Mugen and Jin are a wandering vagabond and ronin, both
highly skilled in the art of killing.
When these two cross paths, blades are set to draw. But when a young girl named Fuu saves their
lives from execution, the pair find themselves in her debt and forced into a
quest: to find a Samurai who smells of Sunflowers. They have no leads and no idea where to
start. What they do know is that
everywhere they go, trouble follows. It’s sure to be an exciting adventure, if
Fuu’s two bodyguards don’t try to kill each other first.
Happy New Year Everyone and welcome to the Gundam Anime
Corner in 2026.
To start things off,
I’ve finally decided to look at a show that’s been on the waiting list ever
since I started this blog in 2014.
Released in 2004, Samurai Champloo is Shinichiro Watanabe’s directorial
follow up to Cowboy Bebop.
As such, the
Anime has a lot of Bebop DNA in it, mostly in the main cast, the music and the
cultural mish mash between Modern and Feudal Japan.
Despite the approach, does Samurai Champloo
live in the shadows of what could be argued is Watanabe’s magnum opus?
We’ll be piecing that together all month long
so let’s get the party started shall we?
I’ve seen the first episode of Samurai Champloo plenty of
times over the years and it still remains one of the single greatest 23 minutes
of Anime I’ve ever seen.
From the
stylized animation to the sick action to the pumping tracks, it all comes
together to form what could be a fun short film in and of itself.
As a first episode though, it does a solid
job of showing off just how bad ass and lethal Mugen and Jin are in the art of
killing and setting up the main quest of the series with Fuu’s involvement.
Personally I think Episode 1 sets a pretty
high bar for things to come…which is why I feel the other three episodes in
this set are a bit of a mixed bag.
Part of that mixed reaction comes from the main
trio.
Mugen, Jin and Fuu are no Spike,
Jet and Faye.
I know they’re not
supposed to be (though it could be argued Mugen is a distant ancestor of Spike,
more on that later).
But we don’t really
get to spend anytime with just the three of them before theyre yanked in
different directions through various circumstances.
In Fuu’s case, she’s just a damsel in
distress and even if she does lend a hand here and there, she’s more an
annoyance than anything, mostly cause she wont stop talking about the promise
her new sword buddies have made to her to find the Sunflower Samurai (you could
make a drinking game out of it).
Jin’s
the quiet and more disciplined warrior of few words who is bad ass but there’s
not much more to him yet.
Mugen is the
only major stand out of the trio thus far.
The Spike comparisons go beyond just his hair and his being voiced by
Steve Blum (aka Spike) in the English Dub.
His improvisation wild child style of fighting is awesome to see in action.
Basically it’s like if you have Eddie Goro
from Tekken a Sword and made him even more unbeatable.
Mugen’s self assured, cocky and volatile
attitude gives him an edge in entertainment value but at the same time I feel
like you could make the show about him and leave out Fuu and Jin and nothing
would be lost.
That’s kind of a problem
if you want to care about the journey these three are on for 26 episodes.
Anyway, Episodes 2-4 throw our traveling trio into
various stand alone adventures (Episodes 3 & 4 are a two parter).
Episode 2’s gentle giant mistaken for a
monster doesn’t have the right emotional kick for the ending but I’m not sure
how I’d improve the story to suit it.
Episode 3 & 4’s biggest problem is Mugen and Jin (wisely) ditching
Fuu so early on only to find themselves on opposite sides of a Gang War between
rival Yakuza factions.
The story itself
is fine.
There’s good action and the
clash between modern and old school Yakuza mindsets is well done.
But splitting our three leads up, only to
yank them back together through fate, feels like it should happen not 3
episodes in, 7 or 8 maybe?
I feel like
it’s just another excuse to see Mugen and Jin fight and hey, I’m all for that,
they’re perfect rivals for each other.
In a way, I kind of wanna change what I said a second ago: lose Fuu
altogether and make Samurai Champloo all about Mugen and Jin but theyre
traveling separately and end up running into each other in various situations,
building up a rivalry and even mutual respect but knowing at some point they’ll
have to settle their rivalry for good…huh, that…actually sounds like a much
better Anime imho.
I might be getting ahead of myself a bit but I’ll likely
come back to that topic in later reviews.
One thing I should definitely talk about in the premiere is Samurai
Champloo’s aesthetic choices.
Much like
how Watanabe gave the future of Cowboy Bebop a crazy good Jazz and Blues
soundtrack with visual nods to classic scifi and action films, Samurai Champloo
opts for hip hop/rap and a little R&B for its soundtrack while bringing
some of that same culture from present to past.
Mugen’s breakdancing fight moves; the usual of glasses and shades, even
some of the dialogue are right up there with modern dance, fashion and slang
choices.
The music, a collaboration
between artists Shinji "Tsutchie" Tsuchida of Shakkazombie, Fat Jon,
Nujabes and Force of Nature, is a different beast from Cowboy Bebop and a great
one at that.
I especially love the more
quieter, contemplative tracks as theyre mixed beautifully with the more serene
imagery when the action isnt happening.
It’s good stuff so far and I cant wait to hear more in later episodes.
Well I’ve finally started my look at Samurai Champloo and
after four episodes, it’s off to a little bit of a bumpy start but its got
plenty to enjoy as well.
Excellently
animated swordplay and a soundtrack that goes from chill to “let’s F’ing go” in
no time flat make up for the casts current lack of compatibility.
Still, it’s early days for Mugen, Jin and
Fuu.
And we’ll find out what they get up
to next time…aka tomorrow as we continue our special two part New Years
Premiere of Samurai Champloo right here at the Gundam here at Anime Corner.
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