Kaze no Yojimbo, George Kodama along with konishi on the left and master on the
right.
Released: 2004-2006 NA (North America)
Published: Bandai Entertainment
Animation: Perriot
Length: 25 episodes (30 minute)
Genre(s): Action, Drama, Mystery, Psychological, Tragedy
Synopsis: A mysterious stranger named George Kodama arrived in Kimujuku to investigate about an incident that occurred 15 years ago involving Genzo Araki. [taken from otaku elite]
Story-line
As time has passed, I had forgotten the reason to why I hated Kaze no Yojimbo so much. Finally I thought to myself that I should re-watch it to see why I felt these intense feelings of hatred. And to my surprise I fell in love with the very anime I hated.
Then it dawn on me as to why I hated the anime.
Kaze no Yojimbo has a serious story-line filled with drama and mystery that I had no interest in. At the time I had only interest in love comedies. Hence, I couldn't help but feel put off by this anime because there was very little comedy in the anime.
Yet this element is what made the anime flow well throughout the series especially the tensions in some scenes. Without the serious tone then it wouldn't have been such a great mystery. Incidentally I wanted to talk more about the plot with details pertaining
to certain points that I found really interesting. Expect anything I would say will spoiler the mystery namely to the story the anime is trying to tell.
Many people have said the anime was slow paced at the beginning which is true. It had to be slow in order to introduce characters and certain plot points. After all, it would make a mystery anime bad if it was rushed to tell us the mystery behind certain
plot points. Also it helped that every episode felt important to the story and added a bit to the mystery. As a result the pacing to the climax was excellent.
Sound
In a way I remember the music the most. With the chimes, harmonicas, trumpets, pianos, and violins, I felt it was unique and set the mood for mystery. While other times I don’t get to hear music which allowed the tensions of the scenes to build up. Now
I just wish for there to be a CD containing all of the OSTs from the anime. Sadly that is never going to happen.
What blew me away about the sounds from the anime is the English voice acting work. Each voice actor for the most part brought out their characters correctly and at times surprised me. There was nothing really bad that came to mind about the voice acting
work. Instead I feel as though I have nothing to talk about since it was really great.
Characters
Strong characters make or break the atmosphere. As I said before the English voice cast did a wonderful job at their interpretations of the characters. Furthermore, it was nice that most of the characters had secrets that they don’t tell us in a direct manner.
Thus, it enabled the viewers to think more about the implications of what each character says. Above all it felt that each character had a major role in the secret that plays out in the story.
However, what really makes a story strong is having a great main character. George Kodama as a character was perfect for the overall story. In fact I can’t picture it any other way than George being the main character. Particularly he is a great clever
character that is determined to find the truth of the mystery. It was remarkable to see that he never lost confidence and always had an ace up his sleeve in convincing people when he switches sides. At this point in time, I will put George Kodama as one of
my top favorite characters of all time.
Animation
Kaze no Yojimbo was made during the era of SD quality. Therefore the anime itself has never transition to HD quality. This does not at all made it feel any less of a good show. On the contrary, the anime scenes were interesting. Specifically, it was during
the times where a character face will show up while the background blurs, it reminded me of Jrpgs scenes. Also, the fight scenes were very unique. The way it put things together for the fights drew out how intense it was.
Overall Score
Story: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Animation: 4.5/5
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
This anime is definitely a mystery drama anime. There are at times that the actions draw out more of the plot. However, the action doesn't get in the way of the mystery. Also expect barely any comedy whatsoever in this anime. Once again, this is a serious mystery
story with mature story elements. If you are ready for a mature mystery then this is your ticket to a great story based mystery. The ending will forever leave an impression on me on how characters should be portrayed in a good mystery anime. A must buy for
all mystery anime lovers.
Where you can watch it: Only way to watch it is to buy it through amazon or ebay.
Anime recommendations:
Hyouka: Another great mystery anime. This time around it is not really focusing on certain things but the ability to solve certain elements play a key part of the series. Comedy is more included here than the other recommendations. However, it is
great in its own right.
Ghost Hunt: Great mystery, little bit of comedy here and there but it has that feel of how a great mystery anime is supposed to be. There may be a bit of horror elements located but don’t let that stop you from watching it. The only bad thing is
that at times it has spiritual elements if you are not looking for a mystery spiritual anime.
Mushi-shi: Has good mystery but leaning towards more spiritual than anything else. Feels very episodic in comparison to Kaze no Yojimbo. Therefore should only be watched if you know that this is a full blown episodic anime with no real ending.