Review of Samurai Champloo
Samurai Champloo was a show I struggled to get into initially specifically because of the shows formatting. The main plot revolves around Fuu seeking a "samurai that smells of sunflowers" and due to circumstances she comes to recruit Jin and Mugen (a ronin and a Ryukyuan man) to help her on her journey. PLOT 8/10: The main story takes a background seat most of the time to the travels that the 3 characters have. Sometimes they're messing around and find a crucial piece of information for their journey, other times it seems like an unrelated bonus episode with some plot thrown in at the lastminute. It's best to enjoy this show as it is; don't expect it to be totally serious the whole time or light-weight. There are some serious things that go on such as rape, murder, Indigenous genocide/exploitation, misogyny and sexualization of minors. Fuu in particular is treated poorly throughout the show, mocked for just about anything she does or doesn't do.
CHARACTERS 7/10: All three main characters have something to dislike about them in particular, but they also go through some excellent character development. Fuu is a 15 year old girl from beginning to end, and handles the situations the way you would expect. Crying, whining and immaturity should be expected. Mugen is a few years older and is a bit more complicated than he looks. He is a Ryukyuan man from the Okinawa region and is a career criminal, with no qualms about murdering people for profit or personal gain. Throughout the show he goes through various experiences that touch on his heritage and his redeeming stubbornness.
Jin is mostly boring, unfortunately. Both Jin and Mugen are amazing fighters and seeing them in battle is a treat, especially with the background music. Jin is clearly still working through his issues and the consequences of leaving his previous life, but he is generally a clearheaded person who at least thinks before he acts (usually).
MUSIC 10/10: The music is excellent. Hip-hop is a diverse musical genre that is played throughout the show in a variety of ways, and hip hop culture and art are prominent in the show. Mugen's style of combat is based on breakdancing. There are some lovely traditional Okinawan songs.
OVERALL 9/10: While looking past some ugly parts of the show (casual threats of rape, sex trafficking, machismo), this is really enjoyable. Some of the negative attitudes or commentary serve to remind you that NONE OF THESE PEOPLE ARE PERFECT and some of them are even TERRIBLE, especially Mugen who is so out of touch with his feelings that he uses violence and aggression as a response to anything, including affection. Much of this is not redeemed until near the end of the show which can make him almost painful to endure at times. If you've been scrolling past this show thinking it wasn't worth your time, I recommend it for sure if you're a fan of samurai anime and don't want to deal with too complicated a plot. The rewatch value is high as well.
Final mention: The inclusion of indigenous people in Japanese media should be looked at critically and enjoyed with a pinch of salt. Many negative stereotypes of indigenous people, especially Ainu and Ryukyuan, are touched on or even validated in this show. Take a chance with this to learn about the descendants of the Jomon and other indigenous peoples in Japan and your own region.