzzled how I’d really feel about this anime with out the nostalgia goggles.
It’s Boys in Armor, All Proper
The plot of Samurai Troopers focuses on 5 younger warriors who can every summon a particular armor with a singular elemental energy. Collectively, they combat the evil forces of the Netherworld and their chief, the disembodied demon spirit Arago.
With its cadre of fiery but angsty heroes clad in armor, the sequence is just about constructed within the picture of Saint Seiya. I used to be fully unaware of that affect as a child, however now, the fingerprints of Kurumada’s title (notably its anime TV sequence) are throughout Samurai Troopers. The sequence swings between its characters yelling as they launch assaults and provides passionate speeches, after which having them yelling and moaning whereas being hit by enemy assaults—particularly in terms of protagonist Sanada Ryo of Wildfire. It’s a well-recognized mixture of cool motion stuff and dudes struggling handsomely, attempting to attraction to each the youngsters desperate to dwell vicariously by them and the older followers gushing over the characters and their widespread voice actors, very like the entire multimedia expertise we nonetheless see immediately.
A Give attention to Fashion
I discover Samurai Troopers to be good and enjoyable, however not notably nice. The sequence could be very spectacle-forward and harking back to cleaning soap operas in its dramatic moments: Plot twists, lore reveals, and even combat scenes are sometimes extra about vibes than attempting to create a coherent narrative. A part of this undoubtedly has to do with the truth that the sequence modified administrators midway by (over disagreements associated to shilling of toys, apparently), however even with out that, Samurai Troopers typically appears to fly by the seat of its pants.
Some developments really feel like they have been most likely deliberate to a level, whereas others really feel like course modifications within the curiosity of taking part in to the viewers and/or throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks. The reveal concerning the true origins of the armors and the lead-up to the Inferno Armor that defines the primary half are pretty coherent and total entertaining, however the second half of the sequence comes throughout as stopping and beginning each few episodes as if it’s searching for the correct storyline to proceed.
For instance, after the halfway level, they commit a handful of episodes to focusing individually on every Trooper. This can be a welcome factor, but it surely’s unusual to do that so late into the sequence. Additionally, for no matter purpose, the episode targeted on Shu of Stone is unusually nicely animated in comparison with the remainder of the sequence. Elsewhere, Shu leans barely extra in direction of a comedic function, however right here, he’s the most important badass. After which, he and two different Troopers are kidnapped and principally out of sight for like six episodes as Samurai Troopers pushes Toma of Heaven into the highlight with Ryo.
That mentioned, the sequence has an plain cool issue that it retains up nicely total. When all the things traces up, it does make for some actually satisfying storytelling. The villainous warlord Shutendoji (often known as Anubis in Ronin Warriors, the place he was additionally the most effective) might be essentially the most compelling character in the whole anime due to his story arc and function as an honorable villain, and it typically looks like later antagonists are makes an attempt to copy his success with combined outcomes. By the way, there’s a special character named Anubis in Ronin Warriors, which isn’t complicated in any respect.
Different Issues
Talking of Ronin Warriors, I used to be eager about the localization selections, and whereas the modifications are pretty substantial, they are surely good for a 90s present for American youngsters. Arago’s Youja forces are subtitled in Samurai Troopers utilizing phrases involving “Doom” or “Nether,” but it surely’s principally a mixture of you (spirit, supernatural) and ja (demonic, malicious). Nonetheless, in Ronin Warriors they’re Talpa’s Dynasty, which sounds superior and menacing in English, even when the present undoubtedly likes to conflate Japanese and Chinese language tradition. The truth that Samurai Troopers is principally Saint Seiya however hyper Japanese makes this funnier.
There are a pair recurring noncombatant characters whose fundamental function is simply to be the child sidekick (Yamano Shu) and the feminine companion (Yagyu Nasté). Other than some later plot relevance, they really feel like viewers inserts for his or her respective demographics. However Nasté is attention-grabbing to me as a result of she’s form of a prototype of Relena from Gundam Wing, which the primary director Ikeda would go on to direct (and in addition depart). She’s not as forceful as Relena for many of the sequence, however within the sequel OVAs of Samurai Troopers, Nasté does get portrayed as a extra strong-willed character.
Relating to the OVAs, they’re much extra totally out of the realm of toy business. The primary two OVA sequence actually fairly up the boys, double the angst, and provides them a number of modern outfits to put on. The third, titled The Message, appears to interrogate the character of attempting to make use of evil objects to do good, however in a approach that entails 50% present footage and an amazing quantity of narration by particular person Troopers. Whereas arguably being essentially the most attention-grabbing by way of concepts it presents, the format is a whole slog to get by.
Last Ideas
Samurai Troopers occupies a form of transitional area between totally different customary approaches to anime: It’s not primarily episodic, but it surely additionally isn’t dedicated to serialized long-form storytelling. The present needs to promote the toys to the boys and the blokes to the women, however the ratio of its attraction shifts far and wide till the OVAs. All this isn’t so uncommon; Samurai Troopers is hardly the primary case of a piece looking for itself because it’s going, and even the Saint Seiya manga apparently went this manner. Nonetheless, I believe this incongruity is extra noticeable as a result of the sequence doesn’t all the time comply with by with its selections.
This would possibly appear to be I’m down on Samurai Troopers, however I’m actually not. The way in which it clearly tries to navigate totally different audiences is fascinating to look at, and the joy the title brings is plain. I believe if I have been a child watching week to week, the best way it swings between episodic and serial would make the latter components really feel that rather more particular.
So now I’m prepared for the brand new present. It’ll be attention-grabbing to see how a lot the sequence leans into newer tropes and the way a lot it’ll attempt to match the texture of the unique.
