Samurai Flamenco (2013) ep. 1-22

Check out my sweet buckle!

Hey gang! I wrapped up my latest adventure in anime. This time I have chosen to spend some time with a new series called "Samurai Flamenco." If you have not seen this series then what the heck you doing reading this?! Get on Crunchyroll and get the series started. I will attempt to explain to everyone all the reasons why "Samurai Flamenco" should be on your watch list, so power up and let's roll.

Synopsis - Voiced by Toshiki Masuda, Masayoshi Hazama is young man hell bent on bringing justice to the world. With a flare for the dramatic and his super hero costume, Masayoshi will stop at nothing to clean up the city. Just one little problem, he has no super powers or weapons. Working as a male model by day, Masayoshi decides to follow his heart as well as his childhood dream to become a superhero. Taking the name of "Samurai Flamenco" our hero soon finds himself in real life trouble. Helped along in his quest for justice by police officer Hidenori Goto, an odd twist of fate allows him to discover "Samurai Flamenco's" true identity. This new found friendship leads to lots of trouble for both young men as they set out to fight crime of all varying degrees.

Hmm what to wear?

Review - Beginning with episode 1, I realized that "Samurai Flamenco" was a series after my own heart. Here we have an action figure collecting, good looking male model that decides to become a crime fighter. While the series starts out like an animated version of the comic/movie "Kick-Ass" it is much more. To me it is more like if Kick-Ass became a Power Ranger. Sound fun? Yeah I thought you might get excited. After the first six episodes the series really changes gears and gets pretty bizarre. We go from this young male trying to bring about a positive change in his city to our hero joining a team of "Power Ranger" like characters to solo again.  All the while his friendship with Goto has led to more and more trouble for them both.While humorous at times due to the main character's naivete, there is some serious dramatic situations throughout.
For 22 episodes, we the viewers, are taken for a serious ride to every kind of place you could imagine. The creators and writers of this show must have had a blast. I can not recall another series quite like "Samurai Flamenco". We see our hero go from regular dude to crime fighter. Battling an assortment of enemies ranging from common street thugs to intergalactic space beings and back to regular old psychopaths. All done with a sense of enthusiasm and amusement that seems almost realistic in its feel.

The look of the series is vast to say the least and delivers where it needs to. The illustrations should not go unnoticed. Colors explode throughout the scenes with so many different kinds of creatures it needs to be mentioned. With the amount of different settings and back drops we should really appreciate the effort given. Action scenes are abundant and do not disappoint with well timed explosions to bring the flare. There is a host of villains and heroes that add plenty of side stories to keep you invested. Don't go into this thinking it's all about action because there is a lot more drama to keep the story going strong too.

While I admit my love for this series is deep, I do have one complaint. Going back to episode 6 and the drastic change of pace. The series leads us to believe it is gonna be a different type of series and then BAM! Totally different direction. I almost lost interest at this point, but I am glad I stayed on. It is a very thin line between greatness or being completely terrible. I lean toward the greatness factor. The series does have its flaws, I must admit. Such as its writing of the characters and their development. Also the story itself can be confusing with major tone changes that can distract the viewer from what it is really trying to say. All in all, I found it to be an enjoyable series.

I shall fly on eagles wings!

To finish up on this review, I want to add that as of now this series is only available on crunchyroll or hulu streaming. I have not seen an american license for it so who knows if we will get a dub version. If you are like me and prefer a buffet to choose from then I can say that "Samurai Flamenco" has plenty to offer you.
It's somewhat crazy at times but a blast to watch  as "Samurai Flamenco" is full of surprises. So head over to your streaming home of choice and get the party started. Until next time kids keep watching anime! I give "Samurai Flamenco" a favorable:

Written By John Price