Be prepared, Shigurui: Death Frenzy is not for everyone. It's gruesomely violent, has very few redeemable or likeable characters, it's rapey, shockingly gory and has pretty much zero moments of humour.
I also kind of loved it.
The story takes place in the 1600's in a dojo where the sensei is training samurai in order to choose his eventual successor and the backstabbing, murder and betrayals going on in the background. That's the basic gist of it, i don't want to spoil anything.
Pretty much every character is a psychopath especially the sensei, the fight scenes are so stylish and brutal and the tone and atmosphere so thick with dread and tension that i do not blink when i watch this show.
The violence really is extreme with dismemberment, eyeballs being slashed with swords (and eaten), jaws being detached from faces and characters having teeth stuck in their fists after delivering particularly hard blows to their opponents.
It really isn't for sensitive viewers but if that sounds cool to you then....well it is pretty cool.
I enjoyed the soundtrack too which is mostly traditional Japanese instruments and dark ambient drones which make it feel really intense. It's like watching a horror movie.
I can definitely see some people hating it due to it's slow pace, relentlessly downbeat tone and extreme content (including sexual violence) but i think this is an underrated gem.
