PEACEMAKER - DVD review

Throughout my life with anime, I have seen many samurai/ninja features. Many of these, such as "Ruroni Kenshin" and "Ninja Scroll" are always revered as great successes. Of course, there are many failures for each success. Upon looking at "Peacemaker," I wondered which category it would fall into.

I was pleasantly surprised with "Peacemaker". It contained a fair amount of story and character, with the occasional bloody fight. While the preference between these extremes seems to be the difference between the above mentioned "Ruroni Kenshin" and "Ninja Scroll", "Peacemaker" contains enough of both to satisfy a fan of either anime.

"Peacemaker" is a story set in 19th century Japan. The main character, Tetsunosuke, is determined to join the Shinsengumi. Tetsunosuke believes that by doing so, he will be able to obtain the training and strength to avenge his father's murder. Of course, the Shinsengumi do not think that he has what it takes to be a member of their ranks. Tetsunosuke is undisciplined, and without skill. The only thing that Tetsunosuke does seem to have is determination. His drive to succeed is what kept my interest.

On this disc, Tetsunosuke's defeat in battle is an inevitable fact. We see him tossed around like a rag doll more often than not. This leaves all the real action sequences to the members of the Shinsengumi. The disparity between experience and skill becomes painfully apparent as soon as anyone of the Shinsengumi warriors pick up a weapon. I somehow feel that Tetsunosuke will never attain that level within the series, unless there is a break in the series of at least a year. Likewise, he is no match for his father's killer, and he may never be.

"Peacemaker: Volume 1" has definitely piqued my interest. I look forward to seeing how the characters progress and change over time. I am also looking forward to Tetsunosuke's martial development. In a sense, I can not wait for him to meet his father's killer. At the same time, I also realize that he can do nothing about it for some time. For the moment, the series is exactly were it should be, at a beginning. From this moment on, things should begin changing. Tetsunosuke will have to take some action, unless he remains a page for the whole series. That would be a bit anti-climactic.

Video:
The video aspect ratio is 1.33:1 (full-screen on 4:3 monitors). The visual aspect of "Peacemaker" is one of its better points. The animation is very clean and crisp. Its colors are vibrant and allow a large amount of detail. The most impressive animation in the series is fire. Fire, in the series, looks extremely real. However, it seems a bit too real for the surrounding animation, and stands out as such. Regardless of this fact, I thought it was an impressive bit of animation. The animation is also devoid of any errors.

Audio:
You can watch the show in either Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo Japanese or Dolby Digital 5.1 surround English. There is an option for English subtitles. I watched it in Japanese with English subtitles. The sound in "Peacemaker: Volume 1" is very well done. The voice actors do a very good job of conveying emotion throughout the episodes. Each voice is carefully selected for the associated character. It adds a dimension of personality that no amount of words could convey. I applaud the voice actors. I believe it is a testament to their resolve that this disc contains no audible errors on it.

Extras:
Despite its tremendous showing, "Peacemaker: Volume 1" comes with the bare minimum of extras. On this disc are a clean opening, a clean closing, a production sketch gallery, and Japanese television spots.

I highly enjoyed the production sketches on this DVD. The gallery was in slide-show format with accompanying music, and contained both color and pencil sketches of the various characters on the disc. I thought that the presentation was excellent, and showed the work that was put into this DVD.

--Miscellaneous--
The DVD comes with a multi-page, folding, colored insert. This insert contains original artwork, character profiles, two original side stories, an interview with the director and an interview with the script writer. The cover to this disc is also reversible.

Film Value:
"Peacemaker: Volume 1" impressed me. The series seemed like a cross between "Naruto" and "Ruroni Kenshin"(for those familiar with the titles). As with many first discs, "Peacemaker: Volume 1" contained a full compliment of character introductions, but not too much else. There are a few scattered fights and issues of conflict on this disc, but no grand plot as of yet. I look forward to the conflict that is approaching.

I am very pleased with the character development in the series. It seems that personality and past are very important aspects of the series. I am personally fond of Soji. His antics seem to outshine even those of Tetsunosuke. I look forward to seeing how both of these characters advance throughout the series. I believe that this aspect of the series will be just as entertaining as the action scenes.