areaseven Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 (edited) PEACE MAKER 鐵 GONZO Digimation/TV Asahi/Imagica, 2003-2004 ADV Films, 2005 Directed by Tomohiro Hirata (Melty Lancer, Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01) Rated 17+ for extreme violence and gore, mature situations and strong language. The year is 1864 - the first year of the Genji Era in Japan. After seeing his parents murdered by a Choshuu samurai, 15-year-old Tetsunosuke Ichimura enlists to join the elite Shinsengumi army as a means to become stronger and avenge his parents. But upon attempting to enlist, he learns the hard way that in order to become a Shinsengumi, he must part with his humanity and fight like a demon. Story: B+ Unlike Samurai Deeper Kyo, Peace Maker Kurogane does have a plot to follow and has a set of characters that grow on you. Tetsunosuke brings life to the series with his spunky personality and iron-clad determination, not to mention his small size. And you can't get enough of the hilarious duo of Shinpachi and Sanosuke. Peace Maker Kurogane is an excellent blend of action, comedy and drama rarely seen since Rurouni Kenshin. Animation: A+ Akemi Hayashi's (Fruits Basket) character designs blend perfectly with GONZO's trademark mix of digital 2D and 3D animation. The fight scenes may not be Ninja Scroll or Rurouni Kenshin, but they're much better to watch than Samurai Deeper Kyo. Soundtrack: A "Yeah! Come on! You gonna feel so! Yeah! Come on!" Peace Maker Kurogane follows Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai Deeper Kyo in the tradition of incorporating hard rock into samurai anime. Keiichi Oku's (Ashita no Nadja) score is highly impressive, as well as the opening and ending themes by Hav. Sub vs. Dub Peace Maker Kurogane features Yumiko Kobayashi (Puni Puni Poemi, Sarah in Love Hina) as Tetsunosuke, Mitsuki Saiga (Tsukasa in .hack//SIGN, Junior in R.O.D -The TV-) as Souji, Johji Nakata (Alucard in Hellsing, Jack in Yukikaze) as Hijikata, Yuji Ueda (Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi-yo! Masaru-san, Keitaro in Love Hina) as Tatsunosuke, Mikako Takahashi (Kasumi in Hand Maid May, Fujio in I My Me! Strawberry Eggs) as Saya and Saizo, Takahiro Sakurai (Shun in Gate Keepers, Boma in Heat Guy J) as Suzumu, Yuka Imai (Futaba in Puni Puni Poemi, Otaru in Saber Marionette J/J Again/J to X) as Suzu, Kenji Nomura as Sanosuke, Kappei Yamaguchi (Ranma 1/2, Inu-Yasha) as Shinpachi, Yuko Nagashima (Caldina in Magic Knight Rayearth, Rina in Saint Tail) as Ayumu, Takaya Hashi as Isami, Masashi Ebara (Eat-Man, Cowboy Andy in Cowboy Bebop) as Ryoma, Norihiro Inoue (Master Keaton) as Keisuke, Toshiyuki Morikawa (Space Knight Tekkaman Blade, Alex in Last Exile) as Ryunosuke, Nanae Katou (Princess TuTu, Chika in Asagiri no Miko) as Hana, Junichi Suwabe (Katana in Gad Guard, Fuuma in X) as Toshimaru, Kosuke Toriumi (Heisenberg in Di Gi Charat, Hayate in Pretear) as Heisuke, Michiko Neya (Nancy in Read Or Die, Melissa in Full Metal Panic!) as Akari, and Shinichiro Miki (Alan in Escaflowne, Kurz in Full Metal Panic!) as Aoga. English dub review coming next year. DVD Extras Under construction. The Bottom Line GONZO tries out samurai anime and scores big with Peace Maker Kurogane. Despite not being close to the manga, it's still worth checking out. Links Official Peace Maker Kurogane Homepage (Japanese) Reference Anime News Network Edited July 31, 2004 by areaseven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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