Review of Samurai Champloo

TLDR: Overall, this is a must watch for anyone who enjoys 1) Watanabe's work, 2) Samurai/Historical pieces, 3)stellar combat animation (for its time), or 4) unique shows that truly don't have any clones. I really wish this studio did not go bankrupt, because they really crafted a gem with this one. This is perhaps the first episodic anime (that I've seen) that actually works in this format. Supplemented by the impeccable hip hop and low-fi soundtrack (which might honestly be the greatest OST I've listened to) and a simple yet meticulous art style that is very similar to Avatar the Last Airbender, we get a daringstory of a 15 year old girl who enlists the help of two wandering samurai as her bodyguards as she travels Tokugawa Japan. It's rare for every single main character of a show to catch my attention, but all three here have very distinct and memorable personalities. There are other notable side characters that leave impressions, but because they typically do not show up beyond a single episode, this is without a doubt a story that revolves around the three main characters.

The world of Samurai Champloo is very rugged and unforgiving, so naturally the characters are molded from this backdrop. Mugen is an audacious character who takes what he wants when he wants it, regardless of who he hurts in the process. Jin is more tempered and respectful, but like Mugen does not hesitate to give in to carnal desires as is the norm for the time. Fuu is purposely less forceful and more compassionate (to reflect her naivety), but even she acknowledges that concepts like murder, theft etc. are commonplace and doesn't condemn them. Consequently, this show isn't about solving the injustices of the world or anything grand like that; instead it is about a group of strangers who are simply living day to day.

The synergy within the trio is perhaps the greatest reason to pick up this show. I never really felt like the main cast of Cowboy Bebop (the show which SC is compared to all the time) actually grew accustomed to one another or developed as characters over time. The trio here actually show signs of change, which helps to keep the episodic style fresh. It is also thanks to the stark differences in personality that the trio have that makes comedic bits work really well: from Mugen and Jin ignoring Fuu's lectures and nags, to them trying to ditch her more than once as a joke, to Mugen's tendency to get cockblocked by different women repeatedly despite the red flags, etc. The sense of humor that this show employs is a style that is not seen often in modern anime, if at all.

If I had to voice one complaint of Samurai Champloo, it would be its liberties with historical accuracy. Now, by the end of this show I realized that they weren't trying to hide the fact that they were making shit up and were instead having fun with it. However, early on the show felt much more "serious". I noticed how beat boxing samurai and advanced pistols were subtly popping up in Edo Japan, until eventually they were trying to gaslight us into a false timeline entirely with baseball (it was funny though!). While I enjoyed these gags overall, I much preferred when SC served as a commentary on how shitty it really was to live during this time period, and in addition scenes like the one in episode 14 (iykyk) were such masterpieces that I wanted to see more of them. Seriously, I could make an entire review on just that one single scene.

Thank you for reading.