Kamui Gaiden

[千秋 D.]

Review from a friend...(Thanks A.D. )


Visuals: 7

Scenery: The scenery was pretty fantastic. They chose some very quality settings for this movie. There were a few particularly great shots of the ocean, I thought, that were very appropriate to the movie. The setting for the last part of the movie was my favorite. The cinematography was pretty classy in the second half.

Effects: Wirework was often very bad, but not all the time. The only reason I was so disappointed is because I have seen better wirework in Japanese movies. There was also some very dissatisfactory CG work thrown in. I wouldn’t mention it if it were not a distracting feature that this movie could have done without, or at least could have done with less of.

Story: 6

Plot: A poor setup plagued this movie’s plot, but the second half brought entertaining twists and events that, while they were a little outlandish, were entertaining. The movie seemed like it could have been longer or split in two to fix its plot issues.

Characters: I enjoyed the characters in this movie. Many of them were light-hearted and funny, while others just made the movie a little more interesting.

Audio: 8

Soundtrack: It was good enough not to bother me while watching the movie but did not bring any tears or stand out as especially ground-breaking.

Overall: 7

For me to give a movie a grade lower than seven it means I didn’t like it. I enjoyed Kamui Gaiden. It was a fun movie to go see, but there are better movies out right now. It might be best not to walk in to the movie expecting to take it completely seriously if you are a big movie go-er. Still, I recommend you give it a watch if you get a chance.


Before I begin in detail, I would like to say I thought Kamui Gaiden was a good movie. At a glance, my review may seem critical of its shortcomings, but overall I was very pleased with it.

The movie opens with a stylish inked storyline that very loosely sets up the plot, but becomes a more significant recurring theme the viewers might appreciate later on. The opening does enough to say that Kamui is a ninja who dreams of being strong and living free. This acts as a precursor for the first scene, which contains a cool little fight scene. The scene, however, is only meant to explain one important plot point, and try to create some connection between Kamui and the other main figure in the scene, but fails to offer any understanding about the characters. Even with the given explanation of the opening, it feels a little uncomfortable.

When the movie jumps forward in time, The viewer gets pelted with important plot points with messy connections made by a friendly narrator for a while as Kamui Gaiden tries to decide what kind of movie it wants to be. The fight sequences are fun, but I was easily distracted by some strangely spotty wirework. In an act reminiscent of most Japanese cartoons, this narrator will awkwardly identify two of Kamui’s special techniques during these fight scenes before shutting up for the rest of the movie.

Thankfully, the special effects moreover stopped after a short time. As soon as Kamui becomes acquainted with a man who rather stylishly slays the shogun’s horse, the movie slowly makes a transformation. The second half of the movie had moments where it could have been mistaken for a classy samurai flick. A lot of the scenery, shots, and even some events reminded me of some really fantastic Japanese films I have seen over the years like Bushi no Ichibun and Ooku. The cheesy special effects were at a minimum, and the story began to develop a bit as Kamui’s apathetic ninja persona softens up enough to develop a personality. The other characters in the movie, like the shogun and his wife, are all quite entertaining. There are a few lingering questions and feelings of dissatisfaction with the messy setup in the beginning as some connections between characters from the beginning and Kamui seem underdeveloped, but the movie does its best in making up for that.

The movie finishes fabulously and there are some good old fashions martial arts fight scenes, mixed with a little ninja flare, free of poor wirework.


A few comments about Kennichi Matsuyama soon to come.

[千秋 D.]

Here's a few more comments on the main character Kamui performed by MatsuKen (Matsuyama Kennichi)

Reaching into the main character, Matsuyama fans might be a bit disappointed. Kamui’s lines seem to come out of nowhere, as his character never establishes itself at the beginning as the apathetic ninja he is supposed to be, nor does he ever establish a true personality at the end before the conflict resolution. Really, he just does not have a lot of lines. When he played L, he had a preformed personality and the story did not require it to change. Kamui Gaiden centers around a character who tries to escape the ninja life and be free and strong. Events are meant to unfold in a way that shows a major change in the character, but those changes happen very suddenly and rather than Kamui’s emotional responses being a consistent progression, they seem strange and unexpected. It’s cute in a way, but I still think there could have been a more logical sequence of character progression.