Samurai Flamenco is a very special show for me! As before watching it I thought that I had watched everything there was to anime. But, Boy oh Boy was I completely wrong? As this anime is one wild ride, jumping from plot twist to plot twist at the speed of a Double Flamenco Kick and to tell you the truth, it just gets more and more ridiculous as it goes on! More than once I found myself in absolute hysterics due to the sheer insanity of that I was watching. There were a few parts I had to go back and watch over because I was laughing so hard I had missed what had happened. So, don't go into this show expecting something profound or deep, as it just isn't there. It's a parody series through and through, so just sit back and enjoy it.
Story
Samurai Flamenco really took me by storm after the 1st arc ( It has 4 arcs= 1-6, 7-14, 15-18 & 19-22). The story does take place in 4 different times, but each arc fits right into the next. So for the actual story-line, the story follows a male model Masayoshi Hazama, who decides to become a superhero, despite having no superpowers or the technology to create a high-powered suit! He becomes a hero, Samurai Flamenco and begins to fight crime in the name of justice. One Day, a police officer Hidenori Goto finds out about Samurai Flamenco and his real identity by a twist of fate, which leads him getting involved into lots of trouble. Nonetheless, these two young men will come face to face with hardships of being crime-fighters while discovering what it truly means to be a hero of justice.
Characters
All the characters were likable and believable. Our eccentric MC, Masayoshi Hazama is an upstanding young man with a strong sense of heroism and what he lakes up in ability, he makes up for it in his spirit, which is pretty darn endearing. Another major standout was Maya Mari, who also had a strong vision of heroism like Masayoshi but both of them had a contrasting sense of justice. Thus, it made their interactions pretty darn entertaining to watch. Our other male lead, Gotou is the "average joe" but gets fleshed out gradually, if not as thoroughly as other main characters. Overall, all the characters of the anime were dynamic and complex and this is what I always admire! As even those who begin as flailing and sometimes hate-able people, begin to crawl their way through what the plot has offered them, and they change with it for the better. Samurai Flamenco was able to put the blend of their main characters to get you riled up and if you're the kind of anime-fan who just enjoys mainstream shows like Naruto and One Piece and expect each character to be all-mighty and winning, then you may not be able to wind what dynamic personas our heroes have. The main characters here are what I'd say the right blend of transforming the mindset of henshin-heroes in live action, putting them in the stead of the anime realm.
Animation and Sound
The artwork and animation of the anime was solid and it's style matched the series perfectly. Unfortunately, there were often moments where poor animation detracted from the experience as a whole and made it look awkward. While this can be forgiven for background characters, there were some important moments that would have had more impact if not for the distraction of poor animation. The character-designs were amazing, especially the sentai suits. It did have a flaw though, two characters did look familiar, but the clothes made the two different. Overall the artwork and animation was great, and some of the characters will definitely be memorable.
For the sound, the opening(s) were pretty enjoyable and they really got me excited for each episode but I didn't like the ending(s) that much. The OST itself wasn't especially memorable. But, the background music were great and made the action sequences even better. The voice actors were also amazing and I think there wasn't any character who sounded awkward or out of place, as most matched their character personalities pretty well.
Enjoyment
Samurai Flamenco was a strange animal. Despite its conventional appearance, it was full of twists and turns and it’s pretty hard to find a show like this where you truly don’t know what to expect. It may be for this very reason that this show was received with such widespread negative reception! Though I admit that it's a bit quirky and many would say that this anime isn't quite sure what it wants to be. But Now when I've finished it, I can say that I’m very glad I stuck with it as I enjoyed it thoroughly and that the writers had a clear objective in mind, even though the execution of that vision wasn’t always apparent.
Overall, Samurai Flamenco is a hard show to pin down and give a really fair rating as I really enjoyed watching this anime because it brought back memories of me watching Power Rangers as a child. Even though it isn't re-watchable, it makes up for it with it's story and comedy. So, If you dropped this series just watch episode 7, and I bet you will want to continue this series. Though, As a reviewer I cannot recommend this anime to just anyone. I think the people who will get the most enjoyment out of this show are those who want to watch a piece of their childhood, but with a touch of comedy to it!
3 STAR ANIME.
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