When I think of stock standard anime ideas a few constants that keep popping up come to mind. Samurai shows, harem shows, school fighting, tentacle rape shows etc. So when I first heard of samurai champloo I was a little skeptical to say the least. Lets look at the pretence of the show, put some "awesome hip-hop" music into the fight scenes and we'll have some non-gay-show that everyones going to love! OK, so yeah, I was a doubter to begin with.But there are a few things that caught my eye with Samurai Champloo, the main draw card for me was that the director was Shinichiro Watanabe, the awesome guy behind the legendary Cowboy Bebop & the Knocking on Heavens Door Movie. I'm defiantly not into hip-hop or any of that gay American shit "tough guy" music shit, but slow sad ballads and heart felt piano themes are starting to hear sad song of the reaper cause they've been done over and over and over again that they don't only suck but blow at the very same time.
The story of Champloo was pretty basic, a whiny annoying girl saves the lives to two hardcore, but very different killers, that hate each other and basically forces them to help her find her runaway father instead of having an awesome duel to the death. The worst part is that she doesn't even offer them any nookie to come along with her or anything. I mean these guys get nothing except they get to trash her place.
Of the two samurai's Mugen is the loud and brash wild an unpredictable one that basically tears everything up while Gene is the smart and sensible, somewhat faggy one that is cool, calm and you know is fantasising about the next Michael Jackson album. The Girl, Fu, plays your typical damsel in distress for the most part of the series, constantly nagging and annoying the two boys into doing what she wants. One of the funniest parts of the series is one of the first few episodes where Mugen and Gene piss bolt at a fork in the road, ditching her. HAHAHAHA hilarious stuff.
Despite the first half of the series being fill with crappy filler eps of constant kidnappings and your typical poisoning's, all which makes it very hard to sit through the next episode it shapes up alright in the end. It's not set up for a sequel and each character has they time to shine and develops into much more than what they were at the beginning of the journey.
So what did I think of Samurai Champloo?
Despite pissing me off the first half of the series and the music being re-used and slightly out dated by the end, I enjoyed the fast paced brash humor of the characters and the simple yet consistent storyline goal. I guess you learn one valuable lesson in watching this series, don't travel with a guy you hate and a whiny frigid chick that's never going to put out.
I dub thee
