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Black Lion


areaseven

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And now for another episode of...

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Kuro no Shishi

Dynamic Planning/Minamimachi Bugyosho/Nippon Columbia, 1992

ADV Films, 1998, 2003

Directed by Takashi Watanabe (Ikki Tousen, Boogiepop Phantom)

Rated 17+ for extreme violence and gore, and strong language.

Based on the manga by Go Nagai (Mazinger Z, Cutey Honey). The year is 1580. Using an army of soldiers equipped with sophisticated weaponry, Nobunaga Oda is on the verge of ruling Japan with an iron fist. One of his enforcers is Ginnai Doma - a fallen samurai reborn into an indestructible killing machine. As Ginnai continues his killing spree on ninjas and those who oppose Nobunaga's rule, Shishimaru of the Iga Ninja - going against the Koga Ninja's plans - pursues a one-man vendetta to avenge the deaths of his comrades and kill the immortal warrior.

Story: D-

I have a fundamental problem with Feudal Japanese titles that incorporate modern technology in their storylines. Ninja Resurrection and the Ninja Scroll TV series are prime examples of this violation. However, Black Lion takes the cake as it has samurai using tanks and gatling guns at their disposal. Computers and GPS systems are also at play. We're even led to believe that Nobunaga is either from another planet or the distant future.

The biggest problem is Ginnai himself. There have been tales of warriors attaining immortality. In Black Lion, after losing his family and his life, Ginnai becomes a cybernetic organism built with a titanium alloy endoskeleton encased in living tissue. Give me a break! In that case, call the damn anime "Samurai Terminator". And while we're at it, James Cameron should sue Dynamic Planning for ripping off his masterpiece.

Animation: B-

The OAV has some decent animation, but the fight scenes are no better than Sword for Truth.

Soundtrack: B-

Nothing to clamor about.

Sub vs. Dub

Black Lion features Yasunori Matsumoto (Gourry in Slayers, Gai in Getter Robo Armageddon) as Shishimaru, Yusaku Yara (Brenten in Dominion Tank Police, Mephisto in Demon City Shinjuku) as Ginnai, Ai Orikasa (Quatre in Gundam Wing, Toma in Gravitation) as Hayabusa, Kan Fujimoto as Momoji, and Yuri Amano (Kiyone in Tenchi Muyo!, Rain in Mobile Fighter G-Gundam) as Oyu.

As usual, ADV delivers a lackluster dub.

DVD Extras: F

Trailers are not extras.

The Bottom Line

If you just picked up Black Lion, terminate it!

"Hasta la vista, baka!"

Reference

Anime News Network

Edited by areaseven
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Holy crap, he broke out the "I hate this show" sign!!!!!!!!!! :lol::lol::lol:

Where's the guy who was saying A7 doesn't do "I hate this" reviews?

Hasta la vista, baka!
LMAO

Yeah this show sucked, I saw it on VHS years ago. Imagine if they actually made more of it.

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Does Ginnai ever say "I'll be back..."?

Surprisingly, he doesn't.

I forgot to mention that the OAV has so many plot loopholes, it's ridiculous.

SPOILER ALERT! Ah, screw it! No one's gonna watch this, anyway.

During the final battle between Shishimaru and Ginnai, Shishimaru has his right forearm chopped off. He then slices Ginnai in half, rupturing his hydrogen fuel cell and setting off an explosion that decimates at least 30 city blocks.

The next scene has Shishimaru, Momoji and Hayabusa lying on the ground. Shishimaru wakes up and sees faint, ghost-like images. The images tell him they saved him and his comrades from the explosion, and that there are more battles to come. The larger apparition mentions his name as "Black Lion" before disappearing. Shishimaru then sees a giant spaceship hovering over the sky. He then tries to reach out for it with his right hand.

That's when the narrator says, "At this point, Shishimaru did not notice that his right arm, which was severed by Ginnai in the battle, was reattached."

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Does Ginnai ever say "I'll be back..."?

Surprisingly, he doesn't.

I forgot to mention that the OAV has so many plot loopholes, it's ridiculous.

SPOILER ALERT! Ah, screw it! No one's gonna watch this, anyway.

During the final battle between Shishimaru and Ginnai, Shishimaru has his right forearm chopped off. He then slices Ginnai in half, rupturing his hydrogen fuel cell and setting off an explosion that decimates at least 30 city blocks.

The next scene has Shishimaru, Momoji and Hayabusa lying on the ground. Shishimaru wakes up and sees faint, ghost-like images. The images tell him they saved him and his comrades from the explosion, and that there are more battles to come. The larger apparition mentions his name as "Black Lion" before disappearing. Shishimaru then sees a giant spaceship hovering over the sky. He then tries to reach out for it with his right hand.

That's when the narrator says, "At this point, Shishimaru did not notice that his right arm, which was severed by Ginnai in the battle, was reattached."

Sequel!!

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LOL!

Black Lion is great! One of my guilty pleasures.

You want blood...You want guts.... You want ninjas, samarais, cyborgs and little plot watch this show. I enjoyed it. hell I own it. Just a fun show with little to think about. The ending is the best kind of ending......... It does not end...

B))

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I forgot to mention that the OAV has so many plot loopholes, it's ridiculous.

SPOILER ALERT! Ah, screw it! No one's gonna watch this, anyway.

During the final battle between Shishimaru and Ginnai, Shishimaru has his right forearm chopped off. He then slices Ginnai in half, rupturing his hydrogen fuel cell and setting off an explosion that decimates at least 30 city blocks.

The next scene has Shishimaru, Momoji and Hayabusa lying on the ground. Shishimaru wakes up and sees faint, ghost-like images. The images tell him they saved him and his comrades from the explosion, and that there are more battles to come. The larger apparition mentions his name as "Black Lion" before disappearing. Shishimaru then sees a giant spaceship hovering over the sky. He then tries to reach out for it with his right hand.

That's when the narrator says, "At this point, Shishimaru did not notice that his right arm, which was severed by Ginnai in the battle, was reattached."

Actually, if they explain that the arm was re-attached, then it's not a plot hole. Otherwise, I agree, this show leaves skid marks going down the drain.

And what's up with the seemingly constant villifying of Oda Nobunaga in anime? The only show I can think of where he appears and isn't a bad guy is Time Stranger.

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