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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of a Kind, July 8, 2005
Samurai Champloo is one of those rare, very special shows that you need only to watch once, and right away you're hooked. Even if you're not a die-hard anime fan, have never heard of Shinichiro Watanabe, and have never seen Kill Bill, animatrix or a single episode of Cowboy Bebop. In fact, this is how the show should be enjoyed and valued, in it own rights, difficult as it may be to separate it from the previous works of its stellar creators. Because this, indeed, is an amazing show -- with solid and very likeable main characters, lightning-speed samurai actions, and breathtaking animation (not to mention the widescreen format). The hip hop angle is cool, but not essential. The show works not because it is "hip", but because it respects our intelligence, and feels real.
We follow the adventure of three fascinating characters in pre-modern Japan: Mugen, a wild and unruly vagrant; Jin, a reticent, highly-disciplined ronin (masterless samurai) with a dark past; and Fuu, a quick-thinking 15-year old waitress. Having saved Mugen and Jin from wrongful execution by a corrupt official, Fuu made them promise to help her find a samurai that smells of sunflower. The three set out on a journey that takes them all over Japan, an unlikely trio on an even more unlikely quest. Mugen and Jin, both extremely skillful with the katana, cannot be more opposite in nature. They're eager to battle to determine which one is the better swordsman. But Fuu forbids them to kill each other until the samurai is found, and has her hands full trying to stop them from doing that en route. The three, however, complement each other perfectly, and as the story develops, so does the bond between them.
Their journey is not an easy one. Although it is not the warring era, life in late 18th century Japan is harsh and often lawless. There are plenty of fighting and slashing (especially in vol. 1), with Mugen and Jin raking up body counts everywhere they go. The violence is consistent with the samurai theme, but makes the show unsuitable for younger viewers. Even so, this anime is not dark or depressing; episode 7 is a sad one, but all in all the stories are a marvelous blend of suspense, human drama and offbeat humor (my favorite: Jin dressing up as a beautiful woman to infiltrate a yakuza brothel).
Interestingly as well, although the producers made a point of stating that the show bears no historical accuracy, watching it I felt transported back into the past, witnessing the opening of Japan to the West. The settings are meticulously drawn to reflect the era, spiced here and there with anachronistic modern touches (like sporty sunglasses, blonde hair and adidas-like stripes on the kimono). Eps. 5 and 6 relate to actual historical facts: the ukiyo-e picture that inspired van Gogh to paint his sunflowers, and the arrival of the Dutch East Indies ships in Japan that did take place in late 18th century. Although the stories are clearly fiction, they offer a glimpse into what might be the reason for the Japanese enamorment with van Gogh.
This anime is one of a kind (and dare we hope - the first of its kind?) It has acquired such popularity in so short time, I believe, because of the great care that went into making it, that the audience can immediately see and appreciate. Episode 6, for instance, goes so far as using authentic Dutch dialogue. Added to that is the excellent voice cast, both Japanese and English. I especially enjoyed Shinichiro Miki (Asato Tsuzuki in Descendants of Darkness) as the ukiyo-e artist in ep. 5. His style of mixing seriousness and goofiness is always refreshing to watch. Unfortunately, there are only 26 episodes in the series. Perhaps the rationale has something to do with the difficulties of sustaining high-quality production in a long-running series (such as the case with Inuyasha), that the SC producers did not want to risk. Let's hope this is merely a creative break, and that more episodes will be produced in the not too distant future.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Show Gets Better, April 1, 2005
I have to respectfully disagree with the previous reviewer: whereas the first volume of Samurai Champloo was good, these four episodes are much better. Both volumes are full of brilliant animation, unique humor and great music, but the plot thickens in episodes 5-8.
Whereas the first four episodes were still laying the foundation for the show, these episodes begin to delve into the characters' personalities and past lives. As in Cowboy Bebop, Watanabe accomplishes this end subtly through brief flashbacks and the characters' dialogue with people that they meet throughout their journey; by only dropping hints throughout the episodes Watanabe really draws the audience in by keeping them in suspense.
The individual plot lines of these episodes are good, but the supporting characters are phenomenal. Nagamitsu, a samurai that appears in episode 8, is hilarious, and his appearance alone is enough to warrant buying this DVD. My only complaint was that the plot of episode 7 ("A Risky Racket") was a little too similar to the Cowboy Bebop episode "Waltz for Venus": I expected some more original plot lines from Watanabe.
In summary, the series in general and this DVD in particular are brilliantly animated, set to a great soundtrack, and contain well-told plot lines with well-crafted dialogue and engaging characters. All in all, well worth the money.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
second installment lives up to it's predicesser, January 9, 2006
samurai champloo volume one left many of us in the dust with it's greatness and artistic genious. volume two is no different. i am very pleased with this second installment and hope this traditon of greatness carries on through the rest of the upcoming volumes. if you are a fan of this show, and liked the first dvd, i reccommend this one as well. i have rated the four new episodes on this dvd on a ten star scale. the ratings are below with a brief discription.
episode five: artistic anarchy- jin, mugen and fuu need to cross a river using a ferry. one problem: they havn't any ferry money! as fuu is tricked into being sold as a prostitute, mugen goes around robbing a member of the yakuza and leads to some hilarious scenes. jin tries to get ferry money by playing against an old man in a high-stakes game of what i think is japanese chess. will our heroes make enough money to use the ferry? watch and find out.
i rate this hilarious, yet action-packed episode a 10/10
episode six: stranger searching-our heroes finally reach Edo. starving, they quickly find an all-you-can-eat buffet that claims to be free. but when our heroes find out it costs an item, such as jin's swords, winning becomes a priority. when fuu and mugen force jin to offer his katana's, some hilarious dialogue insues. i dont want to say anymore so as not to spoil the suprizes. this episode has been hilarious.
funny, mysterious and obnoxious, i rate this episode a 10/10, even though there is little action in this episode.
episode seven: a risky racket- our heroes encounter a pick-pocket and go after him in an attempt to retrive their stolen cash. but when fuu becomes attatched to the boy, the story takes on a different, and heart-wrenching, turn in plot.
not much action, but a lot of emotion and some humor, i rate this episode an 8/10
episode eight: the art of altercation- this is by far my favorite episode on this volume, and the most funny out of both.
jin mugen and fuu are out of money (again.) jin pawns his glasses in order to make some dough. at the same time, a dull-witted man by the name of nagometsu is afater jin to make a name for himself. this episode reveals some hilarious moments, and a suprizing fact about jin's shady past.
i rate this episode 10/10, though i think it deserves infinite stars.
well, thats my review for this volume. check out my next if you want more ratings for samurai champloo. my spelling and grammer is very correct, though i do not capitalize most of my sentences and titles, so you'll be able to read them. honestly, i wish some people would at least give thier reviews some effort, so they are legible enough to understand fully. i'm not the greatest, but at least i articulate my words well enough for them to be understandable.
later.
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