Kaze no Youjinbou

Synopsis:

Episodes:

• Episode 1: Gone With the Dust (Aired: 10/02/2001)
• Episode 2: Snake Swamp (Aired: 10/09/2001)
• Episode 3: The Bodyguard (Aired: 10/16/2001)
• Episode 4: Beauty and the Poison (Aired: 10/23/2001)
• Episode 5: The Pursuit (Aired: 10/30/2001)
• ... and 20 more episodes

Characters:

• Araiguma (Main) - Voice Actors: Hirota, Kousei, Wittenberg, Dave
• Araki, Sanae (Main) - Voice Actors: Shinohara, Emi, Michelle, Diane
• Kodama, George (Main) - Voice Actors: Hirata, Hiroaki, Lindsay, Michael
• Tanokura, Miyuki (Main) - Voice Actors: Kobayashi, Sanae, Fahn, Melissa
• Maki (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Tiso, Paula
• Shirogane, Fukajiro (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Blum, Steven, Soya, Shigenori
• Shirogane, Rin (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Cansino, Richard, Miyamoto, Mitsuru
• Shirogane, Samekichi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Thornton, Kirk, Ootsuka, Houchuu
• Tanokura, Shusaku (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Tsuji, Shinpachi, Wyner, Tom

Staff:

• Hagino, Ken (Producer)
• Date, Hayato (Director, Episode Director, Storyboard)
• Kujou, Rion (Director, Storyboard)
• Iwanaga, Akira (Episode Director)
• Koshiba, Junya (Episode Director, Storyboard)
• Kumagai, Masaaki (Episode Director, Storyboard)
• Tsuru, Toshiyuki (Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation)
• Yamamoto, Yutaka (Episode Director, Storyboard)
• Sumisawa, Katsuyuki (Script, Series Composition, Planning)
• Yokote, Michiko (Script)
• Abe, Noriyuki (Storyboard)
• Kageyama, Shigenori (Storyboard)
• Takahashi, Motosuke (Storyboard, Animation Director)
• Takemoto, Yasuhiro (Storyboard)
• Choi, Hun Cheol (Animation Director)
• Fukazawa, Manabu (Key Animation)
• Higashino, Isako (Animation Check)
• Ikeda, Kazumi (Animation Director)
• Isshiki, Mio (Art Director)
• Itou, Takeshi (Character Design, Animation Director, Key Animation)
• Kamiguchi, Masaki (Key Animation)
• Kamoshida, Nao (In-Between Animation)
• Karatani, Ayako (Key Animation)
• Katsuragi, An (Key Animation, Layout)
• Kodama, Kenji (Key Animation)
• Kubo, Tadashi (Key Animation)
• Kurosawa, Akira (Original Creator)
• Matsumoto, Atsuho (Director of Photography)
• Matsutake, Tokuyuki (Layout, Key Animation)
• Matsuzaka, Sadatoshi (Key Animation)
• Minami, Shinichirou (Layout, Key Animation)
• Nakamori, Ryouji (Key Animation)
• Oki, Kazuhiro (Key Animation)
• Ooshima, Hiroyuki (Key Animation)
• Ooshiro, Tsutomu (Key Animation)
• Ootsubo, Yukimaro (Animation Director)
• Saitou, Tsuneyoshi (Music)
• Simone, Jamie (Casting Director)
• Sugita, Youko (In-Between Animation)
• Suzuki, Hirofumi (Key Animation, Animation Director)
• Tachibana, Hideki (Key Animation, Layout)
• Takakuwa, Hajime (Sound Effects)
• Tanaka, Chiyuki (Key Animation)
• Tokumaru, Teruaki (Key Animation)
• Toriumi, Hisayuki (Screenplay, Series Composition)
• Tsukuma, Takenori (Key Animation, Layout)
• Utsuno, Naomi (In-Between Animation)
• Yamamoto, Yuuko (Layout, Key Animation)
• Yanagino, Tatsuo (Animation Director)
• Yoshida, Jun (Key Animation)

Reviews:

• User sablepatch (Score: 9/10):
  Well, let me first say this is my first review so bear with me! I found this anime i this site and after looking all over the Internet and not finding it I spent 20 bucks and bought it.I found it to be a great buy! I really enjoyed the story and the main character. Story:10 It kept me wondering what really happened in the small town 15 years ago. Then just when I thought I figured it out something new would show up and keep me guessing.It had several "small pieces" you could pick up along the way and fit together. Art:7 Sadly its art was a greatdisappointment.There were a few "still scenes".The characters did not blink as often as they should have. Dont get me wrong the fight scenes were very good and realistic.It was just when they were sitting and talking.So overall even though I hate to I can only give it a 7 for art.nnSound:8nI enjoyed the op song and watched it every time instead of skipping it.The dramatic music they would play when someone was killed or a new "piece" was found I thought fit in well with the anime.nnCharacter:9nAlmost of of the characters are great. Just one character did I want to kill.The fact I can't remember her names shows how much I hate her. She has a crush on George and I guess you could say is the average "stupid teenage woman" you see in anime.Other than her I enjoyed the steady development of the characters and each ones secrets and personality.nnEnjoyment:10nIf you can get past the animation which is not hard to do for such a great anime and the "stupid teenage woman" you can really enjoys putting the pieces together and all the twists that come with this anime.nnnI truly recommend this anime to all lovers of mystery anime. Trust me and spent 20 bucks on it!
• User CrAzzYmrBC (Score: 8/10):
  I came into this honestly not expecting much. Its clear that its a lower budget anime as most is simply drawn and the action scenes themselves are mostly still frames through out the series, so don't go in expecting crazy action. What really did it for me was the story of this series. It feels like a older 80's or early 90's crime investigation movie. The pacing itself is fairly slow but it always gives you enough to keep you interested (at least me anyways) and doesn't give away so much your disappointed. However by the end it builds up really well and had asatisfying ending. If your willing to look past the budget and sit back and enjoy a nice story you'll like Kaze no Yojimbo.nnoverall: 8/10
• User Markezzo (Score: 7/10):
  Kaze no Yojimbo is a re-imagined tale based on Akira Kurosawa’s movie Yojimbo, the story of a ronin that enters a village only to find it controlled by two opposing gangs, which he decides to play against each other. I have yet to see the movie so this review will not make any direct comparisons. One thing that is clear however is the atmosphere, which despite taking place in a modern setting, could easily fit a samurai or western story. The strong protagonist with no name that wanders in to stir up the community, the rivalling families that strive for power, the thirst for revenge,and to top it off a lost train filled with bricks of gold. It all captures a certain air of je-ne-sais-quoi that makes it charming.nnWith a strong base to build upon, Kaze no Yojimbo starts off as an intriguing series, with a cast of characters that feel human and fleshed out. The show has an over-arching plot that connects nearly all episodes, doing so with sensible pacing, where the stakes slowly get higher in a natural way. There are a few filler episodes, yet smaller things that are established in these episodes are brought up again later, making the series strong as a whole despite some weak individual moments.nnThe soundtrack consists of guitars and harmonicas that would fit any western, creating a mood of being stuck out in a desolate town in the middle of nowhere. Add in some melancholic trumpets for down-time, along with some icy violins to signal danger, and you have a solid soundtrack. The series does well in that it knows when to let the sounds of the environment set the tone, from windy snowfields, to cramped up bars and wild marshes.nnThere is a list of things that hold the show back, the most striking thing being its animation. From the start it is apparent that it suffers from a low budget. Combine this with some strange visual quirks and bad editing, and you will end up with a lackluster presentation, making it hard to get fully immersed. Examples include scenes that lack timing or drag things out to fill the running-time, plus a bunch of distracting pixelated static in the background. This is a weakness that makes it hard to recommend Kaze no Yojimbo as an action-series, considering the low number of action-scenes that actually look good.nnThe main thing that will either make or break the series however is the mystery. The town and its characters hold many secrets, which the main character wishes to dig up. Even the main character’s motivation for doing this is hidden for a majority of the show. A masterful mystery will still be good on a second viewing even when you know the answers. This is where Kaze no Yojimbo has me conflicted. Several mysteries are unearthed throughout the plot, some revelations being interesting, others less so. When the majority of the story revolves around the two crime families struggling for power, the true goal…
• ... and 3 more reviews

Forum Topics:

• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 22 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 25 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 21 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 19 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 16 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 15 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 12 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 23 Discussion
• Kaze no Yojimbo Episode 4 Discussion
• Kaze no Yojimbo Episode 1 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 20 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 24 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 13 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 11 Discussion
• Kaze no Youjinbou Episode 10 Discussion

External Links:

• AniDB
• ANN
• Wikipedia