Onimusha

I'm not 100% certain his to accurately articulate everything I'm feeling and thinking.

I'm glad I finished it before writing a review, however. Though not as bad as I was originally thinking, it isn't exactly awe-inspiring. There definitely are benefits to have the pseudo-cgi anime style Netflix has been developing for quite some time now. I did make the mistake of watching Blue-Eye Samurai first, which just set the bar so high it would have been impossible for anything other than Arcane to surpass it.

If you're an anime fan (meaning accustomed to anime tropes), and are fine with the cgi anime style thing, I imagine you'll probably enjoy it. Go into it with the expectation to see some cool fights and you'll be good.

I am beyond surprised that Capcom actually gave Onimusha to a team that cares about the source material that they are adapting. This, in my opinion, is an amazing adaptation with superbly choreographed fight scenes and plenty of likable character moments.

The only shred of hope I had for this adaptation came from the fact that Takashi Miike was at the helm of the production as director and he is most likely the reason why action scenes look as amazing as they do. I think on its own, the show is still good, but as an adaptation of Onimusha, it is great.

Animation: To start it off I don't think a lot of people will be fond of the CGI. I had no problem with it because the hand-drawn backgrounds looked amazing and so did all of the fights. There are so many genuinely epic shots and camera angles used here, both in and out of action sequences.

Also, the art style is just super on point, there are some areas where the color grading straight made me feel like I was watching a video of one of the games, especially when it comes to the backgrounds. If they were given a bigger budget I am sure the animation quality would've been 10/10, but it is still great imo.

Story: The story is fairly basic, it just follows Musashi and his companions while they go on an adventure and face various foes along the way. I think many people would rather love to see an adaptation focusing on Samanosuke or Jubei, but what we have here is genuinely good and can be treated as its own "game" because it perfectly fits into the Onimusha franchise.

Character: As I briefly mentioned earlier, the anime focuses on Musashi traveling with a bunch of other characters as they go on an adventure. All of these characters get a lot of time to shine and akin to most of the games all of these are very memorable; I would argue that the show even has some of the best characters in the series.

Conclusion: Amazing action sequences, really likable characters, respect for the source material, & stellar choreography all make this an easy 8/10 for me and as a Capcom adaptation this is like a 9/10 lol, because they never give their IPs to people who care. I hope that this means we might be getting another Onimusha game sometimes in the future.

Netflix's "Onimusha" brilliantly melds lovecraftian horror with jaw-dropping samurai action, through a marvellously bloody journey which follows an aging samurai whose on a quest to put an end to the demon scourge that plagues Japan. Whilst grappling with his physical decline, legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto must harness the power of dark forces to combat the evil wreaking havoc against the backdrop of the Sengoku period. Under the guidance of supervising director Takashi Miike, known for audacious and bloody work, the series goes above and beyond in delivering brutal violence, but in beautiful fashion. What sets "Onimusha" apart is its exceptional animation, seamlessly blending 2D and 3D, creating a visual masterpiece that shatters preconceptions and elevates the series to a calibre of the highest level. It offers a gripping and multi-dimensional experience, particularly for those who appreciate the beauty and ferocity of samurai stories and animated horror, "Onimusha" stands as a triumphant must-watch, and another top notch animated game adaptation to add to Netflix's rapidly growing collection.

To be honest, I feel conflicted about this show. I loved the games, so I really wanted to like this show and parts of it do feel very close to the games. Some of the characters and dialogue are well done.

The fighting in particular, however, was a letdown. The games delivered such aesthetic and spectacular fights, but this show fails to capture both the aesthetics and the feeling of those fights. The fights are over stylized and movements depicted so abstract, that it loses any resemblance to actual sword fighting. They end up feeling generic and became the least favourite part of this show for me... and that is a problem for a show that is supposed to be based on sword fighting games.

That is not to say the other parts all hit the mark. The style is somewhat "hit or miss", with parts of it being very atmospheric and well done, while certain scenes lack detail in a major way (waterfalls/strong currents for example look hideous in multiple scenes).

Overall not a must watch. A fan of the games might find some enjoyment in this series. Everyone else is probably better off watching Blue Eye Samurai.

As a fan of the games I was at least hoping for this to be decent. And while half of the season is enjoyable with interesting characters and good looking fights, when it gets close to the end, something is missing.

The villain and his minions are very clichéd and predictable, so are their motivations. I also didn't like the setting at the end, although it's a bit reminiscent of Onimusha 3 style wise.

I think if this would have been a game, I wouldn't mind the mediocre storytelling. I mean seriously, did any of the games have serious writing? It was all about the fights with the oni gauntlet which is also underused here. But as a show I would have wanted a bit more depth. Just a bit. Or at least consistent writing.

All in all the show is worth one watch and then I forget about the it and await the arrival of a reboot/new game!