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This series is an adaptation of a film known for its excellence. It attempts to readapt its story over a longer period with a new setting halfway between traditional Japan and science fiction. The potential to create a good series was there but unfortunately, the execution is not up to expectations. The result is an adaptation that has not aged very well despite some good ideas. I nevertheless had a pleasant time although punctuated by some somewhat boring episodes.

==Story==
6/10

The story follows the original movie's storyline most of the time, and fills it all with lots of sub-plots to fill the 26 episodes. If you've already ... seen the original movie, what you'll probably be interested in are the additions because most of the time, it's like the old movie but less subtle and longer. When it comes to the extra parts, sometimes we have good ideas, especially the additions related to the capital after the battle: the stakes are renewed, we have court intrigues and small plots that make you want to get back into the adventure. The world of merchants and the empire are probably the best additions. However, some filler plots are quite clumsy in their execution and often uninteresting. Overall, I'm not sure it's worth it compared to the original movie.

==Characters==
7/10

We have our famous seven samurai who gain in characterization for some but who generally respect the originals well. Kikuchiyo, Heihachi, Gorobei and Shichiroji are the most endearing with scenes and backstory that allow each one to express themselves and touch the audience. I particularly like the relationships that some can have with the villagers, it really highlights them.
Kambei and Katsushiro are on the other hand quite quickly annoying. The first is shown as a badass strategist and wise, but his way of behaving with Katsushiro makes him quite unpleasant. Katsushiro for his part has become unbearable and all attempts to give him an evolution often fall through. As for Kyuzo, he is perfectly anecdotal compared to the original film.
We also have a whole set of characters among the villagers, merchants or representatives of the empire whose interest can vary greatly. Kirara is one of the most important, she has a pretty good arc but unfortunately linked to the two least endearing samurai (although they are supposed to be the most important), and Ukyo is a good villain even if it borders on the ridiculous from time to time. The most positive contribution is perhaps Komachi and his relationship with Kikuchiyo which is comical and full of joy. On the other hand, the bandits are at the height of uninteresting.
One point that I regret is still the general treatment of the female characters who are almost all linked to love stories when they are adults, or little things to defend when they are younger. This is what prevents Kirara from being a really good character in my opinion.

==Art==
4/10

The artistic direction is really average for its time, which implies all the aesthetic problems of small productions from the early 2000s. The character designs are creative for some, but the sets are not very detailed and lack interest.
Moreover, the change of setting in a semi-scifi world does not offer much more. The mecha-bandits, on paper it's cool, in the execution we don't care at all. Even the capital that becomes a mothership is poorly exploited. And it does not help to make the battles understandable.
We also feel that the digital technology is not very well mastered at times. The 3D of the mechas really looks like a video game and does not integrate well. I noticed big compositing problems at the beginning of the series too but we don't have too many notable ones afterward (in fact there is not much compositing).

==Animation==
3/10 (but 10/10 on episode 7)

It's static most of the time. The characters move badly, float in the air, have no mass in the action scenes. And very frequent off-model issues (I'm talking about unjustified off-model). We also have all the 3D issues of the time, where 2D characters don't interact well with 3D mecha. It gives the feeling of a somewhat botched production.
But there are flashes of brilliance, Hisashi Mori's work for a few episodes is one of those little miracles that are appreciated. If you're interested in expressive, slightly surreal animations, episode 7 is highly recommended. We would have liked this level of quality throughout the series.

==Sound==
7/10

The music may not be very striking, but it is pleasant and serves the action well. I watched the series in Japanese, and the voices are generally good (except Rikichi's intonations which are annoying). And as for the openings and endings, the music is quite catchy but terribly average.

==Conclusion==
5/10

This is a terribly average anime for its time and it hasn't aged very well. The series isn't exceptional anywhere and the staging isn't very striking. I had to force myself a bit to finish it because by the middle, I was a bit bored. Fortunately, the series regains interest when it deviates from the original material after episode 17.
Speaking of which, the adaptation remains faithful most of the time but for someone who already knows the story, it doesn't bring much. The original is artistically much more accomplished, with its staging, its handling of black and white, its poetry. In comparison, this series is clumsy.

(This is my first review and i'm not english, so i'm sorry for my language)
I will be clear : this is not a bad series. It isn't a cosmic rip off like many others anime but this is not either a good anime.
First the story is fair, the world is quite intriguing but this is clearly not a revolution. The scenario is really slow, some episode are the same quality level as a filler episode in Naruto. This is unequal and sometime totally useless to the advancement of the story.
For the art, this is classic. Too classic... The animation is really static, and the background ... is cheap.
The sound is one of the real problem. The voice acting is slovenly, some characters like Shuu don't act, they just read a text. And there is no english or french version, so we are convicted to ear one of the worst dubbing of history. And for the music, it's decent but there is only 15 tracks different, and we ear some of them every episode. The track " One of the Few" is exasperating ! There is only two tracks who are more than decent : "Resource" & "Brick in the wall".
The characters are like the story : too classic. And this is really difficult to be concerned by there action. May, Ein & Zero are clearly the best characters because there are well develloped. Xuan (maybe not his name in the english traductionl) is my favourite characters but, like Rosso, she's not really useful. Rosso & Xuan maybe deserve a better devellopment. Fear is a great deception, because she is the best character and his devellopment is totally stopped in the middle of the anime. Shuu is basically a clone of Shinji in NG Evangelion, but in more weak. The story don't progress because of him. And finally, Dolly is insupportable. He is a sort of comic relief and you will probably want to punch your TV evrey time he is here.
To finish, the biggest problem of this anime is that it's not pleasant to watch. When I watched it, I was bored and I look at my timeline everytime because this is tedious. And this is why I can't recommend this serie to everybody. This is too classic for an anime, a distopian story, a travel story or whatever. Clearly, only the more motivated people will continue to watch this after the fifth episode.