Akira Kurosawa's Samurai 7, Volume 1: Search for the Seven

Based on Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's legendary martial-arts epic SEVEN SAMURAI, the action-packed anime series SAMURAI 7 offers an anachronistic spin on the film's famous parable of vigilante justice. This time around, the story takes place in a futuristic feudal society ravaged by years of brutal warfare, where the lawless bandits terrorizing the rural countryside are a terrifying mutant amalgam of man and machine. One particularly poverty-stricken village decides to battle the mechanical menace by hiring a band of nomadic samurai for protection, resulting in a ragtag assemblage of masterful swordsmen with their fair share of personality quirks. Atmospheric and stylish, SAMURAI 7 does Kurosawa justice with topnotch storytelling and gorgeous animation rendered in a muted palette that evokes the source material's black-and-white cinematography yet remains completely vibrant and visionary. This collection kicks off the innovative anime with the series' first four episodes.