Customer Reviews

Samurai Champloo Original Soundtrack

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Katana, the soundtrack to Samurai Champloo, contains the songs and sounds from the hip-hop themed anime. It opens with rap, and ends with the sentimental ending theme Song of the Seasons. Those, along with YOU, are the only songs with any lyrics, the rest are instrumental songs.

I'll address the lyrical songs here in detail. First off, Battlecry is an excellent stand-alone (I think it could be sold as a single, if only j-pop were as world-wide as the other genres), with an English track. It has a great beat and a great rap, the perfect theme to Samurai Champloo. YOU is a soft song, obviously a love song, also done in English, with an excellent chorus. Song of Seasons, done entirely in Japanese, is the best of them all, with moments both upbeat and some soft and subdued, working together with the plucking of the guitar and a gentle beat. This song is what makes the CD.

As for the instrumental, here is where the CD fails, at least at some times. Most of the fourteen instrumentals have looping sounds, which get old after listening to it for more than two minutes. While the sounds are good at moments, the repetitiveness of them makes you hop from track to track. While these may work in the anime, they don't work that well on the CD.

Still, I recommend this CD to fans of j-pop and the anime, as it is a great addition to the Samurai Champloo collection. Plus, the three songs with lyrics help to pick up the slack of the instrumentals, which really aren't that bad, just repetitive.

I first started watching Samurai Champloo during it's recent run on Cartoon Network's late night [adult swim] lineup, and truthfully, I was pretty blown away. I've never been a fan of anime on the whole. I've liked a hand full of shows; Miyazaki's films and Cowboy Bebop mostly. I especially was drawn towards Cowboy Bebop's unique mixture of music (Jazz) and storytelling (Intergalactic Bounty Hunting). So, when I heard that [adult swim] was bringing Samurai Champloo, the new television show from the Cowboy Bebop team, to U.S. screens I was intrigued. The show definately lives up the expectations set by Bebop; Champloo's mix of music and storytelling is just as impressive, with what I feel are superior visuals, story, and action.

But where Bebop juxtaposes a cold, metallic future in space with an organic jazz score, Champloo deals with two samurais accomponying a young girl on a quest, set to the modern sounds of Japanese Hip-Hop. It sounds like a strange mix, but the music is used so naturally and appropriatly that it works much more to the shows benefit than anything else. The music is a large reason why I feel that this is the best anime series I've ever seen.

I bought this soundtrack primarily to get the show's opening theme song, Battlecry, and the closing theme, Shiki No Uta (Song of the Seasons), and these songs bookend this collection. In between there is a variety of instrumental hip-hop songs (about half of which I could recognize from the show). It's a nice collection of atmospheric hip-hop; somewhat repetitive, but great for background/mood music.

I think this is a great starting point for music from Samurai Champloo. It was worth it for me to have the open/closing themes, and I look forward to exploring both the show and it's music furthur.

Samurai Champloo, Saturdays @ 11:30pm (check your local listings) on [adult swim] - Cartoon Network

I love the anime and love the hip-hop instrumentals sprinkled across the various episodes and was compelled to pick up the soundtrack. I hardly thought I would enjoy it quite as much as I did, though.

See, intrumental hip-hop is a genre that's deserved much more attention and has been underrated for a long time now-everyone who has ever said to themselves "I'd really enjoy rap if it weren't for the rapper," or "that hip-hop song has a catchy beat but I can't get past the lyrics," would enjoy it; and this soundtrack, for the most part, fits right in there.

The tracks are hardly repetitive or boring, in fact I think they're lively and introspective, starting off with "Battlecry" (the title track from the show) offering you a bit of flavor to the soothing lyrics in "You," to the soulful but progressive beats in "Ole," "Vagrancy." The entire album has American instrumental hip-hop artist Fat Jon's impressions all over it, himself having created a great deal of the music American fans of Samurai Champloo on Cartoon Network may have heard during Adult Swim's black-card bumps in between commercial breaks. That's right, some of those smooth, jazzy (yet a little funky) beats? That's Fat Jon.

Seriously-he has a few of his own albums available (even right here at Amazon) and the Samurai Champloo soundtrack, although it's obviously a collaborative project, fits in exceptionally well with his own discography. So if you like this, check out the rest of his stuff, but don't leave this soundtrack behind. Calling it hip-hop isn't quite right, but it's definitely got a hip-hop flavor and jazzy, funky lines that will please anyone who appreciates complexity but catchiness from their beats. Electronica fans and Hip-hop fans will appreciate the grooves, and the head-nodding beats will allure music fans from all genres. Definitely a worthwhile buy.

First off, I'd like to comment on all the reviewers who've commented on this album's repitition and "loopy" feel. Well, for those who don't like it, fine. But it's a soundtrack; ideally, you won't find much variation and complexity in a soundtrack because your intended focus is the film. It doesn't make much sense to write a negative review about something that you're already fundamentally polarized against; that's a bit like saying you don't like sugar because it's sweet.
Now, personally, I love this album- FOR it's simplicity and mood. For the most part, it's lax and ethereal, yet at the same time, hip and groovy. This was a very odd-yet-fitting choice for an Anime series involving swordplay and vagrancy! I watched the show for three episodes before deciding I HAD to track this album down, and I'm glad I did. As someone else commented, despite the simplicity (which has earned it its share of pans,) the emotion is quite apparent and genuine.
All in all, an excellent buy- as long as your not expecting "Beethoven's 5th" or "Bohemian Rhapsody!"

This CD is comprised of songs that manage to be laden with gritty and urban beats/rhythms, yet also have a little something to them that's beautiful and unique. As stated in other reviews, this CD works best as fun and upbeat background music for those of you who don't mind the occasional distraction when one of the hotter beats starts to play!

Just as a warning, the tracks on this CD are looping beats, so don't expect actual songs with words on this disc-- other than BattleCry, You and Shiki no Uta. Also, the first half of the CD (as in, before track 9-You) is mostly upbeat, fast tempo songs and the second half of the CD is more mellow/mid-tempo songs. Some of my personal favorites include:

Track 1: Battlecry: If you're familiar with the show, you're familiar with this song. The raspy, higher pitch melody under the heavy bass background makes this song a favorite. The word play of Shing02 as he explains "the way of a samurai" is quick and flows great with the melody.

Track 5: Dry: This is a hot track!! It's more up-tempo and has a tricky beat to it.

Track 6: Death Wish: This track is featured in Misguided Miscreants. The title and song are very fitting with the episode. This track has a very heavy guitar/bass loop and drum that sounds offensive to the ear at first, but a few seconds into it, you start diggin' it. ^_^

Track 7: Vagrancy: Another fast tempo, hot track! This looping track is featured on the DVD menu of the show. It's very gritty and hip-hoppy. You can't help but bob your head to it.

Track 8: Sneak Chamber: This is my favorite fast-tempo track. This is played in the first episode when Mugen and Jin fight in the burning tea house :) It's very quick and features a looping of snare drum, symbols and maybe even maracas! There's also a little bongo sounding melody!

Track 9: You: The reason I purchased the CD. This beautiful track is very gentle and graceful as it plays. A great love song, it's the second track on the CD to feature a voice. Kazami is singing in English, but because of her heavy accent, it gives the song that little something extra.

Track 13: Tsurugi No Mai: A nice, mid-tempo track. It sounds like people are talking in the background of it and it's more R&B-ish than the other tracks.

Track 14: World Without Words: This is my favorite of the mid-tempo tracks! It sounds kind of muffled and it has a metro sounding melody to it.

Track 17: Shiki No Uta (song of the seasons): The other reason I purchased this CD. The third track that features a voice on this CD, the gorgeous melody and mellow beats make this a favorite. MINMI's singing is beautiful! Whether it's fast and quick, or slow and drawn out. A great way to end the CD.

It often seems that those who stumble upon Samurai Champloo, are those who have seen Shinichiro Watanabe's other musically influenced anime, Cowboy Bebop. Where as Cowboy Bebop introduced an outerpace western set to a jazz and blues soundtrack, Samurai Champloo provides us an eastern tale of samurai sword play that is themed to down tempo hip hop music.

While the compositions on this soundtrack do not seem to have the same depth of Yoko Kanno's scoring of Bebop, the fact remains that the quality of this soundtrack is solid. Nujabes, Shingo02 and Fat Jon (of the hip hop group, Five Deez) among other artists, contribute their talents for providing an alternative hip hop sound that fuses beautifully with the series. If you are looking for Yoko Kanno-esque music, then turn away now. But if you have an open mind and an ear to match, than this soundtrack will suit you perfectly.

Only two songs on the entire soundtrack feature lyrics, thus making this suitable as background music to do just about anything to. Tracks such as "624 part 1" and "World Without Words" absolutely carry you away in their melodic pacing. I can agree that this soundtrack is mostly aimed towards the hip hop savy, but it does feature a broad range of appeal provided by some of the bass heavy tracks, as well as the other cuts that feature light rhythms. Even if you have not seen the anime or are a fan of hip hop, there is a pretty good chance that you can find something you'll enjoy on this album.

Like most others who bought this album, I originally wanted it for some of the great music I heard during the show. Me and a few friends absolutely love the music from the show and I couldnt wait for the soundtrack to come out. Once it did, and I had enough to buy it (Still a student here), I went ahead and got it.

It was actually a close tie between Samurai and the first FLCL (another anime with some great music) sountrack, but in the end I chose Samurai Champloo.

The begenning and ending tracks are good, even though I was never crazy about the end theme on television. A lot of the tracks are repetative, but you have to remember, they are basically hip hop beats.

My two favourite tracks on the album, by far, are "Pretending To..." and "Tsurugi No Mai". They are great for night driving (as crazy as that may be).

I'll be honest, some of the songs I can't stand. But there are only a few of these songs and the rest more than make up for it.

The album as a whole works very well as background music. I am usually up late at night working and this CD goes with that very well.

I give this cd 4 stars because of the few tracks which are not impressive, but the rest make up for those few, and I would definelty recommend it.

This album is yet another example of how well Japan takes to our cultures and sub-cultures. There are some critics who say that this soundtrack is repetative and unimaginative, but what they don't grasp is that anime soundtracks, like any other soundtrack, aren't supposed to be cookie-cutter genres of set styles unto themselves. Those who use the "repetative and unimaginative criticism" are failing to understand that this soundtrack contrasts the samurai/ronin greatly, yet sets the overall mood for the stories.

If you like trip-hop (subtle electronic mood music and a splash of jazz looped and set to modern inner-city beats) then you'll groove to this CD. If rap, jazz or electronic ambience is not what you like to listen to, don't buy it. It's got a great groove, and is excellent to cruise around to.

This soundtrack, remember soundtrack, is great for people that like smooth, easy, hip-hop beats. Most of them don't have any vocals in them (only the first and last track does), which i thought there'd be more of. But if you read the name of the album, it says "soundtrack". They just put in the melodies that flow with the anime.

All-in-all, if this CD had a bit more turntablism in it, I'd give it a perfect five outta five.

I caught the Samurai Champloo anime late one night and the music is what first caught my attention. The opening (Battlecry) had me dancing even after being at the club. That's when I knew I had to have the soundtrack, and I was elated to find it on Amazon. Most of the tracks fit into these three categories: jazzy, funky, and smooth. And the closing theme...Japanese rap! Love it!

Now, it's in my car's cd player keeping me sane during my insane Washington DC commute.

In conclusion: Even if you haven't seen the anime, buy this soundtrack and give it your full attention. I hope you'll love it too.