Gore | The Wired Fish Network

Why do black guys always have such big swords?

In a world torn apart by violence, greed and death, one man wanders the desolate wastes on a mission of vengeance. His swordsmanship is unmatched by any of the hundreds who have challenged him, and his name is whispered fearfully in many a den of scum and villainy. Stopping nowhere, and proceeding ever onward toward his destination, his only companions are his sword and his fast talking counterpart. He is recognized by his dark skin, his cold, piercing eyes, and by his…gigantic black afro hairstyle, with a smidgen of green, of course.

Yup, that last part sure throws a wrench into things. Welcome to the world of Afro Samurai, where the baddies are brutal, the bitches are bangin’, and blood bathes the battlefield like a lackadasical hotel waitress spraying too much bleach on your end-table. The title alone seems too ludicrous to be accepted, and for a long time I myself had turned away from the show, expecting it to pander to the lowest common denominator. But if you look past the exploitative title, and are able to stomach a veritable cavalcade of sex and violence, then you will find an orgy of cool fights, cooler characters, great production values, and yes, even the occassional bit of depth.

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From left to right: Nagamimi, Mataichi, Ogin, and Momosuke.

The anthology series is certainly an interesting creature. Relying on smaller, bite-sized stories, usually with little or no connection, this type of show relies on writing more than possibly any other type of series. In anime, the problem is exacerbated by the smaller episode counts (usually 12-24) and smaller budgets than most TV shows. Because of this, several shows of this type (most recently for me, “Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales”) tend to be decent, but not amazing. Some of them are downright awful.

But Natsuhiko Kyogoku’s “Requiem From the Darkness” is a unique gem even in this unique category. It is, ostensibly, an anthology of horror stories, each connected by a central cast of four characters and each one focusing on the myriad of awful things people are capable of doing. But unlike most of its ilk, Requiem carries itself with an interesting sense of style (and, dare I say it, a bit of swagger) that elevates it from “a solid horror series” to an altogether unusual experience all its own.

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