Samurai Champloo

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: SAMURAI CHAMPLOO
Japanese: サムライチャンプルー
English: Samurai Champloo
More titles

Information

Type: TV
Episodes: 26
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: May 20, 2004 to Mar 19, 2005
Premiered: Spring 2004
Broadcast: Saturdays at 10:30 (JST)
Studios: Manglobe
Source: Original
Genres: ActionAction, AdventureAdventure, ComedyComedy
Themes: HistoricalHistorical, SamuraiSamurai
Duration: 24 min. per ep.
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Statistics

Score: 8.511 (scored by 652538652,538 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #1392
2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #109
Members: 1,274,603
Favorites: 38,900

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8.51
Ranked #139Popularity #109Members 1,274,603
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Episodes: /26

Synopsis

Fuu Kasumi is a young and clumsy waitress who spends her days peacefully working in a small teahouse. That is, until she accidentally spills a drink all over one of her customers! With a group of samurai now incessantly harassing her, Fuu desperately calls upon another samurai in the shop, Mugen, who quickly defeats them with his wild fighting technique, utilizing movements reminiscent to that of breakdancing. Unfortunately, Mugen decides to pick a fight with the unwilling ronin Jin, who wields a more precise and traditional style of swordfighting, and the latter proves to be a formidable opponent. The only problem is, they end up destroying the entire shop as well as accidentally killing the local magistrate's son.

For their crime, the two samurai are captured and set to be executed. However, they are rescued by Fuu, who hires the duo as her bodyguards. Though she no longer has a place to return to, the former waitress wishes to find a certain samurai who smells of sunflowers and enlists the help of the now exonerated pair to do so. Despite initially disapproving of this idea, the two eventually agree to assist the girl in her quest; thus, the trio embark upon an adventure to find this mysterious warrior—that is, if Fuu can keep Mugen and Jin from killing each other.

Set in an alternate Edo Period of Japan, Samurai Champloo follows the journey of these three eccentric individuals in an epic quest full of action, comedy, and dynamic sword fighting, all set to the beat of a unique hip-hop infused soundtrack.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Background

Samurai Champloo is the only anime to have featured music from the Japanese hip-hop producer Nujabes prior to his death in 2010. The anime also spawned the 2006 video game Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked for the PlayStation 2.

The show aired in two parts, with the first half airing Thursdays at 2:28 AM on Fuji TV from May 20, 2004 to September 23, 2004, and the second half airing Saturdays at 10:30 AM on BS Fuji from January 22, 2005 to March 19, 2005.

Geneon Entertainment USA originally licensed and released the show in North America, but after their closure in late 2007, the show went out of print. FUNimation Entertainment later entered a distribution deal with Geneon to distribute some of their titles, including Samurai Champloo. After the distribution deal ended, FUNimation later outright licensed the series.

Characters & Voice Actors

Mugen

Main
Nakai, Kazuya
Japanese

Jin

Main
Sato, Ginpei
Japanese

Kasumi, Fuu

Main
Kawasumi, Ayako
Japanese

Sara

Supporting
Tamagawa, Sakiko
Japanese

Sakami, Manzou

Supporting
Ishizuka, Unshou
Japanese

Imano, Yatsuha

Supporting
Hidaka, Noriko
Japanese

Kariya, Kagetoki

Supporting
Sugou, Takayuki
Japanese

Shinpachi

Supporting
Afra
Japanese

Bundai

Supporting
Wakamoto, Norio
Japanese

Sakonshougen, Nagamitsu

Supporting
Yamadera, Kouichi
Japanese

Staff

Satomi, Tetsurou
Producer
Watanabe, Shinichirou
Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard


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Opening Theme

Preview
Spotify
Apple Music
Amazon Music
Youtube Music
"Battlecry" by Nujabes feat. Shing02 (eps 1-25)
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Ending Theme

1: "Shiki no Uta (四季ノ唄)" by MINMI (eps 1-11,13-16,18-22,24-25)
2: "Who's Theme" by MINMI (eps 12)
3: "YOU" by kazami (eps 17)
4: "FLY [SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS]" by Tsutchie & fat jon (eps 23)
5: "San Francisco" by MIDICRONICA (eps 26)

Episode Videos




Reviews

Apr 21, 2010
"Samurai Champloo" may not have the same ring to it as "Cowboy Bebop," yet it is a title that has a similar function: to illustrate a combination of multicultural pulp fiction sensibility. Where Cowboy Bebop was a past + future fusion of jazz, rock, and blues, spaghetti western, kung fu, and noir cinema genres, and a setting equating outer space to the great frontier, Samurai Champloo is a more wildly anachronistic mélange of Edo-period history and contemporary hip-hop and bohemian culture. "Champloo" itself comes from the word "chanpurū," Okinawan for "something mixed," and a source of Okinawa's pride in multicultural acceptance. Cowboy ...
Oct 30, 2007
Mixed Feelings
This show could have been something special on the same page as such classics like Ninja Scroll(NOT THE TV SERIES), Samurai X OVAs, Rurouni Kenshin, or Basilisk.

Samurai Champloo could have been great like the classics above, but it ended up like Samurai Deeper Kyo. Just average, nothing special. There was nothing really special about the show. The characters were interesting, but not compelling. By the end I didn't really care that much about anyone of them. The mix of comedy was the one pretty good part of the show. The music was just bad, no make that terrible. The action never got me excited. ...
Jun 3, 2020
FunnyFunny
Alright this is the first review I've ever written so sorry if it's not the best quality.
Hope this helps you if you're planning on watching this show.

Story: 5

Now honestly i was pretty disappointed by Champloo's story, you see I'm a massive fan of Watanabes most popular work 'Cowboy Bebop' and I expected this story to be of similiar quality as it is held in the same high regard but considered 'heavily underrated' compared to Bebop but that is completely false. Firstly this show is mainly episodic which could have worked in it's favour as Cowboy Bebop was mainly episodic and amazing but Champloo's ...

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