FUNimation already has the rights to Sengoku Basara, an adaptation of a Dynasty Warriors-style game about feudal Japan. So I suppose it just makes sense for them to lock down the rights to a similar anime. Samurai Warriors (Sengoku Musou in Japan) is an adaptation of a Dynasty Warriors spin-off game about feudal Japan. It sounds like a rip-off, but considering that not only Samurai Warriors, but also Dynasty Warriors came before Sengoku Basara, it’s safe from such accusations. The anime starts on January 11, 2015, on the FUNimation Streaming Service. You have to pay a cheap subscription rate, but you can also use a 14-day free trial, even at the end of the series, so you can binge it all in one go. Read more…
Rurouni Kenshin was one of my favorite mangas to come out of Weekly Shonen Jump in the 90s. When I started watching the censored anime adaptation that was broadcast on Toonami in the early 2000s, I didn’t realize that I would fall in love with Kenshin the repentent samurai enough to pick up every volume that came out, especially the third and final act that never made it into the anime. To say I’m excited for seeing the live action adaptation is an understatement, and now that the film has premiered in Japan, it looks like the rest of the world is on track for getting its own release! Read more…
Have you ever wanted some art to spiff up your geek abode? Finding excellent art prints of your favorite movie or book isn’t hard these days, but every once in a while you catch a glimpse of something truly special. Case in point: Steve Bialik’s delightful Samurai Star Wars prints. These six 11″ x 27″ prints feature several popular Star Wars characters reinterpreted in the style of traditional Japanese art. It’s quite an interesting circle, given the inspiration Star Wars took from Japanese history (something that was probably the basis for these prints). One thing I must note is the fantastic use of color in these – I particularly like the “Emperor” and “Jabba the Hutt” prints, they’re really eye-catching. These would make great pieces for any fan’s home, so if you’re interested in any of these, be sure to check out Steve’s site where he has them available for purchase. Read more…
Directed by Takeshi Miike the film 13 Assassins is playing at quite a few art houses — if you’re into samurai films this looks pretty amazing. Here’s the trailer: Read more…
It might not be the classiest umbrella I’ve ever seen, but it’s certainly one of the coolest. This samurai “busho” umbrella features a designed based on the armor and weapon carried by Kanetsugu Naoe, a famous samurai during Japan’s often romanticized Sengoku era. As you can see from in picture above, the Umbrella’s handle is actually a replica of the hilt from Kanetsugu’s blade and the umbrella itself is lined with his family crest. Personally, I could probably see myself taking one of these along with me to Baltimore next month. I usually attend Otakon each year, and I can’t remember a time when it hasn’t rained for at least one day. If you’re interested in picking one of these up, you can head over J-List and order one for roughly $34 plus shipping. Read more…
Sengoku Bushô translates to The Lords of War — and this memory stick collection features ten different samurai who honor their master by carrying up to two gigs of memories. By the way it’s important to note that these aren’t just cartoon samurai, in fact they’re based on historical figures. Included in the set are the likes of Hanzou Hattori, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Kenshin Uesugi, Masamune Date, Nobunaga Oda, Shingen Takeda and Yukimura Sanada. Although a hazard of being a digital samurai is that often you’ll be decapitated, only to have to be put back together again: Read more…
Wait until you get a load of these. Custom Toy artist, Sillof, recently completed his latest series of custom figures, entitled Samurai Wars, in which he took the cast of Star Wars, and re-imagined them as characters in a Akira Kurosawa masterpiece. The details on the figures are absolutely fantastic, from Obi Wan’s eye patch to Vader’s burnished iron clad armor — it’s clear that a lot of work went into these. Read more…
Feast your eyes on these wicked new chopsticks from Kotobukiya. Fans of the Sengoku Basara anime series, as well as Japanese history buffs like myself, might recognize the designs. Believe it or not, they’re actually fashioned after the swords and blades supposedly carried by the likes of Masamune Date, Keiji Meada and Yukimura Sanada — warriors who fought during Japan’s Sengoku era — with some amount of historical accuracy. I’ve always had a fascination with Samurais, so these are right up my alley. The chopsticks, estimated to cost about $9 a pair, won’t be hitting stores and online retailers until sometime in July. For more information, check out Kotobukiya’s US website. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 7, 2009 in Comic Books
365 Samurai and a Few Bowls of Rice looks like a wonderful combination of the storytelling skills of Akira Kurosawa mixed with a Jamie Hewlett look with just a dash of RAW magazine from the 80s. The artist behind this graphic novel is J. P. Kalonji a self taught illustrator who lives in Switzerland. Here’s an amazing 36 page sample from this beautiful book which is nearly 400 pages and will be published by Dark Horse Comics on December 2nd: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 10, 2009 in Videogames
Looking at this latest trailer of Samurai Warriors 3 (known as Sengoku Musou 3 in Japan) I’m very impressed with the level of detail that Koei and Omega Force have put into this Wii game. This series has been running since 2004 and combines historical settings with just a little bit of magic for fighting scenes. This latest version should be out at the end of November, 2009. Here are some very well done character designs I from their preview website: Read more…
