Ronin Warriors - The Shadow of Doom (Vol. 4)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Directed by Masashi Ikeda and Mamoru Hamazu
Written by Barry G. Hawkins, Michael Adams, and Tyche Graz

Features:

• Contains original four Japanese episodes
  
• Reversible cover
  
• English and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Battle-rific
• Evil Armor. Or Good Armor (allegedly. maybe.)

Rating: 13+ for animated violence

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Skip it.

The Shadow of Doom collects episodes 13-16 of Ronin Warriors. The Warriors, having begun their assault on Arago's castle, must now meet the challenge and deliver. Seperated and alone, Talpa begins to turn each Warrior's mind against himself, but will it be one of Arago's own men who changes sides? Is Shu's armor really evil by nature? And can we trust this talking armor to tell the truth and serve the side of Good?

There's plenty of action in Ronin Warriors; one can't complain about that. But the plot leaves something to be desired at this point. Ok, so maybe the armor is, like humanity, neither good nor evil, but depends upon how it's used. And so there are a couple of bad guys left to defeat. Aside from the screaming fact that there isn't a single strong female in this title, is there really anything of importance left to discuss? Do we really care about these people enough to ride out the rest of the series? Yes, there's lots of butt-kicking. But is that enough? I wonder.

The sound and video are both decent enough, but not great, and I have to say that a couple of the Japanese voices are oddly shrill and annoying. The sound is kind of smudgy in places, so the characters seem to mutter from time to time, and the music isn't as crisp and clear as some other titles are. The colors are sometimes a bit darkened when they're not in shadow, but otherwise, the animation is mediocre, but not terrible.

The extras consist entirely of four bonus episodes of Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers, the Japanese TV shows that parallel these Ronin Warriors episodes. The plots are pretty much the same, after all, so it's nice that fans of either show can reverse the case insert to suit themselves. I would say that which set you watch entirely depends upon whether you want Japanese or English audio, or if you want the slight additional "action" that the Japanese episodes provide.

In short, if you enjoyed the series when it was broadcast on TV, then you'll probably be pretty satisfied with this disc. If you didn't see it on TV, or were only lukewarm about it then, there's little here to win you over. Yes, there's some action and the concept is rather interesting (ancient armor, each dedicated to a different human virtue, sorcerers, etc.), but the execution just isn't what it could have been. It's a show targeted for young teenage and preteen boys, and it shows. The tension between the armor being good or being evil isn't even, well, tense, and the lack of depth thwarts it. But if all you want is some mecha butt-kicking action, then Ronin Warriors just might be your new sweetheart.