Review of Samurai Champloo

"Why did we even go on this journey in the first place? I can't remember." Certainly not the strongest words to end a series on unless you are shooting for a piece of existential film-making. But honestly, Mugen is just about dead on with this assessment of the events that took place prior to Samurai Champloo's conclusion- a conclusion that comes with so little suspense and tension, you could have guessed it after the first few episodes. Not to mention the central driving mystery of the show is spoiled about five episodes before the climax! What the plot is is your typical ragtag adventure story andperhaps one could argue its not so much about the conclusion as it is about what happened to our protagonists throughout they travels; the point of the journey is not to arrive. And truth be told, some of these little stories are quite entertaining. The show is at its best when it is getting goofy and letting it's obviously diverse set of influences (music, sports, street art) shine brightly. Adversely, it is at its most contrived and tedious when it is spouting the same samurai period-piece tropes that are a dime-a-dozen in the anime medium.
Much like its spiritual predecessor, Cowboy Bebop, Champloo is crafted with a strong sense of style and an emphasis on music being a way to convey story and emotion. It works well and is entertaining when it strives to do this but when we are left with somber silence and slow paced exposition, things get pretty directionless and bland.
Where Cowboy Bebop was host to a roster of entertaining characters with rich backstories, populating an inventive and bizarre world, Samurai Champloo features a smaller cast with less humanizing detail written into them and a setting that has been well-tread at this point. I did appreciate the nods to historical accuracy and the brief narration of the history of Japan, but in terms of drama created by the atmosphere of a unique setting, it just can't compete.
Its a bit damning that show show will probably always be unfavorably compared to Cowboy Bebop, but the thing is they are just too similar for the viewer to not instantly draw comparisons.
What is handled very well is the fight scenes. It is almost justifiable to forget about the story completely and just soak up the eye candy that is these frenetic and superbly animated sword battles. The creators clearly have a love affair with the concept of the unbeatable swordsman and it appears that far more care was put into these choreographed dances of death than the rest of the show. For all that Mugen may lack as a character, he is fully realized as a furious, agile, improvisational fighter.
Its a quality show for those who are looking to see some badass fighting set in a traditional Japanese backdrop, with bits of comedic and musical flare peppered in. It just doesn't pull off the drama of this tale, which could have been very engaging, with much finesse.