Animehead Brothers: Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal/Rurouni Kenshin

Hey guys, sorry for going almost three weeks without a review, been swamped lately. Thankfully I am back with a review of a beautiful anime. First off, this anime is only four episodes, and each episode is only 30 minutes long, as this is technically an OVA. You owe it to yourself to watch this amazing series. I highly recommend subs, as there are a few annoying voices in the dubs. Okay, let's get started.

Premise - This anime is actually based off of a true story, during a time in feudal Japan. It's about a young orphan boy who wants to learn to fight injustice. A simple premise, but the plot greatly thickens.

Animation - I loved this animation style. This OVA was released in 1999, but it does not show its age. Characters look sharp and realistic, albeit with a retro flair. And the water animation left my mouth hanging open the first time I saw it. I had to go back multiple times and see if the scenes with the water was animated, and not real.

Go to 1:39 and just watch the water for a few seconds. Crazy, right?

Plot - This plot is a masterpiece. You go through the life of these characters, and it feels so much longer than four episodes (in a good way). The evolution as the story goes on feels real and plausible, like you are watching the life of a real person. The first episode starts off exciting, and keeps it up with a balance of action, intrigue, and emotion. I will note that the action is bloody. Very bloody. Like cut people into tiny pieces and send a sword through the neck followed by a twist of the sword in the neck bloody. Episode 3 stays almost exclusively slow, but it was appropriately placed. Episode 4 goes back to action, but the action feels different. In fact, nothing feels the same in this story, or stale. It actually reminds me of the movie Pride & Prejudice, as far as plot development goes (this, again, is a very good thing). My only problem with this plot is that they do a LOT of jumping around in the first episode, which makes it a bit difficult to follow.

Characters - Something that stood out to me about these characters is how well they portray early Japanese culture. I haven't seen another anime do it this well before. There is a male and female main character.The male main character is interesting, strong, and easy to attach with. The female main character is also very well done, although her romantic angle may come off as unrealistic to some (I was fine with it, though). Where this anime really flourishes is the relationship between the guy and thee girl. They play off each other with perfect chemistry and interesting twists. All the characters do a great job in this, with a few exceptions. The female lead's little brother wasn't that well developed, and I wish there was more development for the various assassins, granted this was only four episodes.

Verdict - You definitely will want to watch this OVA series, especially if you like a good love story mixed in with your action, and don't mind the jumping around in the beginning. One of the better anime I have seen. If you don't watch the show, at least just look at the animation style so that you can appreciate its beauty.

Score - 9/10

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