Samurai 7, Vol. 6 - Broken Alliance (Limited Edition)

It took quite a while for me to figure out what direction this anime was heading, even after seeing the film masterpiece Seven Samurai in which this anime is based off of. Now, after finishing this volume, I know for sure where it is headed and the final conflict presented that is laid out in this volume looks promising. The next volume will be an explosive success.This volume, however, is the build up to the final conflict. It presents all the characters, both good and bad, that will be involved in the upcoming battle, and it shows what's at stake. In the earlier episodes, it was simply Kanna village that the seven were protecting. Now it is a whole lot more, as you will see upon viewing this volume. This volume also gets into the story of Rikichi and his missing wife, as well as showing a little dissent between the six remaining samurai in the group. (Note that I'm intentionally being ambiguous so as not to ruin the overall viewing outcome of watching this great anime series.)Obviously, if you've bee collecting the Samurai 7 DVDs, I certainly wouldn't stop now if I were you. The conflict is finally coming to a head, we now know who the main antagonistic force is, and we know what's at stake and why the samurai must win this battle more than anything else. This is a great anime series and one I'd recommend both to fans of Seven Samurai as well as to fans of samurai anime such as Champloo, Samurai Deeper, and Rurouni Kenshin.

A solid series that allows for the development of each samurai's character and arc, as opposed to Kurasawa's original film that was limited by its medium. The animation is fantastic, with the exception of the CGI, which looked outdated when the show was released. I am sure there is a box set of these now. If you like anime and Akira Kurosawa, buy these.

The Emperor has been overthrown in a silent coup, Kambei is about to be executed, and a shocking new plot is about to be uncovered...all in the 6th Volume of the blockbuster Anime "Samurai 7".As the Anime drifts completely apart from the Kurosawa masterpiece into its own epic tale, the alliance that saved Kanna Village splinters as Katsushiro, having lost his faith in Kambei, leads himself astray from the group in order to find his own destiny. Meanwhile, Ukyo's intentions are not as gentle and forgiving as they seem - and the young new Emperor has much more in store for the six remaining Samurai, and Kanna Village.Being a die-hard Kurosawa fan, I had serious doubts at first. However, after 5 great volumes of storytelling and a spectacularly-crafted re-interpretation of perhaps the greatest film ever created, I cannot get enough of this show. Volume 6 sets up the thrilling finale with equal suspense and action - the only thing more unbearable than pondering the outcome of the series is the horribly extended period of time between Volume releases by Funimation (the 7th and Final Volume will be released July 25th - nearly two whole months after Volume 6). Hang in there, Samurai 7 fans - the ending will not disappoint.

Only problem with it, is i wish it was four episodes instead of three. But other than that very good. It continues exactly were it stopped on the previous episode on vol.5. A lot more of the story gets revealed and starts coming together. It has a bit of drama in it, but also still a good deal of action, it leaves you wanting the next and last volume really badly. It looks to be a really great ending though, there is a lot that can happen. But if your a fan of the series, just keep on watching its still damn good.

The end of Volume 5 was a bit of a cliffhanger, seeing as how it ended with Kambei about to get his head chopped off execution style. Katsushiro and Nunky have also arrived to help free Kambei without his knowledge, having gone against his implicit orders to stay at Kanna Village. Ukyo, meanwhile, has gone from playing the dandified fop to playing the various factions of his world against each other. He sends the samurai to defend all of the peasant villages and also orders the bandits to attack those same villages, knowing that the samurai will triumph and he will be seen as the savior of the farmers. He also agrees to the release of all the Kanna women the Capitol has stolen over the years. But really, he's in it all for himself, and is willing to betray any of the above to assure his continued reign in a system that has been modified but not reformed in any material way. It's up to Kambei and his band to figure out how to play along for the moment and defeat the new Emperor at his own game.This volume was pretty disappointing in my view, with more of the same as Volume 5, which began to wrap itself in too much politics after the storyline of the original movie ended. It seems like the writers of the show didn't really know what to do with the characters after the original premise and took it to the extreme of having the seven samurai not only change the fate of Kanna Village but to change the entire world, which is a little unrealistic. Also, Katsushiro is becoming a little too big for his britches and is rapidly becoming a very unlikeable hero. His melodramatic flirtations with Kirara only drags the show down into shojo soap opera. Samurai 7 gets back on track with the last volume, but 5 and 6 were the lowpoints of the show to me.

Great DVD for a great series! You should have the collection! The music is great, the menus are excellent, the costumes are very nice, there are a lot of thing to watch in this DVD!