Samurai: Hunt for the Sword

It wants to be Tenchi Muyou meets Rurouni Kenshin, but it falls short. Shinjuro is all right as a main character, but to make a one-guy-many-girls plot work, the girls have to be individual and interesting. In this case, none of them are well enough defined to make the dynamic work. The setting is good, but underused. Some antagonist characters express grievances against the Tokugawa government, but they seem to go right past Shinjuro without making him consider whether their viewpoint might be legitimate. And why is it called "Hunt for the Sword"? The only sword-hunting that goes on is (a) done by the bad guys, and (b) over very quickly.

The main reason I rated this as "watch" rather than "avoid" is because of the artwork. This really is a very handsome show, particularly in the golden slanting sunlight of the outdoor scenes. The character designs are attractive although somewhat stylized, and the action sequences look good. There's enough of a plot to keep a viewer watching for an hour, although nothing to stick with you much longer than that.