Another nice Adness release (although not quite up to par with their Shikoku disc), G.I. Samurai tends to retail for a very reasonable $15 new, although Amazon lists it for more, which is an outstanding bargain for the level of quality of this release. GI Samurai boasts both a great video and audio presentation, but is sadly lacking in the extra department.

G.I. Samurai has a solid video presentation overall. The disc features a very vibrant range of colors, but sadly there is some minor discoloring, as the film appears to have a slight blue tint to it. The brightness level on this release is good, although looks to be up a little too high when compared with the contrast, as there really are no solid blacks to be seen. In regards to digital inconsistencies, they tend to be very minor. Artifacting and shimmering are never a problem, while edge enhancement is handled well as the film looks generally sharp in detail.

The print used for the transfer is the film's original Japanese version, which accounts for an 40 additional minutes of playing time when compared with the US edit, as heavily touted on the front cover of this DVD. The condition of the print itself appears to be in remarkable shape. The number of noticeable scratches during the course of the movie is minuscule. Film grain is noticeable, but appears to have been greatly reduced by Adness for this release. Their efforts in this regard is most noticeable during the scenes where text is superimposed, as seen around the 119 minute mark, as the amount of grain is largely increased here compared with the rest of the film. G.I. Samurai is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, or widescreen, and is Anamorphic for widescreen TVs.

G.I. Samurai's audio presentation is faithful to the source material. Adness doesn't pull any punches here, and sticks with the film's original, Japanese, 2.0 mono presentation. More options would have been nice, perhaps if Adness sprung for a 5.1 surround track, as they did with Shikoku, but the mono track suffices. The audio on the disc is done well, with no hisses or pops heard, and is complimented by, removable, English subtitles.

It's disappointing that Adness didn't continue the trend they established with their previous discs, and put some worthwhile extras on G.I. Samurai. Even though, it's still not a barebones release. There are seven trailers present, including the film's original Japanese trailer, and some nice liner notes, which appear in print format, compiled by Patrick Macias (author of Tokyoscope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion) that give some nice insight on the film along with subtle connections to other Toho pictures.

Bottom line, Adness did a good job with this release. The lack of significant extras is disappointing, but the low retail price tends to compensate for this. If one has an interest in the many films of Sonny Chiba, then this DVD would likely be a welcome addition to their collection.