As pitches go, samurai versus zombies is a strong one. Based on Capcom’s video game series, Onimusha follows samurai Miyamoto Musashi, who is armed with a gauntlet granting him the power of the Oni. He leads a group of half a dozen travellers and fighters to confront those demons still left in the world while trying to hold on to his own humanity in the process. Takashi Miike is the series’ supervising director, and Onimusha loudly bears his signature, the bloodthirsty action at times swapping realism for all-out, stylish barbarity.
The series’ tone is more or less spot on, a blanched cocktail of grim, ridiculous, and cool with just enough humour to lift the mood when needed (Musashi’s sarcasm is particularly entertaining). While it occasionally leans into cliches – it takes the pure heart of a young girl to save the man from monstrosity, again – each of the characters has a skilfully crafted, individual identity. It is in making each member of the group feel like a complete, detailed person that Onimusha tips its hat to Akira Kurosawa, also doing so with Musashi’s appearance (he is modelled off Seven Samurai’s Toshiro Mifune).
The motion-smoothed animation avoids the uncanniness and lacklustre detail that can plague other animes like this. Onimusha also features an attention-grabbing contrast between the 3D character animation and the 2D hand-drawn backgrounds, making the series feel rooted in old history as if you are reading some kind of fantastical tapestry. It isn’t the highlight of Netflix’s anime collection, but Onimusha boasts some strong storytelling and quietly innovative visuals to offer a worthwhile adventure in Edo-era Japan.
All episodes of ONIMUSHA are streaming on Netflix now
