Shigurui is one of the most interesting pieces of media I have ever consumed. I struggle to remember anything I've seen that's quite like it, simply from the visuals and general direction alone; it's art in its most literal definition. Pure, yet bloody. Holy, yet gruesome.
Let's save that for later though, for now, I'll begin with the plot: In Shizuoka, Japan, the dojo of Kogan Iwamoto, well known for his incredible swordsmanship, has a visitor, Seigen Irako, whom wishes to marry the daughter of Kogan, Mie, in order to succeed Kogan as the head of the Kogan Family inheritance. From there, the ruthless training the members of the dojo go through and their unrelenting loyalty to their master is exposed throughout the series, ultimately culminating in Seigen's banishment, and eventually, Kogan's death.
This series' exploration of loyalty is critical, but not unbalanced. The brutal punishments and, simply put, hell that the students of the dojo must endure is borderline horrifying, they regularly injure themselves through their training and some turn mad as a result. Gonzaemon Ushimata, for example, clearly has a few screws loose; at one point, a female character in the series, whom is Kogan's mistress, has her nipple cut off, as Kogan discovers Seigen have been having an affair, and as she is sitting just across from him, he decides to eat it. It's never explained why he eats the nipple, but it's not too farfetched to say that his madness was a large contributor. My interpretation is that he did it to remind the female character of what happens once she has betrayed Kogan, she will suffer, as to him there is not greater crime than betraying his master.
The brutality of Shigurui is easily its most controversial aspect, I can fully understand why it's not to someone's taste, however I'd argue that it serves to portray just how far gone the characters are, all in the name of loyalty, as well as contributing to this series' thick atmosphere, strongly supported by its dream-like storytelling and surreal visuals. This series even manages to use CGI well, so it has to be worth some merit simply based upon that. The soundtrack is possibly one of my favourite parts of this show, as it perfectly supports every single scene, it is a masterclass in ambient music and the fact that it sounds like the music from the time period in which this series takes place only serves to make the scenes feel all the more believable.
However, going back to the theme of loyalty, it's not portrayed in all black and white, as there is much nuance to be found. On the opposite side of the coin to Ushimata, there is Seigen Irako. He is selfish, and only wishes to use the dojo in order to elevate his status, and yet he is oddly the most likeable person in this entire series. By him being much more selfish than any of the other members of the dojo, he gets to think for himself more and even stand up to Kogan when he is doing something he disagrees on, such as the moment where when Kogan decides that Seigen will be the husband of Mie, he orders them to have intercourse in order to produce a strong offspring then and there. Seigen, seeing how Mie is in emotional distress over being forcibly held down in order to be bred, refuses to procreate, citing Mie killing herself as the main reason, and after some pushback, Kogan relents.
This doesn't mean that Seigen is a good guy, far from it, he is shown doing bad acts out of his own volition regularly, such as murdering out of revenge and cutting off the head of a cat which was simply walking by. He is not much better than the members of the dojo, and because of his imperfections, it gets him into trouble; previously I mentioned how he had slept with Kogan's mistress, Lady Iku, and once it is found out, Kogan blinds him, and banishes him from the dojo. Whilst Iku is actually happy about being with Seigen, their relationship is still somewhat toxic, as Seigen regularly puts her in harm's way. This is where the nuance is found in the exploration of loyalty, Seigen may be a better person than those who mindlessly follow their master, but he is still not totally a good person, and his lack of loyalty eventually comes back to bite him, and while I do like Seigen and think he is far more honourable than most of the other characters, I can't say he didn't get what was coming to him.
However, because of the Kogan dojo's hard training, driving many of its students mad, it eventually leads to the fall of the dojo, as one of the students murders all but 3 members, and Seigen eventually murders Kogan out of revenge for removing his eyesight. Their complete loyalty to their master blinded them to the reality of their situation, and they crumbled as a result. The story does continue on from there in the manga, but this is such a perfect conclusion that I have no idea what to expect from it, I will give it a chance but it will be curious to see how the story unfolds from there.
I only have 2 real complaints with this show, one of them is that I wished as though more of the characters were fleshed out, particularly Kogan and his daughter, as they are mostly used as narrative tools. There are good characters to find in here, namely Seigen and Lady Iku, but I feel as though having more characters be explored would have strengthened the series. My other complaint is that sometimes the series goes over the edge a little bit in regards to the skills of the Kogan dojo students, at one point one of them manages to block a bullet with the side of their katana, which I felt was a bit too far for this series that kept its action more on the realistic side, though it does emphasise just how disciplined the samurai are, so it's not too bad.
It's hard to find another series like Shigurui, its dreamlike direction and great, mature writing sets itself apart from most anime; while it is not one of my favourites, it will definitely be sticking with me for a long time.
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