Full trailer for Oshii/ Nishikubo's "Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai" hits the net

by Chris MaGee

The folks at Anime News Network got the best present they could imagine last night when they received an exclusive English subtitled trailer for the Mamoru Oshii scripted and Mizuho Nishikubo directed film "Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai". The animated feature recounts the life story of the famed early 17th-century samurai and author of "The Book of Five Rings" Miyamoto Musashi, who of course was already the subject of Hiroshi Inagaki's classic "Samurai" trilogy with Toshiro Mifune starring as Miyamoto.

While the quality of the animation showcased in the trailer may not live up to some of the gorgeous work coming out of Japan of late (watch the work of Makoto Shinkai, or even Oshii's "Ghost in the Shell" Innocence" or "The Sky Crawlers" to see what I mean) "Musashi" looks like a really intriguing and entertaining take on one of Japan's most revered historical figures.

Click here to get a taste of what to expect when "Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai" hits Japanese theatres this summer.