At times, it's difficult to remember Kikuchiyo is a real man. I wonder if we'll ever see him out of his mechanical suit?

And, despite the fact Heihachi has chopped more wood with his sword than killed men, he seems awfully anxious to go all Tony Soprano on anyone who dares to double-cross the group. The fact he's always smiling with closed eyes makes it even creepier. You have to watch out for those guys...

Wow. It's amazing how the primary themes of the original material shine through in the anime adaptation - the underlying social chasm between the samurai and the villagers in particular. Furthermore, the individual samurai themselves are faithful representations of their original namesakes. The more they grow as characters, the more they fall into their preordained roles.

And, of course, the show continues to impress in the visual department - especially the creative lighting.

Our intrepid group splits up for the journey to the village. Any other show would have dragged this out for several episodes - three wacky adventures! But, thankfully, GONZO is on the ball and takes care of everything in a single offering. Filler? We don't need no stinkin' filler!

Oh, and ten bucks says Kirara's sleeping around. Sure, she acts innocent, but that bare mid-riff is samurai bait. Trust me.

And then there were seven. Samurai, that is. The Samurai 7, if you will.

The first big melee of the show proves awfully impressive. Although, I can't help but wonder what sort of metal the mecha are constructed of, given how easily they're sliced and diced by sword-wielding samurai. Are they Taiwanese imports or something?

The world of Samurai 7 grows all the more unusual, but I like it. There's a surprise with every episode, it seems. GONZO and the writing team are doing an incredible job adapting the original story to the new, pseudo-futuristic setting.

What on earth happened to the animation? Whether it was intentional or not, I can't say, but the action scenes were drawn strangely - especially the one involving Shichirouji and the big, ugly guy. I'm inclined to think it had more to do with style than budget. After all, GONZO doesn't cut corners all that often.

The story continues to move along at a snappy pace. All of the main characters have been introduced, and a true group dynamic has developed among our band of warriors.

When they came for the magical girls, I said nothing, for I was no magical girl. When they came for the tentacle monsters, I said nothing, for I was no tentacle monster. But when they came for the samurai, I laughed, for a bunch of master swordsmen incapable of standing up to royal rent-a-cops armed with sticks deserve to be rounded up.

MacGyver joins the team, bringing our band of "will work for rice" samurai to five strong. Only two more to go!

And despite the fact the new guy looks like he should be piloting a vanship in Last Exile, he's a nice addition to the crew. Now if he'd just learn to open his eyes...

So, let's see here...

New guy can do bullet time, guy with the flowing locks is in love, green-haired guy has a way with the ladies, and yellow-haired guy thinks he's all that. Oh, and machine dude is nothing but trouble. Nice group.

And do the baddies in this show have the coolest outfits, or what? I want a sedge hat with built-in radar.

For some reason, I really dig this show. Since it's GONZO, I probably shouldn't - but it's a lot of fun. The characters are interesting, the setting is unique, and if it follows the pattern of the original story, it should only get better.

I do wonder, however, how many episodes will be devoted to getting our seven samurai together. At the rate things are going, it'll take awhile.

Not bad. There's a lot more action this time around, and it's fun to watch.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the samurai crossing paths with our priestess heroine will become the stars of the show, led by the mysterious samurai with the flowing locks. Given how screwed up they are so far, it should make for an interesting group dynamic later on.

The preview for this series didn't really grab my interest. Kurosawa's Seven Samurai - with mecha? Um, OK. Once I found out it was a GONZO production, the deal was pretty much sealed: I wasn't touching this show with a ten foot pole.

Obviously, I'm weak.

Honestly, it's kind of fascinating. The setting is an awkward mix of old and new - kind of steampunkish, but not quite. The giant mechanical beasts that roam the countryside terrorizing villagers seem like something from the mind of the Wachowski brothers. Meanwhile, as grim and dirty as it all appears on the surface, the atmosphere is almost comical at times, the commoners dim-witted both in behavior and appearance, and the samurai warriors colorful and unusual.

The direction is a little strange, but such is typical for first episodes, especially when there's so much premise to address before the story or character motivations make any sense whatsoever. The animation is solid, and the moments of CG aren't jarring, primarily reserved for the mecha and the occasional scenery shot. The character designs are easy on the eyes.

It's difficult to get a feel for how the show will develop, but I'd like to watch a little more and find out.