Review of Samurai Champloo

Originally watched half way eight years ago and dropped because someone had a hold on the next disc at the library and I was getting impatient. Was it worth the wait to finally finish it? Honestly yeah. Samurai Champloo is tempered with a very clear artistic vision and absolutely cutting animation that out stylized the rest of its class of Spring 2004 anime. Even Monster with its aesthetic richness is arguably unable to compete with fast paced stylish swag of Champloo. The lighthearted way the anime taps into nearly every Jidaigeki trope for an amusing tone and can still perfectly pivot for an intense battle ora tender emotional moment is truly elite in execution. Director Watanabe Shinchiro also deserves props for trailblazing the fusion of hip hop and samurai that still exists as a tiny micro genre to be found occasionally in various other mediums such as the Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! opening. A natural evolution of 'cool setting meets smooth music' that Watanabe establishes in Cowboy Bebop, but pushing this choice further with a lot of hip hop culture that even if not perfectly represented still showcases a vague punk ethos and an undeniable edge.

Also featuring the greatest baseball filler episode ever aired. With a cameo shot drawn of the one and only Ichiro!