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I am probably one of the very few people that have watched Samurai Champloo before Cowboy Bebop. I find this great as I don't end up comparing the two as they are directed by the same person, Shinchiro Watanabe. Because Cowboy Bebop is highly acclaimed as one of the best Anime out there, it would not help out Champloo's case as it would be frowned upon for not being as good as Cowboy Bebop. Anyways, onto the Review!

Samurai Champloo is a 2004 anime directed by Shinchiro Watanabe and produced by studio Manglobe, which follows the story of 3 main protagonists; Mugen, Jin, and Fuu as ... they "coincidentally" run into each other and set off on Fuu's goal of reaching the "Samurai that smells of Sunflowers." This anime is set in a Fictional Edo period of Japan, with many hip hop elements mixed in with traditional Japanese culture.

Even though Champloo does have a main goal, this series is mainly episodic, focusing on the actual journey than the goal itself. This does hurt the story a bit as it feels like the end goal is just a plot element to keep the story going. However, each episode, though rather formulaic at times, is very intriguing with the various people they meet on the way and the various struggles they have. There are also many comedic elements in Champloo, which are for the most part hit and miss. There is one scene in all of Champloo that is pretty hilarious, and you will know what I'm talking about.

As someone who has been watching more recent titles, it is hard to judge Champloo as it is a 2004 anime, and production quality has soared since that time. However, you can easily tell that the quality on the animation was top notch at it's time. All the fight scenes are absolutely beautiful, with everything being so smooth and captivating. There are few times when you can notice the quality of the animation drop during less action-oriented scenes, but are fairly rare.

Soundwise, Samurai Champloo does something completely different that I personally have never seen in an anime. It's main genre of music is hip hop, with some "Traditional" Japanese music thrown in. I myself am not a big fan of Hip Hop, but it does go well with the show, and I did enjoy it for the most part. The opening took a while to get used to, but I now regard it as one of my favourites. The ending is also very catchy, and could even be better than the opening track if Hip Hop isn't in you're musical tastes.

The characters of Samurai Champloo are it's weakest element. You have Mugen, the badass samurai that fights in a completely unorthadox style and takes no shit from nobody. Then we have Jin, who is basically the polar opposite of Mugen, where he is a more traditional samurai and doesn't talk
as much, and acts a lot more calm and collected. Then we have Fuu, a girl who gets kidnapped a lot, eats everyone out of house and home, and is completely depended on Mugen and Jin. This is ironic because Fuu is the only one that gets any character development. There is also very little backstory for all of the main protagonists, which is pretty disappointing. I do however like the contrast that Jin and Mugen have with each other, and provides a sort of balance. And even though Mugen's character is static throughout the series, it is just plain fun to watch him spew out profanity and watch his obscure way of fighting.

Overall, this anime is just cool. It has many flaws in itself, but the sheer badassery of it all just makes it a fun experience. The whole historical fiction thing might throw a few people off, but I do recommend this quite highly. Thanks for reading my first anime review, I hope you found this helpful!
-Furdlegurdle