Shigurui

"Shigurui" is a 12 episode long anime that takes place at the beginning of the Edo era in Japan.  This particular anime follows two students of the Kogan style and there battle to see who will become the successor of the Kogan style.

This anime is dark and brutal!!  It can only be described as sadistic action combined with the amount of nudity a mild porno would use.  "Shigurui" is an anime that will disgust, frighten, and please the viewer all at different times.  This 12 episode long anime is also one that uses some deeper meanings in the themes behind certain episodes but these are some time overshadowed by the amount of weird/freaky stuff that happens within these episodes.  There is an underlying plot to this bloody story, however it becomes more clear in the later/middle episodes.  The very first episode is kind of confusing when trying to link it to the rest of the story however this piece will fall into place once the show gets going.  The ending of this series is also most unsatisfying, it is almost like the show was never completed at all.

Good:
-Action scenes were done well
-Plot developed and built upon itself
-Nudity....some times just plain unnecessary
-Characters had unique personalities

Bad:
-Weird and sadistic in violence and in character behavior
-What is going on in the show sometime is being explained while it is happening, kind of takes away from the scenes
-No real ending

Scully Rating: 6 out of 10
Watch "Shigurui at:
http://www.animefreak.tv/watch/shigurui-online