English Dub Review: Revenger: “Once Upon a Time in Nagasaki”

Overview: A young samurai, Raizo Kurama (Aaron Campbell), seeks to right his wrongs. Discovering he was manipulated into killing Hirata, an innocent man and his fiancée’s father, he teams up with an assassination group, led by their master, Yuen Usui (Christopher Wehkamp), to get justice. 

Our Take: Revenger is very much a no-frills revenge story with the main swordsman, Raizo Kurama, not being astonishingly unique. He is a man of honor and talented samurai, trying to protect his wife. His dogged devotion to a warrior’s integrity nicely plays into his character defect that allows him to be so easily fooled. 

With that said, his traits makes him a simple, but effective character to follow as he joins forces with master assassin, Yuen Usui, and his team of executioners. They make a charming impression with how uniquely off-kilt each of them is in their own way. 

The designs are straightforward, but pleasing to the eye with characters’ wardrobe uniquely colored and layered upon. Most conversational and in-between shots have minimal motion. However, the bulk of the clean movements are focused towards the swift, but lethal movements Raizo and the other assassins make. That is showcased, not only when Kurama kills Hinata, but when the gang infiltrates Matsumine’s castle. Every member gets to show off their unique weapon of choice and special brand of brutality, brought to life nicely by studio Ajia-Do. 

It leaves off with a tragic end showcasing the harsh path that revenge can lead you down. While it is not anything new in stories of the same ilk, it is still harshly effective nonetheless and makes for an engaging first entry.