Review of The Elusive Samurai

Bold, expressive, and ambitious - this is how The Elusive Samurai feels at its best. It's a shame how most of this adaptation feels like wasted potential. You get a glimpse of just how good the visual storytelling and animation can be, and then two episodes later you're spacing out to ugly CGI horses wondering where it all went wrong. Despite its very obvious visual shortcomings, the first episode and some later scenes are some of the best anime I've seen. The cheaper-looking episodes can be harder to stomach exactly because of how high it sets the bar for itself, but that doesn't erase thefact that those highs do exist.

A common criticism of this show seems to be the tonal whiplash. The juggling of tone, especially early on, ends up giving the show a morbid and almost perverse feel, and I can't say I ultimately hate it. Characters, especially villains, are presented with exaggerated features and dramatic flair. Another title that I think succeeds in doing something similar is Golden Kamuy: gruesome reality mixed with absurd comedy. The difference being that Golden Kamuy is actually funny.

Without the strange tone that defines The Elusive Samurai, it would lose a lot of its identity especially on episodes where the production takes a backseat and the show turns into 'just another shounen'. Some people would probably prefer that, but personally, if I'm going to watch something that's not interesting or unique in some other way, I'd want the story and characters to at least be of a certain quality. And to be honest, this series does not have what it takes to carry itself in that regard. The story is ultimately simple and so are the characters, some of them feeling like nothing more than plot devices (such as Kojiro and that one girl who's so forgettable I don't remember her name).

Now, I've been ragging a lot on a series I've marked as 'Recommended'. The fact of the matter is, it's a flawed show. But when it looks good, it looks GOOD, and that alone was enough to keep me up thinking about the series before bed. A memorable show is better than a forgettable show with less glaring flaws. When you can acknowledge the flaws of something and still think it was well worth watching, that definitely deserves a glowing recommendation. The good thing is, you only need the first episode to figure out if you'll like the series or not. If you find yourself not really interested after the first episode, it's an easy drop. But for anyone who's looking for some eye candy and doesn't mind a somewhat strange tone and inconsistent quality, maybe you'll find it worth getting through just for those wonderful moments.