Review of Samurai Champloo

Characters- Mugen is very hot headed, act first, think later, and muscles through authorities, and those who are prepared to die. Jin is his opposite, cool headed, logical thinker, and quiet. Fuu is timid, but not at the cost of seeing others oppressed; she needs both Mugen and Jin to protect her on her journey to find a samurai of sunflowers. If there's anything personality wise these three have in common, it's that their pride, and dignity is worth dying for. Their back story however, is shown through other characters seeking revenge, old friendships etc. (9) Story-Two bodyguards protect a girl, and help find the samuraiwho smells of sunflower. Such a simple plot? Well, This is where the show shines very bright. Every episode is a story in itself that can show tragedy, openness, comedy, beauty, and ideals. The three protagonists, interacting with each other, those they meet, and how natural everything plays out; nothing seems forced. This is easily planned by how different the three are, how they're dirt poor, and need information on a samurai they know nothing of. The sad part is, the story could have been over in about 8 episodes, but all the problems they face are ones created by mugen and jin. The quote "It's not about the end result, but the journey," is emphasized in this show greatly. The end result is very anti-climactic, but you don't care about that, and neither do our protagonists. And honest as a beaver, I don't think I'm alone when I say Fuu would have had an easier journey if she never traveled with her "bodyguards," but that's what makes this story brilliant. All that horrible stuff they deal with, the blood, sweat, and anger, is very stressing, yet, they wouldn't have it any other way. To them all that was worth the new found friendship they gained. (9.8)

Sound- Very amazing. The mixture from Hip-hop, and Japanese sounding music go very well together. All the songs go incredibly well into the event that's taking place. Using only piano on those soft moments, and rapid tempo that would hype up a fight. (8.8)

Art- Once again, very good. the characters in the show are very clean, and their actions have no choppiness. The backgrounds depict the beauty of the edo period. It's subtle about it, but really makes you want to see it for how it was. Also the backgrounds are sometimes still paintings. (9)

Enjoyment- Very. I've watched this series 17 times so far, and it doesn't age; it only gets better. (10)