It didn’t quite live up to what I hoped for.
At first I found the art style of this show to be kind of ugly especially in the first few episodes it reminded me a lot of this one show called The Nutshack, it wasn’t intolerably ugly but I definitely didn’t like it. With time, I don’t know if the budget increased or it just grew on me but eventually I found myself warming up to this shows art style. The animation itself is pretty nice. The fight scenes are full of style, they have a nice flow, and are just so visceral and engaging. Anytime I saw anyone pull out a sword I knew it was gonna be peak.
Similarly I really like the style of this show. I don’t know how to describe it but just the way the show carries itself is one of a kind. The fusion of samurai and the dancey hip hop style and soundtrack is just so good. The soundtrack from the licensed music to the ost is really good and I see myself listening to it on my own. I definitely see the Cowboy Bebop comparisons here and just as good it was there, it’s good here too. I mean there’s literally a samurai who has beatbox battles. That’s the coolest shit ever. Not to mention this show is just genuinely really funny, the humor landed every time and there were a lot of moments where I laughed out loud.
However the other aspects of this show for me was kind of lacking. Nothing abhorrent just disappointing due to the fact the same people who made Cowboy Bebop made this show. I don’t mind episodic shows, they can be just as good as serialized shows but they have to feel eventful, Samurai Champloo, to me at least, just felt very uneventful. To compare it to Cowboy Bebop again, that show was episodic too but every episode developed the characters and/or themes which made each and every one of them important. Here there are so many episodes that don’t really amount to anything. It doesn’t help that this shows themes aren’t as captivating as CB’s. They had the potential to be, but they were just executed poorly. Throughout the entire series I was constantly wondering when things were going to develop and they never really did for most of it. No drama, no drive, the same repeated plot again and again. This whole show is about “it’s about the journey and not the destination” but it didn’t work as well because I didn’t really end up caring for the journey and the characters had very little chemistry, they didn’t form any bonds throughout the series beyond the relationships/dynamics they had from episode 1. They never really evolved, we didn’t get to know them until it was way too late. In fact we don’t even know why Fuu wants to find the samurai who smells of sunflowers until episode 19. Even in the end nothing happens, things don’t really tie together, it just ends. The characters themselves question why they even went on this journey. They all just part ways and it feels like nothing mattered.
For what’s its worth the last few episodes (especially the final 3 episodes) were really good (aside from the actual ending). They were pretty much everything I wanted from this show but it’s just at this point it’s too late for me to fall in love with the show. Still, I’m not exaggerating when I’m saying those final 3 episodes were so good, if for anything, I’d rewatch this series for those alone.
My favorite episodes of this show tended to be the ones where it’d focus on the characters such as Jin falling in love with a woman in a brothel, Mugen getting put near death from his old allies, the elegy of entrapment 2 parter (Baseball Blues was one of my favorites too but it didn’t really fall under this category). Not only did they just have so many memorable moments such as Jin letting the woman go and Mugen’s old friend begging him to kill her, they are just full of so much lore, character, and advance the themes of the story. All of that is genuinely so good and reminds me of the best parts of Cowboy Bebop however it’s just most of the show is full of meaningless filler episodes so those episodes feel so few and far between.
In conclusion, I think my comparisons and expectations kinda ruined this show which is definitely my fault, nothing on the show or the team. Still, I did find myself enjoying this show and I would by no means say it’s bad, just not as enjoyable as its sister show or any other show like it that I’ve seen. Granted, maybe a rewatch is necessary. In the end, it feels more style than substance and therefore I just don’t have my heart in the show like some of the others I’ve seen. Like a dad would say trying to scold his son, I’m not mad, just disappointed.
