Ronin Warriors Vols. 7 & 8:
The Evil Priestess and A New Ally (2001)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Series Concept by Hajime Yatate
Directed by Masashi Ikeda and Mamoru Hamazu
Character Design by Norio Shioyama

Features:

• Reversible cover art
  
• Corresponding episodes of Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers on disc reverse
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• good guy angst
• bad guys with a brain
• NEVER split the party

Rating: 13+

Anamorphic: N/A; presented in its original TV aspect.

My Advice: Rent 'em.

In Volume 7, Our Heroes have had a dream of the Ancient, Kaos, along with directions to train more and reach new levels of skill and power. In order to follow these instructions, the Warriors go off on their own to train--but this plays into the hands of Talpa and Lady Kayura, who picks them off one by one. Eventually, all but Rowen and Ryo fall to these evil plans. Will they be enough to stand against the Inferno Armour? Will all of the Heroes be together again to make a final stand against the forces of the Netherworld? With these discs, the series enters the final story arc, so you can expect the action to pick up a bit.

It is nice to finally learn more about the Netherworld, and the convention of solo training also allows each Warrior to shine on his own a bit. If you have any questions about any individual personality, you might get them answered in this episode. It’s also good to see a villain, Naaza, with some sense...no more do they try to attack the Warriors en masse, but instead take advantage of their lone positions. The character development, particularly with Shiten, is nice and solid, and viewers can only hope that this continues through to the end.

The audio and video of these discs are on par with the quality of the previous entries in the series...which is to say that the sound is a tiny bit muted, but well balanced. The dialogue and music are both clear with no problems detected. The video is rather painterly in appearance, and quite nice. There was a bit of trouble with the Wildfire armor and other reds, but that’s to be expected in a show this old and not worth worrying about.

As with the other discs in the series, the extras are minimal, which is a shame. It would have been nice to have had a gallery, some character profiles, or especially an interview with the designers of the armor that features so prominently in this title. The armor is, after all, pretty cool, along with their distinctive powers and look.

In short, I hope that this final story arc will fulfill the promise of the title and be a bit more interesting than the earlier discs have been. The character development and interaction has been nice, and if they can continue that and still ratchet up the action and drama a bit, then this title might just be saved from mediocrity yet. We’ll just have to watch and see.