Review of Samurai Champloo

A lot of people compare Samurai Champloo with Cowboy Bebop and with good reasoning; they were both directed by the same person and all have similarities with each other. Samurai Champloo takes the key ideas of Cowboy Bebop and takes that jazzy space feel and turns it into old school hip hop with samurai. Even with both of these shows sharing key ideas, Samurai Champloo uses its characters, setting, and art to break away from being seen as a rehash and more like a new take on the episodic action genre in an entirely new world. Story: The story follows three characters, Mugen, Jin, and Fuuas they travel across Japan searching for the samurai that smells like sunflowers. The story follows an episodic type of narrative that gives a different scenario each episode, making the protagonists gain another step towards their goal. I felt that each episode offered something new, introducing a small story each episode that kept you interested from beginning to end. Some of these stories were so well done I found myself revisiting some past episodes. The setting is done nicely and makes it feel like a realistic world. The only problem I have with the story is that I wish there was more focus on the main plot as well as the episodes. Only fractions of the main plot are revealed in the episodes and you feel that the episodic plots are stronger than the main plot.

Art: The art style in the anime is very stylish, mixing both classical Japanese art with the graffiti of modern times. The animation is smooth during the action and the backgrounds are beautifully.

Sound: The soundtrack is just like the art. Classical Japanese music mixed with the old school hip hop. Even with the two being completely unrelated they fit together perfectly. The opening and ending themes are both enjoyable to listen and I found myself listening to the tracks multiple times. The sound effects in the anime was a bit basic but it fit the sword fighting and the environment.

Character: The three main characters all act completely different.Mugen is wild and crude,Jin, a is calm and well mannered, and Fuu acts cute but also ugly at sometimes. All three of these characters together are likable and interesting to discover who they really are. I did find Fuu more like a damsel since is the one that always gets captured throughout the show. I actually liked the other characters more than the main characters. The supporting characters in each episode are all very funny and the episode villains make good opponents to the main characters. I just felt that the main characters didn't have enough development as the show progressed and they never changed who they are.

Enjoyment: Overall this show was enjoyable from beginning to start. The action is awesome, the humor is hysterical, and the drama kept you interested the entire time. What made it so enjoyable was the mixture of the hip hop to the sword fighting giving you an awesome mix of sound and action.
I was entertained the entire series.

Verdict: All and all if you like action based series with a great soundtrack and are into episodic adventures, you should give Samurai Champloo a try. The only problems I had with it was that the main story wasn't focused on as much and the characters do not really develop throughout the series.

Story: 8
Art: 9
Sound: 9
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 9

(This was my first review so if you have any suggestions on how to become a better reviewer or any positive feedback, thank you.)