Onimusha (2023)
5/10
Not bad, but not as good as the games deserved
3 November 2023
To be honest, I feel conflicted about this show. I loved the games, so I really wanted to like this show and parts of it do feel very close to the games. Some of the characters and dialogue are well done.

The fighting in particular, however, was a letdown. The games delivered such aesthetic and spectacular fights, but this show fails to capture both the aesthetics and the feeling of those fights. The fights are over stylized and movements depicted so abstract, that it loses any resemblance to actual sword fighting. They end up feeling generic and became the least favourite part of this show for me... and that is a problem for a show that is supposed to be based on sword fighting games.

That is not to say the other parts all hit the mark. The style is somewhat "hit or miss", with parts of it being very atmospheric and well done, while certain scenes lack detail in a major way (waterfalls/strong currents for example look hideous in multiple scenes).

Overall not a must watch. A fan of the games might find some enjoyment in this series. Everyone else is probably better off watching Blue Eye Samurai.
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