But the anime you battled at level 12:30 am were unforgettable…
The last of my weekly midnight escapades ended with a FullMetal Alchemist fandom. I battled my fair share of “lower-ranked” anime, however many of them have stuck with me to this day. Samurai Champloo being one of them. Back then, I really didn’t understand much, but if I couldn’t be completely conscious of everything that was going on, I knew it was OK to go to bed, that FMA was over, once I heard the opening song to this anime, plus I thought smelling like sunflowers was pretty cool… years after I stopped watching Adult Swim regularly, I read the manga for this series, then MANY years after that, I used this new-fangled Netflix to watch the whole series again. Please note that I watched all 20-something episodes a couple months ago now, so my recollection may not be pristine.
Story: 7/10
The anime is listed as “episodic,” however, it gives the main goal of finding the “Samurai who Smells of Sunflowers.” That being said, one would think that Samurai Champloo would be more of a plot-full anime than an episodic one. Unfortunately not so. However, most of the episodes were not useless. They pushed along character development, or hinted at the ultimate goal. I think that there could have been more plot to make Samurai Champloo more of an elaborate series, add a dash more of character development, tie that in, and we’ve got ourselves gold.
I believe that the story lacked in plot advancement. In the last three episodes, the story picked up, moved quickly, and then concluded. That’s not a TERRIBLE thing until you look at the episode count being over 13, because, let’s face it, if the plot isn’t intricate and doesn’t need the relative amount of episodes it takes to tell the story, the episodes in between could be considered a waste of time.
Animation: 6/10
There were a couple things harming Samurai Champloo in the way of animation; detail isn’t prominent, and bits of the animation just looked BAD – faces were sometimes disfigured, bodies sometimes not anatomically or proportionally correct. And I think I’ve found some features just missing on occasion.
However, I do give credit that the action scenes were animated well, along with the opening and ending sequences. Artistically speaking, a lot of the colors of the towns, what supporting characters wore, and environment supported the tone of different scenes, which is icing on the cake. Plus, remixy scene transitions were pretty neat.
Sound: 10/10
Watching this on Toonami, you only got to hear English dub voices. I dipped my toe to test the English dub waters upon watching this again, and before I knew it, I was cannonballing in. No character voice is bad, the casting is done very well. The sound effects were pristine, down to characters padding along on tatami mats and splashing in the mud.
What I REALLY want to talk about is the soundtrack. I believe this is the first time I’m mentioning my iPod. I don’t put many video game or anime soundtracks on myPod unless I deem them worthy enough. Samurai Champloo’s made it. Think Adult Swim’s blurb segments, but with a little more hip-hop. I’m sure this is what the cool kids in the breakdance club listen to. Yes, a lot of the songs come from the same bass/snare line, but it’s the addition of classical instruments and filters that do it for me.
Characters: 7/10
I have mixed feelings about the characters. Some of the supporting characters had neat designs, but the main cast wasn’t anything fantastic. Not bad, nonetheless. I would imagine that characters who acted like Fuu, Jin, and Mugen did would wear what they were made to.
While I liked the characters, I thought that there could have been a bit more depth to them. I feel you barely skim the surface of Mugen and Jin, and Fuu was the main focus though she wasn’t THE main character. We never get why the two guys stick with Fuu to look for the samurai who smells of sunflowers, or why they stop fighting. I’m also not sure how I take the characters seeming like they’re changing through the anime, but the last note was sung as if all of the characters just go back to normal.
Even though I feel like the character tropes being mashed together is near cliché, doesn’t mean that it’s a fun time and that I don’t like it. They made for some actual comedic moments.
Overall: 7.8/10
Samurai Champloo could definitely be perfected in many areas, but it doesn’t mean it’s a bad anime, it had many positives hidden within. The music and lulz were what kept me going. I liked the characters, and even though the story isn’t exactly suspenseful, I was curious about the ending of it. However, for someone who is looking for a grand, exciting adventure, don’t expect much.
Melodux’s Musings: “You didn’t score this anime very high, why do you seem to like it so much?” I would hate to put all the weight on music, but I do believe that could be it. Music is so sewn in to Samurai Champloo {in some cases more than “music” anime}, that it’s everywhere. The setting is in an alternate edo-era Japan, where hip-hop culture is very prevalent, and you can see it in some “non-traditional” attire and actions. It’s a little hard to explain, and is better shown. But with the music being so good, and having it everywhere, I think that it’s something Samurai Champloo has unique to itself and it’s an anime I wouldn’t pass up.
