Take A Pick Tuesday “Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal”
While this four episode OVA or if watching the director’s
cut, movie is a part of a major franchise and while it’s gotten some of
attention I’ve always felt it simply didn’t get enough. Detailing the bloody
past of Kenshin Himura from before he was Kenshin to the road he took as an assassin,
to the events that would cause him to go down the road as a wanderer. This is
one beautiful anime that should be seen by anyone that has any interest in
love, the wars that would lead Japan into the Meji Era or want to see why an
OVA can be considered more than just an addition to a TV show. It has earned its
own right of being a fantastic anime and while the Rurouni Kenshin series has
recently produced three high grossing films, it’s easy to see that Trust and
Betrayal could wow audiences all on its own as a live action adaption.
The colors are
lush from the sunsets to the water which sometimes includes live shots that
blend so well into the animation it can be hard to tell the difference
sometimes. While I’ve heard people displeased with some of the changes the dub
has made in certain lines the characters say to each other, the voice acting is
superb, you feel the heart and soul delivered in the lines especially between
Kenshin and the woman he would meet Tome, who would continue to be an influence
on him for the rest of his life. As all great Anime can do it shows many dimensions
to the very themes going on in the story. One would be war detailed in the
cruel pointlessness even when those that take part believe in the reasons for
it. Something narrated by Kenshin’s master, which plays out exactly as he
warned Kenshin it would from the sides of the war that Kenshin would take part
in, to the way they use people such as Kenshin, ruining the possibility of a
normal life and how both sides could be wrong in a war at some point for
different reasons. Truly you see the damage it does to those that take part and
all the people around them, consequences that would follow. Along with the eye
opening sequence that shows Kenshin as a child, to the parts of the secret war
he waged for the side he fought on, it can be brutal, cruel and heartless
depicting the souls of people long after their murdered. Which is something
depicted so well in the OVA, symbolism, some of the ways blood is shown details the delicate balance
of harmony and destruction, one of the scenes in which Kenshin is shown
murdering a politician’s bodyguard shows the man reaching out to a flower symbolizing
his love with blood on it. Something that would come back to haunt Kenshin in
many ways, first of which is the incomplete scar on his face that continually
bleeds.
While this may
sound a little to brutal for some it’s never pointless and is only one aspect
of Trust and Betrayal, there are many serene moments showing nature and peace
that seem all the more important when a war is happening, moments that Kenshin
will see that would lead him to question the path he took, one that his master
never wished him to take. Keep an eye out for the fireflies that dance around
the dark, sometimes the swords of the soldiers waiting in battle, strokes of
harmony and destruction and how war changes but the world around us in many
ways does not. Another symbol is the moon mentioned by his master, look as it watches
all the lives below, all the events taking place but always it is the same. It
shows how all individuals must follow their own path and the unfortunate truth
that sometimes we repeat the mistakes of our predecessors. Through out the
entire OVA the music drives the film, each serene moment, each chaotic moment
and all the millions of moments in between the score by Taku Iwasaki never
falters to show that every moment is of importance through the music. Of course
one of the greatest points of the story is love, for a man whose seems to have
no heart and soul to others but of course we know that not to be the truth.
Through Tome’s eyes she sees a man that has taken so many things away but also
has had much taken away himself, who he is now isn’t who he needs to become and
while being with him may ensure he becomes someone better the consequences that
both Kenshin and Tome and all the others around them have set into motion, will
send him down the path in one horrible act of truth. Yet always is the reminder
through all the sadness and the tragedy what the two have given each other. Any time people complain to me that all Anime
is the same I laugh and give them a copy of Trust And Betrayal. Anime is an
important part of storytelling and has proven an eye opener to many. More than
just a display of the times it lived in, Trust and Betrayal also represents the present, how sometimes things look
right from different perspectives but if it costs so many so much as well as
our own soul than maybe it isn’t right. More than that though Trust and Betrayal
shows that love can change anyone and while events like it may always remain a
constant, love will as well. To me at least it’s one of the most romantic
stories I’ve seen in anime, to some it may seem silly but the truth often is
love redeems us.
Now while
depending where you live in the world Trust and Betrayal may be a challenge to
watch but with the three live action films out in japan and already having
plans to be released elsewhere in some places and also has been shown outside
of Japan, it always leaves the opportunity for it to be rereleased. Japan may
be easier to get Trust and Betrayal but the US might have more of a challenge
simply because the company that released it has in some ways gone under, what
came from those ashes and what titles were picked up are a bit scattered. Still
it’s out there somewhere and the price can be a bit high on the various
versions, you’re best bet is to get it in the two DVD form breaking up Trust as
one and Betrayal the other, although if you’re lucky to find other versions
snatch them up. You never know there are plenty of independent DVD/bookstores
with anime sections where you can find titles that are impossible to find.
Another piece done in the same tone as Trust and Betrayal, is Reflection which takes place more or less after the events of the Rurouni Kenshin TV show and the later part of Kenshin’s wanderer life, constantly through many of the characters persepectives there are flashbacks to the experiences they’ve had with him, how some things still remain that haunt him and have come to effect the others around him. While the time has moved on, Kenshin himself hasn’t really and leaves the question, can he ever truly find the peace and redemption he’s searched for his entire life.
Another piece done in the same tone as Trust and Betrayal, is Reflection which takes place more or less after the events of the Rurouni Kenshin TV show and the later part of Kenshin’s wanderer life, constantly through many of the characters persepectives there are flashbacks to the experiences they’ve had with him, how some things still remain that haunt him and have come to effect the others around him. While the time has moved on, Kenshin himself hasn’t really and leaves the question, can he ever truly find the peace and redemption he’s searched for his entire life.
A Podcast Companion
*Need more otaku time, well for more ideas why not hop on to the newly minted podcast Rats On A Plague Ship. A podcast that speaks on all matters of geekdom with yours truly and my fellow co-host Sal Almaraz. The true cure to when the hours feel like they drag!
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