SAMURAI CHAMPLOO | Review | Pinnedupink.com

SAMURAI CHAMPLOO

A TRULY OUTSTANDING ANIME

Samurai Champloo is one of my personal favorites among the anime I have watched. When I saw it back when it was first airing, I couldn’t understand even a single bit of what was happening on the screen. Everything, without a doubt, was quite confusing! But after re-watching it all these years later, I’ve come to understand the fantastic concept and nature of this anime truly.

Shinichiro Watanabe is an absolute genius, and in case you guys don’t know, that’s the same guy who made Cowboy Bebop. Sadly, most people don’t end up watching this anime till the end because of its slow pacing. However, it is a must-watch show that every fan of the Samurai genre needs to check out!

Today, I will be providing an honest review for this classic masterpiece that has outlived its era and has never ceased to amaze fans of all generations.

SAMURAI CHAMPLOO REVIEW - Pinnedupink.com

The story takes place in the Edo period of Japan, somewhere between 1603 and 1868. It starts with our waitress Fuu at a tea house. While serving the customers, she spills the tea on the son of a noble and gets in trouble; as a last resort, she calls out to the other samurai to save her.

Now comes Mugen, who quickly makes minced meat out of all the other samurai with his weird combat style that looks very similar to breakdancing. While fighting all of these people, Mugen comes face-to-face with another Samurai named Jin. Jin, a relatively calm and collected personality, had entered the shop because of all the commotion. Both start to fight against each other and ultimately destroy the tea shop.

In the end, both of them get captured for the death of the noble. However, before their execution, they get saved by Fuu, who manages to convince them to help her find the Sunflower Samurai. Now begins the journey of a clumsy girl, a serious yet unserious vagabond, and a rogue, and as you might’ve already guessed, the three of them can’t get along with each other!

I know that sounds like a pretty mediocre plot-line. Well, you will be surprised to know that the way the anime progresses and the events that lead to the ending are just breathtaking. The plot twists, the conflicts, the bonding between three strangers, and many other things in this anime will leave you in awe. Also, the way it all comes together at the end truly leaves a feeling of satisfaction.

As far as animation goes, the entire anime has a flawless and clear look. Studio Manglobe outdid itself with this marvelous beauty! With the fantastic choreography, which is insane for its time, all the fight scenes are well put, and they manage to keep all of us at the edges of our seats. The styles of sword fighting and the quick decisions that could end up getting one killed were very lifelike to see.

The art style was very decent in its own respect, sometimes regressing to a vague ink-like feeling, while at other times, it became so absorbed by colors that it looked like a weird hallucination. All in all, without a doubt, everything regarding the visuals compliments each other.

The characters in this anime are all very unique and very different from one another. They all have different personalities that don’t get along well with each other. Let us take a closer look at the three main characters!

FUU:

Fuu Kasami is one of the main protagonists of this series. Fuu is generally seen with a brown ponytail in her pink yukata. She’s hard to miss! Well, that is to be expected from the main character. She has a very bright personality and trusts others, which causes her a lot of pain. She is like a walking disaster waiting to happen! Our girl is prone to get lost, picking fights, and somehow ending up in the middle of everything. She also tends to carry a flying squirrel with her in her yukata, which helps her more often than not.

Mugen:

The second of our protagonists is Mugen, one of the two bodyguards of Fuu. His prominent features include baggy clothes, messy hair, and a terrible personality to go with them. He’s an antihero. Rude, vulgar, arrogant, and temperamental are just a few of the words that can describe his personality. In terms of fighting, he is one of the strongest characters in the entire series who can take any kind of enemy head-on!

Jin:

Last but not least, we have jin, the second of the two bodyguards. He was a student of Kenjutsu, who, after killing his own master, fled and ended up with the other two. His glasses can easily recognize jin since not many people wear glasses in his world. Jin has long black hair that he ties back, and he wears a blue haori.

This guy is the complete opposite of Mugen in more than a few ways! Jin is the calm and collected guy among the three and often leads them out of dire situations using his brilliant mental capabilities. Though, he can be a pain in the back sometimes because his attitude towards the other two is not very pleasant.

This anime is like a real hidden gem among countless others that have outlived their own time and collected fans almost a decade later. I, for one, regret not experiencing it to the fullest when I first watched it!

But with a better understanding, I’m happy I decided to re-watch this insanely good anime. Twenty-four episodes cover the entire story; each episode focuses on a new aspect of the story that all of us can find pretty relatable. The one thing that got me hooked was the fantastic collection of soundtracks in this anime! If you ever think western hip-hop can’t mix with eastern times, this anime will change your mind completely.