Search - Carried by the Wind - Tsukikage Ran - A Tale of Two Travelers (Vol. 1) on DVD

Tale of a Wandering Samurai...Woman?

Strategos | In Space above Planet Earth | 11/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Akitaro Daichi is said to be the genius behind this series, and if so then I owe him big time. I remember once I saw an episode or two of Jubei Chan:Ninja Girl, and while I didn't care for the humor much, one thing stood out in my mind. That show had the most amazing action sequences I had ever seen in my life. Samurai cartwheeling and summersaulting through the air while the swords clashed...BEAUTIFUL. So naturally I was very interested when I heard the same guy was responsible for this series. But then, I read reveiws on the Internet, and they all said that this show was lackluster, boring, no good. These reviewers need to be shot.First thing's first. Do you like Samurai flicks? Black and white Kurosawa? The whole Ronin Samurai thing? And above all, Samurai sword fights? Then this show will blow your mind. For starters it has two EXTREMELY likable main characters, wonderful animation, and a great opening and ending (the intro in particular REALLY harkens back to the old Samurai movies of yester-year). The plot of every episode will remind you of every Samurai film plotline in the book. But this show is not TRING to be original. It is trying to pay a light-hearted tribute to Samurai Sagas with awesome fight scenes. And that it does well.While the show is mostly comic, it still mangages to pack quite a wallop when it comes to drama. Every episode has some, and the show just seems to get better and better (with more depth) as it goes along. But the REAL reason to watch this one is the fight sequences. Truly, they must be seen to be believed. Lightning fast and done in the perfect martial-arts Samurai style (jump, duck, weave, and smack five or six opponents at once, one flick of the sword and you're either knocked out or dead).And let's not forget the OUTSTANDING dub on this one either. I've seen a lot of truly terrible ones lately, but the English voice cast on this show is about as perfect as they come. The tone of the show (and the real meat of the characters) is captured perfectly, allowing you to laugh one minute and (particularly in one or two parts) feel misty-eyed or cut-at-heart the next. And interestingly, although there are a lot of fights and a fair amount of killing, I cannot recall seeing any blood in any of the episodes (personally I believe in Jackie Chan's philosophy of give me action, but spare me the blood and gore).If you really like Samurai action, and in particular Samurai-themed anime, you owe it to yourself to check this one out."

Very funny!

Amber | Georgia | 03/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is great! I found it to be very silly and yet somewhat dramatic at the same time. The idea of a sake-loving female samurai and an idealistic, cat-based martial arts fighter teaming up is fantastic! The animation is very smooth, and the fight scenes rival anything you might find in Rurouni Kenshin. In fact, when fighting, Ran puts me in mind of Kenshin himself, being extremely fast, adept at her art, and able to take out ten or more guys in a matter of seconds. And her sake-swilling ways make me think of Kenshin's kick-ass, sake-loving mentor Hiko Seijuro.(In case you can't tell, I am a big Rurouni Kenshin fan.)Lady Meow is a martial artist in the style of the Iron Cat Fist, and is very effective, taking out a whole group of men just as fast as her partner Ran. She is idealistic to an extreme, and gets into sticky situations rather easily. Her movements are somewhat feline, probably due to her karate style. The voice actors in both versions are great, from the minor characters in each episode all the way to Ran and Lady Meow. Ran's voice is appropriate for her age, although her English voice actor still puts that feminine touch to it. In that Japanese version she sounds much more masculine, which makes it easier for the other characters to think of her as a man. Lady Meow's voice actor in both versions is well aware of how excitable the character is (I cannot recall the last time I saw someone make that many faces), and it shows in the incredible voice-acting.This is a fun, light-hearted series that even in the harshest fights never fully takes itself seriously. And that is just what it is supposed to do!"