A Great Show. Period!
As a kid and a young adult, I was never into Anime. I mean; I watched Voltron and Robotech; but that was because they came on regular TV with all the other cartoons I enjoyed as a kid.
In 2005 I entered an Anime store in the mall in my neighborhood to see if they sold videogames. I was unware of the adventure I was about to encounter. The dude that was working at the store told me that they didn't sell games and then asked if he could help me find some Anime to watch. I said, "No, I'm not into Anime."
Somehow we started talking about Hip Hop (one of my passions) and before I knew it, I had a rental membership card and 2 volumes of Samurai Champloo rented out. I took them home and watched them with an open mind... I watched both volumes in one sitting (apprx 8 - 18min episodes). I was hooked. I let my wife see them and she got hooked as well. In the months that followed, I owned and watched the entire Samurai Champloo series (7 DVDs) To date, it is the best Anime series I've seen. Truly, it's one of the best short series I've seen, period.
I came to appreciate the altered Japanese history that was tied into the plot. Champloo is derived loosely from events during the Tokugawa Era (or the Edo Period). One particular event in history is actually used to flesh out the climax of the entire series. It spins it for effect, but if you are familiar with the history, you should find it skillfully woven into the story and objectively handled. I appreciate the fact that this series calls everyone on their dirt; Americans, Japanese, Europeans, The Shogunate, everyone. No one is safe from the moral issues the show addresses.
The story is quite interesting in and of itself. What makes it come alive is the characters. Especially Mugen and Jin; the two Ronin Samurai. As polar opposites, they compliment each other well and give the viewer a fun string of moral and situational conflicts to watch. I particularly enjoyed Mugen's character. Character development as a whole was handled very well from start to finish.
I'd be off if I didn't mention that the visual and audio work in Samurai Champloo is excellent. I felt the use of color, animation and music was top notch. While Hip Hop is a mainstay of the soundtrack, it is not the only form of music found in the series. Many of the songs are quite beautiful to listen to.
So here's my thoughts that were 4yrs in the making. Samurai Champloo had an outstanding effect on me as a viewer. However, four years later, I'm still not really into Anime or any of its subcultures. I've found a few gems out there that I really liked, but nothing that would qualify me as a "fan" of the artform. I want to mention that for my readers that may be die hard fans of Anime who know everything there is to know. Take this as an outsider looking in. (One that didn't really like Cowboy Bebop) Either way, I recommend this series to anyone and everyone - except children of course. *laughs*
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