Anime: Samurai Champloo

Critic's Log: Earthdate - June, 12, 2012. Review # 8: Samurai Champloo





YO YO YO! Get your eyes ready! Keep it Steady! Because I have a
review about Samurais and Hip Hop that is from the same guy that was
directed Cowboy Bebop. I am white and nerdy and... You KNOW WHAT! I
can't rap worth a damn, so let's pretend I never even started writing
these written rap lyrics in the first place because... I think it was
stupid from the beginning, so here's Samurai Champloo!







In the Edo period. A young woman named Fuu is working at a tea shop. A
band of samurais harass her and she ends up being saved by a mysterious
vagrant rogue named Mugen and a young ronin named Jin. Mugen and Jin
end up fighting eachother because Mugen sees Jin as a worthy fighter
and there was one casualty due to the havoc in the tea shop. Mugen and
Jin end up being arrested and the jobless and homeless Fuu decides to
save Mugen and Jin from execution and requests them to join her in
finding a "samurai who smells of sunflowers". Fuu also tells them that
they cannot duel eachother until after Fuu finds this Samurai.



To be technical, this anime was produced by Manglobe (a company that
was formed by former Sunrise staff members) This was their first
successful hit. This anime is also directed by Shinichiro Watanabe which
most otakus know that he was the one behind Cowboy Bebop. this is also a
tip of the hat for people that like Chanbara films (Sword-fighting
samurai films), kinda how like Cowboy Bebop was a tip of the hat for
people that like Science-fiction and Westerns.



The animation definitely has great visuals and Watanabe-san has a
good eye on how to portray these visuals when it most matters. The
animation is not perfect however. There are some times when the
animation does not look too great. The episode "Elegy Of Entrapment
(Verse 2)" is one example. That's the only bad note I have with the
animation. Here's the good stuff. The action scenes are
mostly spectacular in Samurai Champloo. If the story is out of whack,
the animation's zany moments sure do cover that up well. Hell, Beatbox
Bandits had a scene full of trippy effects. I don't think the animation
is hit and miss however because there are some episodes that have the
animation looking bloody well.









The soundtrack for Samurai Champloo is done by four people, Fat Jon,
Force of Nature, Nujabes, and Tsutchie, all 4 of these guys didn't do a
lot of musical scores from before or since. The opening is really cool
in visuals and the theme really fits the visuals. May Nujabes Rap In
Peace. The soundtrack for Samurai Champloo is pretty nice and
contemplates the show for the most part, The strangest thing is that it
works quite nicely, The average anime viewer that has tried it may
wonder "How does Hip-hop music fit in with a story about samurais with
The Edo period as its setting?" Now to think of it, Cowboy Bebop was a
Sci-fi anime with western elements and Jazz music as it's main focus.
Bebop's soundtrack is a gem, but Champloo's use of hip-hop may not make
sense but the show is meant to be more entertaining and it is what it
is. If you want to compare another samurai anime, look at Afro Samurai.
It's about a Samurai, it has hip-hop music, Get the picture? There are a
couple songs worth listening without the show but it is not too bad.



*wiki wika*

This show may also give you the impression that this show is more
appropriate Subtitled, but Champloo is rich in Japanese Culture and is
mixed in with Western Slang, hell... The New York Yankees are sort of in
this show, so watching this in English wouldn't hurt either because
both The Subbed Version and The Dubbed Version is excellent here. Kazuya
Nakai and Steve Blum both make Mugen sound badass, Ginpei Sato and Kirk
Thornton both make Jin calm and collected with some slight differences
on vocal tones, Ayako Kawasumi and Kari Wahlgren are great as Fuu. It
all comes down to personal preference.



If there is one major problem with Samurai Champloo... It is that
Mugen, Jin, and Fuu don't really develop too much even though there was
some development right in the middle of the show and in the 3 part
finale. Then again, The show was probably made for fun since the setting
and story was already hackneyed after a while. Watanabe-san probably
wanted to use the same episodic approach from Bebop. There are some
interesting ideas in Samurai Champloo but it is not as thought provoking
as most of the episodes from Cowboy Bebop. This is one of the flaws I
see with the show and...Frankly, my reader, most people don't give a
damn... because this show has some kickass action scenes, if that is all
you want in an action anime. This show will not disappoint you for the
most part.



*wiki wika*



Samurai Champloo used to be available by Geneon, it has been rescued
by Funimation and is currently available. There is a manga adaptation of
Samurai Champloo but it's not really necessary to read if you already
have seen the show, only 2 volumes of the manga were made and there
really wasn't a ending to it.



With that said, Samurai Champloo is a fun series that is a bit over
the top in some of it's action scenes, humor, and some of the episodes.
It is a blast to see it with friends. It also has a couple nods to its
elder cousin Cowboy Bebop.



I give Samurai Champloo a 7.8 out of 10, It is GOOD!



Feel free to leave a comment, and if you want to start breakdancing. GO RIGHT AHEAD! Just don't kill yourself over it.

Samurai Champloo always left me dazed. Not because of the show, but because of a little hype my friends had about it. They were all "Samurai Champloo is absurdly artistical!" or "This is the new Cowboy Bebop!" and similar stuff. As I usually note in my reviews, hyped shows tend to disappoint me when I try to watch them. And as expected, that's exactly what happened with Samurai Champloo. I'll be comparing this a lot with Cowboy Bebop simply because it's a rehash of it. That's a fact and deal with it.

Art & Animation
Samurai Champloo it's a very artistical work indeed, with a very unique style and a whole feel that is very fit to the mixed samurai-hip-hop world. It helps to this very bizarre mix, but at the same time works as a repelent to most people who are not exactly attracted to the hip-hop part. We have a great job in the world presentation, mixing traditional Meiji buildings with ghettos and western elements, all in a slightly brown and shady presentation very fitting to thug-life. The characters are very well drawn and have very weird and great looking costumes, though they follow their stereotypes quite closely, making you know their base personalities as from some sort of universal anime database. The animation is quite good, but the show doesn't have that many combats as one would think, it's fairly motionless for most of the time, but when animation is required it does a great job.

Sound
Well, here we have a bit of love or hate. You like some hip-hop rythmn? Then you'll surely love the whole sound direction. Else you'll just keep being annoyed most of the time, because everything in the show is followed by some typical hip-hop jingle or something of the sort. This can kill the show for those who don't fit into the style, but if you tolerate it you'll see the show has quite a good voice-acting and nice sound effects. Sadly this show is very targeted to introduce an audience to a style that not everyone is used to, making the sound direction something very biased to truly say it's superb. I loved how jazz was mixed in Cowboy Bebop, it was not overused and served as a tool to create a classical style, but here it's like we have samurais talking "Yo man! Sup? Cool bro!" and that's not artistical, that's just a bad combination.

Story
Joined by a mix of a not-so-common music style in Japan, Samurai Champloo also copies Cowboy Bebop in its story format. Basically we have a weird trio searching for a man who "smells like sunflowers" and that's it. The rest is just a bunch of random episodic stories with a few recurring events and characters, much like some late 90's shows and the usual north american TV format. What happens here is basically the same as what happened in Cowboy Bebop, the show just goes around and around for about fifteen or more episodes, when it finally starts to draw a line to its objective and by the end we have a sequence of five or so episodes that finally tells us something.

1. It was left behind for a reason
   Sure, that was nice in the late 90's. It was different from japanese standard and was a good component for Cowboy Bebop, but animes stopped doing that after just a few years because it's a terrible format for 20-minute long episodes. It's not enough time to create the same atmosphere as in the 40-minute long TV shows. So in the end we have a bunch of small side-stories that work for only a little of character development.
   
   Very simple core
   The setting, despite being artistically awesome, could be detailed with such format, but that doesn't help at all because the world is not very complex or require much attention. It's just a yazuka-filled scenario, a few crime lords, gangs, thug fights, etc. Nothing we don't see daily in mercenary-type shows and movies.
   

Character
Samurai Champloo is very dependant on its cast basically because two-third of the show has no plotline to follow. This opens a window for character development and that's a good thing. These stand-alones episodes are quite rewarding when they slowly develop the cast. The trio starts as a bunch of basic stereotypes, the womanizer baddass, the silent serious guy, and the happy girl, and from there they face up quite a number of different events. Sadly the development pace is a bit slow and don't make big changes to the cast's personalities, but their charisma alone is worth the time. The support cast, however, is not on par with the main trio. They don't do much more than appear and vanish from one episode to another, like what is expected from the episodic formula. They have their share of charisma, but could do a lot better in a support role.

Value
Well, even though Samurai Champloo is a rehash of the super famous Cowboy Bebop, the show is quite unique with its own new devices. The mix of samurais, yakuza, and hip-hop is not that fitting, but can provide some weird and funny moments. But here we don't only have this combination, we have quite a good job, with high production value and a dedicated work by its authors. It will certainly be remembered as the samurai-hip-hop version of Cowboy Bebop, but, considering there's nothing the industry like this besides these two, is fair to say that it's quite original. Sadly the episodic formula makes hard to go for multiple rewatches, but if you like the show's atmosphere it can make you dig in more than once when skipping a few non-important episodes.

Enjoyment
A fun and charismatic cast, lots of small episodes with funny moments using this bizarre combination, great production values, and a quite unique feeling makes Samurai Champloo an enjoyable show. It's mostly for those who can tolerate the combination it makes, because it has a very high rejection value as well. Still, if you want some mindless action and is not looking for a long and complex show, the smalls episodes of Samurai Champloo can fill the gap.

Comments
If someone would ask me to watch Samurai Champloo again, I wouldn't. I've tried to watch the show about four times before finally passing by episode 10 and watching it to the end. Later I rewinded a few episodes and looked at them with more detail. But hell, these samurai-bros are not something that I take with much respect. We happen to watch japanese animation mostly because we like japanese culture and traditions, and here what you'll find is something very different from that. A combination that could be thought as a way to introduce westerns to anime, but would be better if used in another media.

The show has its qualities, it's in fact one of the good shows of its year and quite a remarkable one, but the fans sadly overlook its flaws and the fact that an episodic formula is not the thing for 20-minute long shows. Perhaps with longer episodes Samurai Champloo could be a big storm, but without this it's just a renewed version of Cowboy Bebop with an alternative setting. The whole feeling is similar to the 90's classic, from the musical mix to the characters and the format. It's good to see people using such a good anime as base, but Cowboy Bebop probably wouldn't have the same impact if it was released anywhere later than when it was.

Anyway, those who liked Cowboy Bebop will find a good show here. And it's definetely worth the watch if you don't mind the episodic formula.

Samurai Champloo (SC) is director Watanabe’s attempt to relive the success Cowboy Bebop (CB) had in the previous decade. I will be comparing a lot these two shows as they feel almost as siblings, plus you are almost forced to watch both in order to get a better picture. The following paragraph is in fact just personal speculation and you may as well skip it entirely if you want.

Although the anime fans didn’t lose their minds as much as they did with CB, that does not mean SC is a bad show. Far from it; it is very entertaining and retains a similar mood as CB. It’s just that the blending of different eras was not as easily categorized and since most people look for familiarity as means to sympathy, it was a bit harder to like as much. The thing is, CB was categorized as “space western”, an existing category that back in the late 90’s was a thrill. The Japanese people found the American flavor to be exotic, while the Americans found the show being almost a flattery of Japan towards them, so no wonder it was very captivating. Also, Jazz and Blues are considered by most as the most sophisticated genres of music, as if watching this show was placing you with the cream of viewers. On the other hand, SC can’t be categorized; there is no clear name for a genre that blends Japan with modern Hip-hop. No connection points for most to feel the sympathy, plus Hip-hop is ghetto music and considered violent and unsophisticated by most. Watching it felt like placing you with delinquents. So the whole thing boils down to an aristocrat and a punk. Very different, yet both shows are just the different sides of the same coin and Watanabe is offering a familiar type of humorous social criticism. So don’t let these pesky aesthetic details to get you down; SC is equally good.

The production values are great as in the other show, with lots of anachronisms and in-jokes offering a smart parody of the modern world. The whole setting is basically a masking of the old values of traditional Japan being trashed by the coming of the Westerners, as indirectly shown by various native people being exploited by foreigners while the background is a mix of traditional buildings and ghetto elements. Even the music themes are partly blending the traditional type of Japanese singing with rap lyrics to make it even clearer. Thus the whole world is an allegory on itself, a piece of art that deserves a thumps up.

A bit disappointing are the action scenes, which seemed to be great in the first few episodes but after that turned to simplistic exchange of sword slashes and kicks. The choreography is not constant in quality throughout the series, as it was in CB and it feels like it is fooling you into looking for more, when there won’t be. That is the only thing that keeps the score from perfect from me.

The main characters begin as stereotypes, yet along the way they are fleshed out a lot and by the end of the show they become lovable and memorable. I can’t say they are great since they don’t exactly develop and they definitely have less diversity and numbers than those in CB. It’s just the violent punk, next to the calm noble, next to the genki smart girl; very polarized to see them as nothing but caricatures. Although that makes them cooler, it also makes them shallower. They are still interesting, have quirks to become easily memorable, get colorized, get somewhat developed, and even find a bit of catharsis in the end. All of which happen in a mostly episodic show, which is a feat.

The story is episodic and despite that there is an objective (to kill a samurai who smells like Sunflowers) as well as some recurring characters, it is mostly the constant themes that keep the show together and not the storyline. It is a bit hard to get attached to any individual situation if everything is resolved in one or two episodes and the themes are not enough to keep you hooked. That does not feel too good to anyone (like me) who prefers and on-going plot than an episodic one. And yes, you gradually see more to the characters which may be perceived as on-going but that has to do with the cast and not the story. One could of course label this anime as 100% character-driven and thus share the same score with the characters. I also prefer it when the story moves forward by personal choice and not pulled by the nose because the scriptwriter said so and was unable to show it otherwise. On the other hand, you still see many characters for just one episode doing stuff that do not matter thereafter, which still makes you feel like they are wasting potential here. But at least there is an ending instead of a hint for a sequel.

The story is a very interesting take on episodic-formats but it is still not perfect for me as I always prefer an on-going plot to this. I would normally give it the base, but seeing how it smartly threw in character development here and there, I will raise it a lot more.

The sound department is a blend of Hip-hop, Rap and Japanese folk music. It sounds interesting to pay attention to even when I’m more of a metal and hard rock dude. I was mostly listening to them as a parody and not as a serious attempt at drama, as in the case of CB. It is still a very well made soundtrack and deserves a good score.

The value is very high just for being a series that stands out from the lot, if not just for having Watanabe as its director. My enjoyment was definitely higher than in CB because of its far more comedic nature, as well as the less alien to my tastes music. Just to imagine, I watched it in one go, unlike CB which I dropped 3 times before I finally manage to complete it. So there you go; I am not that sophisticated.

I watched this back when it was on CTN and then finished it latter with a subbed version. Samurai Champloo is very unique in its animation style as well as plot progression but at the end I felt that I had been ripped off.

Animation:
The style is very unique and completely different from your standard anime style, a bit more mature and stylistic. It looks like an experimental art form really and all the side, unimportant males look really ugly . I still prefer the look of more orthodox, animes. There are a lot of nicely choreographed fight scenes with lots of nice FX (similar in quality to that found in Kurogami but from a much older show!). Do note that this series is intended for older audiences so expect blood, gore, nudity, violence, etc.

Sound:
Hip hop again is unique but I prefer symphonic BGM or jazz, it just felt out of place to hear hip hop scratches in Feudal Japan, though it does fit with the unique styling of the animation. Regardless, I didn't hate it per say. As for voice acting, dub turned out to be quite inferior to the native voices.

Story:
The story eventually revolves around a young girl named Fuu and her quest to find a samurai that smells of sunflowers, with her two essentially enslaved samurai guards who would fight immediately when Fuu isn't around. The plot was fairly average in terms of my interest level but the conclusion is very sudden and feels like a play that ended three scenes early.

Character:
The three main characters are very different in many ways. The only thing in common between the samurai are their skills with the sword and their intent to kill each other. One is deadly silent and efficient while the other is a loud mouth whose fighting style essentially amounts to break dancing. Near the end of the series, I felt that the time was ripe for some real character interaction between Fuu and the males but there really isn't any as the conclusion makes utterly clear. Quite disappointing if you ask me.

Value:
For its length it wasn't bad but I prefer other samurai series such as Rurouni Kenshin, which has just as much, if not more action, intensity, and definitely more character development.

For anyone who has watched Cowboy Bebop, they know that director Shinichiro Watanabe loves blending completely disparate elements together, be it science fiction, physical comedy, spaghetti Western, bebop jazz, or space epic, all into the same story. [br][br]As diverse as "Cowboy Bebop" was, it has nothing on the sheer schizophrenia of "Samurai Champloo", Watanabe's most recent effort. On the surface, it's a mixture of comedy and samurai epic about Japan in the mid 1600s. However, that doesn't do the series any more justice than calling "Cowboy Bebop" a space western. [br][br]One episode is a Shaolin Soccer-esque comedy about a baseball game. Another is a zombie horror story which doubles as an allegory for World War 2. The series presents historically accurate facts about the spread of Christianity in Japan side-by-side with rocket launchers, talks about Edo-style painting and Vincent Van Gogh in the same episode as punks with switchblades and green mohawks. [br][br]There are young street gangs painting graffiti, near-invincible blind warriors modeled upon Zaotichi, honorable samurai warriors, arrogant fashion designers, mid 17th century Japanese beat boxing rappers, and eating competitions. [br][br]Hip-hop and rap music is as prominent as traditional Japanese and Aina-style music.[br][br]Most directors attempting such a crazy mix would be met with failure and ridicule. However, Shinichiro Watanabe manages to succeed, and he does so thanks to several different elements;[br][br]1. Comedy- Samurai Champloo might well be the funniest anime series I've ever seen. Whether it be over-the-top action scenes, great situational comedy, or the absurdity of so many different elements in the same time period and place, there are certain moments in the series that will have one gasping for air. [br][br]2. A hard, brutal, uncompromising story- The above works especially well because of how gritty, bloody, and tragic the majority of the story is. Most of the characters die. There is rarely a happy ending. Even in the instances when the good guys "win", it's not clear whether they're better off than they were originally. [br][br]3. Misdirection- In every series or movie, a director can leave lots of minor hints and clues about what's going to happen. Most of the time they are fulfilled. In this series, though, Watanabe does the exact opposite of what one is expecting. [br][br]A small example of this is when an old man is giving one of the samurai protagonists, Jin, a lecture about going with the current to catch a fish. The man is clearly wise, the music becomes serious, and like lightning, his hands dart through the pristine, blue river. His hands rise above his head, clenched hard, golden in the light of the sun. [br][br]Suddenly, the record scratches, the man opens his hand, and it turns out there's no fish. [br][br]"Well, sometimes they get away, anyhow!" the man exclaims with a laugh. [br][br]There are dozens of such examples throughout the series. The ending is probably the best case of misdirection, being the complete opposite of what I expected. [br][br]4. Memorable characters- While the former pirate and violent vagrant Mugen is probably the star of the show, and the source of most of the laughs, he does not completely outshine straightman, and traditional, honorable samurai Jin, who is every bit as interesting of a character, and provides plenty laughs of his own. Even Fuu, the girl guiding them, isn't the typical annoying Japanese anime heroine, and is a great set-up and comedic foil for the two mismatched warriors. [br] [br]Overall, this series is an absolute classic, right up there with Berserk, Cowboy Bebop, Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, and Grappler Baki as my favorite series/movies of all time. [br]

SIMILAR TO: Cowboy Bebop; Trigun

Slick, stylish, unique, fun, fantastic. This is the third in what I've dubbed "The Holy Trilogy" of anime series'. (The other members being Cowboy Bebop and Trigun.) These three anime series' have a distinctly similar feel to them, and share many postive qualities. (Yes, this opening statement is featured in my reviews for those two anime series too.)

This is a series that has the word "Cool" written all over it. You can't help but admire the characters, the irony in the storylines, and the laid-back, yet intensely controlled and focused overall feel to the series.

Visuals:
Oh my god how gorgeous. From the style to the lush backdrops, to the animation and the lighting - it's simply beautiful. If any series deserves top praise for animation from the ones I've seen, it would be this one. You can tell it's a work of genius, in this case Watanabe Shinichiro. His direction is probably the best I've seen, especially with the material at hand. I was trying hard to think of a point where I thought the animation dropped its standard, but I really can't. There is a very engaging atmosphere in every scene, and I was personally sucked right into it. On a few occasions there is even a use of a blurred water-colour effect and I found it to be beautiful.

Sound:
To start with, the musical score is extremely well suited to this series, despite the first impressions. I would have never thought Hip Hop and Samurai could be put together - now it seems ridiculous to consider them apart. I've never liked ALL the songs on an anime soundtrack before, but I've got all 4 cds from the OST and I listen to them all, all the time. I only realised the other day that whilst watching the series, I was bopping my head up and down rhythmically to the music. Musical score aside, the ambience from the surrounds, the twangs of the swords, the voice acting - all are excellent. To compliment the visuals, the sound goes hand in hand to create a very engrossing atmosphere.

Story:
The story centres on 2 equally skillful, but very different (in personality) samurai, who get mixed up with one another in a brawl. A girl working at the tea-house where the brawl occurs, helps them avoid the law, and in return asks them to accompany her on a long journey to find a samurai that smells of sunflowers. What ensues are episodic stories of comedy and action.

The story aspect is what hampers this series receiving perfect scores. Due to the flaws in the story, the replay value for the series and my overall enjoyment are lowered beyond the maximum. The story is by no means bad, but a lot of episodes were spent dawdling around just a bit TOO much, without there being any sort of interesting plot. I said before that Watanabe Shinichiro did well with the material he had, and this is why: even when the storylines weaken, he makes full effort to heighten whatever else he possibly can. As a result, this series is much more likable with him directing, than what I imagine it would be like without him. Even the COMPLETELY bizaare and almost pointless (eg zombie episode) episodes are made highly watchable thanks to his creativity.

Another final note about the story which I LIKED: the cool crooked references to Japanese history. I loved the way they took actual historical events, skewed the truth a bit, and incorporated it into the series. Overall, the plot of Samurai Champloo plays out with a similar structure to Cowboy Bebop - every episode is pretty much a self contained story, with the base storyline only really cropping up at the end of the series.

Characters:
The characters are... awesome, to be frank. I didn't want to make a reference to Cowboy Bebop yet again, but I feel there are noticable similarities that I can't keep down. Mugen reminds me totally of Spike from Cowboy Bebop, except with a louder, less reserved attitide and a samurai sword; and Fuu is a more younger, less selfish and innocent Faye, also from Cowboy Bebop. I also love Jin being in the mix, who doesn't remind me of another character in particular, but seems to be a more traditional, quiet protagonist Samurai with lots of mystique. The various enemies are also decently incorporated. The supporting characters really take a back seat in this series though - the main trio and the chemistry between them are what gripped and interested me throughout. Jin and Mugen especially, who are basically badass ninjas for want of a better term, have wondefully underplayed personalities with reference to their skills. They could walk into any bar, and people would think nothing of them, but we as the viewers know they could kick everyone's arse.

Value:
This is a series that can definitely be watched over again pretty quickly. The story is a bit too loose to really make you feel that it was truly significant, but the general FEEL of the series has an undenibly watchable 'quality' that makes you crave it after a while.

Enjoyment:
This is an immensly enjoyable series, with incredible fight scenes that just HAVE to be seen to believed. Whilst I personally would have loved to have seen MORE fights and less plodding along down country lanes, the style and control of the series gives it superb calibur. It's a must for any Cowboy Bebop fan, or samurai fan especially. Go watch it.