The recently released Capcom game, Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes, was a critical failure being cited for its unoriginal mechanics and terrible enemy A.I. The anime version Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings suffers similarly but to a lesser degree, with a cast of characters that are uninspired and seem to fit neatly into tired Japanese tropes, both in their design and mannerisms. There is a real sense of 'been there done that' when watching this as the characters find themselves in an all too familiar scenario with a great evil blanketing the land in darkness.
This anime is not terrible by any stretch of the imagination however, the characters present are never cringe worthy or feel out of place in the re-imagined Sengoku period piece that like the superior Samurai Champloo mixes some modern elements and attitudes into the history, and the production values as a whole are pretty good. This sense of mixing various elements, such as Date Masamune and his clan, who deck their horses out to resemble motorbikes appearing like a gang, alongside his habit of breaking into English (when watching with Japanese audio) help inject a little life into it and stops it from taking itself too seriously.
The fight scenes are the standard fair with lots of cuts to
characters screaming their moves and energy flying all over the screen, however
there is very little fluidity in the actual moves themselves. In keeping with
this many of the characters use somewhat bizarre and seemingly impractical
weapons and fighting styles. Date Masamune who serves as the main character
wields his six katanas at once, referring to them as dragon's claws, while his
rival/partner Sanada dual-wields some rather long spears. It is a shame that
the battles are so ordinary and not something more exciting and fresh as was
present in Samurai Champloo, an anime this one shares some energy with,
but does not live up to its creative flair.
The voices in the English dub are of a good standard, with none feeling out of place or unfitting. However, as the talent pool seems to be somewhat small for Japanese to English dubs there are a lot of voices that English speaking audiences will recognize from other animes and JRPGs. The music is filled with Japanese 'cock rock', which is very fitting for the setting and action, with some assumedly classical Japanese music mixed with some electric flair.
Overall Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings is not a bad anime; it is well made, and has a couple of interesting moments, especially towards the end - with the episode set after the finale in particular being a standout with its focus on minor characters who are more interesting than the main cast. In the end it is an overall lack of originality that holds this back from moving beyond 'OK' and becoming great or even memorable. It is uninspired, and there is a lot of room for more effort to have been made in many areas. If you are tired of heavily Japanesque anime or just not a fan this is hard to recommend for you, but if you want to indulge in some well made, if unoriginal action anime then this should be good viewing, in the end, it is a superior effort to the game.