The story starts off when a floating castle appears over Shinjuku, surrounded by dark clouds (don't you hate it when that happens?). Suddenly, all power is disrupted throughout the entire region. The Emperor of Doom has awoken and he's ready to take over the earth. Enter the Samurai Troopers, young martial artists with fantastic armor that gives them incredible power. They are assisted along the way by an unfortunately named young, Naste (spelled in many translations as Nasty, and pronounced as such), and a young boy separated from his parents in the first attack, Jun.

First off, having a little kid in these kinds of series always irks me. Fortunately, the Japanese version of the child is pretty interesting; the American version is just annoying. The Japanese Jun actually would rather be with his parents, acts like a kid, and helps in the way that a kid really would.

Second, they kill someone early. Always a good sign, especially when you thought that the person was important.

As if the awakening of the Emperor of Doom weren't enough, this poor heroine also has to suffer with being named "Naste."	But, never fear, a band of heroes clad in magic armor that gives them magic powers and skills is here!

Finally, the journey that they undertake to rebuild the team after they are all cast aside seems like it will be pretty interesting. At least, it gathered my interest enough to make me want to buy the next DVD.

The animation is definitely older and showing some age. The character designs are very much caught in the 80s, while the color is nothing spectacular. The transfer is relatively clean, however. Although, oddly enough, the dubbed version looks better.

The sound is fine, although the music is quite forgettable, other than a rather catchy ending song for the Japanese version. The opening song for Ronin Warriors is just embarrassing and best forgotten. The voice acting in Samurai Troopers is actually quite good with several famous seiyuu. The voices for the English version are mixed. Sometimes very good voices (Ryo's for example) get destroyed by the horrible dialogue they are forced to record.

The bottom line is, Ronin Warriors is great for the 8-9-year-old boy crowd, but if you are an older anime fan that likes to watch anime in English, this show will disappoint you. Bandai did a great thing by providing both on a single disc, because the shows really are different, significantly so.

So if you're looking for a fun series that isn't too serious, but looks to be heading in the right direction, pick it up -- if you don't mind subtitles. If you're looking to buy a series for your little brother or sister, or your kids, the Ronin Warriors side has nothing objectionable.

So far, the series is mediocre, with the last episodes hinting at better things to come. The biggest plus is having both shows on one disc and getting four episodes for a low price. If you like team based anime from the 80s, try it out. However, it is definitely aimed at the younger crowd, even though there are some seriously dark undertones.

Distributor: Bandai
Creator: Nagoya TV/Tokyu Agency/Sunrise
Released: 1988

Video Quality: C
Audio Quality: B+
Presentation: B+
Content: B-
Overall: B