Oriental Adventures Movies?

[Jackcarter]

I just watched Samurai X. What other good samurai movies are there to give ideas for playing Samurai characters in OA

I'm gonna assuming you mean a chanbara-type movies depicting guys with topknots and katana, not actually about samurai. Okie, I'm being picky here; I think I know what you're talking about.

About Samurai X, you saw it dubbed, right? Like Tsyr said, its real title is Rurouni Kenshin and you are missing so much if you see it dubbed. Generally, I don't care about dub or subtitle, so long as either one of them are good, but Kenshin dub is astrocious.

Its dub is bad, not just because the voice actors weren't good, but because it left much of the history out of the videos. The dub conveniently rewrites many of the important conversations pertaining to the Japanese history and in effect, leaves you without adequate understanding of the background.

I've shown it to several anime newbies and none of them could appreciate it for anything other than the level of violence because they really had no idea what was going on, except for the little historical blurb in the extras menu. You really miss the big picture with the dub. Unless, of course, you already know Japanese history.

Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors is a good one to try.

I wouldn't recommend Hakkenden to neophytes, as it's a complicated story with unattractive animation. Hakkenden is one of finest anime book adaptations but it's not for those expecting Samurai X type action.

Valavien, I don't know what you're exactly seeking, but Hakkenden's more akin to Schindler's List than Indiana Jones. The animators, with the exception of one character, tried to emulate the traditional Japanese ink paintings for character designs, i.e., no big eyes or funky hair, and sought surreal landscape that at times look very cheap.

Definitely a thinking man's anime, but it does clearly illustrate the core concepts of bushido as understood in the early 19th century Japan, the time of the book's authorship.

From what you've said, it seems that you want 'Easterns.'

Here are a few:

Sword and sandals anime featuring ninjas, samurai, and ecclectic low-grade magic: Ninja Scroll, Ninja Resurrection, Puppet Princess (I really recommend this one--Katoh the magician is the epitome of mystic ninja!), Ninja Cadets, Wrath of Ninja, Blood Reign (very realistic in depiction of combat, at least as far as anime goes), Dagger of Kamui (another realistic anime), and Sword of Justice.

Chanbara movies featuring Japanese warriors performing impossible feats: Most Kurosawa films, the Musashi trilogy, Lone Wolf and the Cub, and this new samurai gay movie (I forgot the title, but it won bunch of awards at Venice film festival and other festivals).

Wuxia movies with jumping guys and throwing ki energy around: Swordsman I, Swordsman II (Jet Li's finest Matrix style/wire-fu movie), Swordsman III (outrageous superhero story), Dragon Inn (one of best Chinese movies ever made, one of few kungfu movies that doesn't get MSTK3 treatment), The Duel (watch it, it has some very cool CG enhanced super swordsmanship), The Three Swordsmen, Blade (not Snipe's crappy movies but one of classics of Chinese cinema), and Duel to the Death.

 

[Tsyr]

Actualy, I'm going to pick one little nit Jack... Although I agree the dub leaves stuff out, I actualy thought the technical quality of the dub itself was quite good. Lips synced well, none of the voices seemed inapropriate... heck, most of them I actualy really liked.

 

[Jackcarter]

Tsyr, I agree to a certain degree. The dub, by itself, isn't bad technically. However, it is bad when compared to the TV dub job, which is one of the best out there. There's the rub, really. It bugs a lot of people when they find familiar faces talk in differrent voices.

Btw, did you know that ADV will dub the 2nd OAV using the dub cast for the tv? From I've heard, there was overwhelming fan demand for their use. And you thought that companies never listened to us.

 

[Tsyr]

Uggg. Tell me about it. The first three seasons of Ranma used a GREAT VA for ranma(american that is)... then they hired some new one, who is really really bad.

 

[Black Omega]

Uggg. Tell me about it. The first three seasons of Ranma used a GREAT VA for ranma(american that is)... then they hired some new one, who is really really bad.

Don't remind me, I quit buying the american dubs at this point. Tenchi Muyo is another where the dubs were so bad I found the series unwatchable. Washu's voice...shiver!

 

[eatenmyeyes]

Shaolin Dolemite!

 

[LcKedovan]

are you looking for anime? or any movie for info?

if its the former, I cant help you. I only recall seing assassin movies- ninjas mostly (ninja scroll is a good one).

but for the latter, you can watch seven samurai. It is a really good depiction of samurai life in Japan.

the only problem is the story.
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A local village is tired of being pillaged and so hire a group of seven samurai to protect them. the problem with this is that a smaurai can never be hired. they have to follow orders from their superior, and for a samurai to take a job like this, would make them mercenaries, dishonoring them. bvut it is a good story hook for the movie.

the bushido code for samurai is very strict- aliong the lines of a paladin. They have to follow orders even if they disagree with it- and if they don't, they will be dishonored. And a samurai would rather lose his life than to lose his honor. And disloyalty to superiors is pretty high on the list.

Well except for the fact that at one point the Old Samurai guy states he is Ronin.

-Will

 

[I'm A Banana]

Heh....wow....Kenshin....

I'm not HUGE into anime, but my girlfriend's best friend is. She would, as any good anime fan, rent DVD's and videos and watch them. Usually, my girlfriend would be in the room. Often, she turns on the mental block, but not always.

That's how she got sucked into Kenshin. And where the woman goes, man will follow, or Suffer the Wrath.

So I've been drug through it, too.

I enjoy it. I've mostly watched the dubbed episodes, most-all on DVD. I got an OK picture of the history (there was an unpleasant government, it was overthrown in a bloody revolution, and the new guys ain't much of an improvement), even before I took that EA Studies class that went over the textbook details of it. And my girlfriend, unaided, was able to get it pretty well.

I like Kenshin because he goes against a lot of stereotypes. He's a weak man, small, feminine, easily cowed. Yet he wins pretty much any fight he gets in....unless it's with a certain love interest. He has a dark past, but he doesn't go around all brooding and dark about it...and it's not the "stylish dark antisocial type."

But that's my anime rant. I'm not anti-anime, I just view it with suspicion. I enjoy Cowboy Bebop, can't stand Sailor Moon or Dragonball (or the Z version), and ain't really big into Tenchi or Gundam....so I'm a partial Cartoon Network Anime-Fan, you could say.

I kinda hope they pick up Kenshin, but it might be too historical for them. Now "Western" enough, what with an unremarkable hero and all these reference to Japanese history that the casual viewer won't understand.

 

[Black Omega]

Well except for the fact that at one point the Old Samurai guy states he is Ronin.

-Will

And the Mifune character is a peasant. And..and... Let's face it, if the guys helping the village had a lord, they would not need to help the village to eat.

 

[Enforcer]

If you don't mind reading a really long book instead of watching a movie, try Shogun by James Clavell. It's fiction, with no fantasy elements. I think they also made a mini-series out of it, so you can try looking for that.

I've heard, however, that Clavell takes some license with actual Japanese history and culture, so read the book with a grain of salt.