Review of Samurai Champloo
Might i venture into my first review? I have several animes that i liked but none have compelled me into writing a proper review like Samurai Champloo(SC). Partially because I feel that this anime is under-rated - even though its still quite popular. Story (9): I think this might be the dealbreaker for people who came looking for a deep complex plot but end up with mostly episodic comedy, vaguely stringed along in this epic search for the "sunflower samurai". Ok, that "main" story is not entirely original too but I think you have to appreciate this anime from another starting point. Its not reallymeant to have a heavy backstory and has always been more Gintama than say, Naruto. Every episode consist of an epic turn of events involving the 3 protagonists as well as how they manage to resolve each one and continue forth in their journey Being someone who hates pointless plots, I actually find SC's story extremely enjoyable because even though we are being teased with some shady ambitions of finding the sunflower samurai, the ultimate redeeming factor (that really exceeds expectations) is the hilarity and tastefulness across all episodes. I've never seen this sort of spontaneous, almost random humour done sotwell and yet have the drama, emotional parts done so tastefully.
Art (10): Ambitious and genius - urban historic japan. Totally creating a new style of its own. Its not like explaining why this pasta creation is better than other pastas from other places. Its like asking me to explain why i enjoy chocolate cake altogether in a world of pasta restaurants. Okay, bad metaphor but the point is, how do you explain why you like chocolate cake?? Its just all the right ingredients, baked just perfect. Its not just a superficial mash-up like adding graffiti and rapping to parts of the story but its how the entire character and story is developed. Mugen can be talking and walking down some dark alley in modern tokyo and no one would bat an eye. He'd still be the hooligan (imo) easily in both time periods.
Characters (9): I always fall in love with the character first before the story. And I love Mugen and Jin! How they are polar opposites in their personality and how that ripples into their speech, style and swordplay. Such detail to character design really shines through and throughout the anime. It also adds such flavour to the fight scenes- one of the highlights of the anime. The way Jin cleanly slices and the way Mugen sporadically spars. My only complaint is the difference in the development of each character. Jin's development is good but pales in comparison to Mugen. And Fuu is the worst of all. Its almost like the sole purpose of her existence is to tie the sunflower samurai story together. Her character never feels fully developed, is pretty generic/replaceable and gives the overall feel of being a small supporting role. Its a shame because I really don't think they meant it to be this way. This is the reason why I can't give 10 even though I'd really like to.. Maybe if there had more episodes they would be able to bring her character to life.
Sound (10): 11/10 if i could. Outstanding music in the anime. At first it might strike as odd because its like mixing hiphop/jazz in a historic edo japan anime but the music really ties it up nicely. If it wasnt for the music, that theme would have failed miserably, striking people as more awful and awkward. By the second episode, I thoroughly enjoyed the opening and ending. Beside Durarara's opening, I havent had another anime where I would sit through all the openings and endings so patiently. I really enjoyed the opening and ending. Such great choice of music! Also throughout the anime, the music blends amazingly well even when its reduced down to just a hiphop beat repeating through a particular dramatic/fight scene. Its perfect when the music thickens and when it thins. Its rare how music can so strongly carry the theme of the anime, almost like the theme came from first, the choice of the music. Its reallly sad that the music theme producer for the anime died at a young age, such talent! Just based on music/sound, I would rank SC number one across all anime.
Enjoyment (10): Outstanding because everything about this anime is playful, hilarious and tasteful. The humour is alittle r-rated, alittle random and spontaneous, alittle crack, alittle witty. What else can you ask for??
Overall (10): Outstanding! A piece of art! Really worth the watch. One of the few anime I can imagine myself rewatching!