Samurai Champloo Recommended

Publisher
Geneon / MVM
Director
Shinichiro Watanabe
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes / 25 minutes
Year
2004

Samurai Champloo Volume 2

By otaku_kei
16th Dec 05

Taking another trip back to Shogunate –era Japan with our favourite samurai and hip-hop mix: it’s Samurai Champloo! In the previous volume we were introduced to Fuu, Mugen and Jin as they first banded together to track down the samurai who smells of sunflowers. Now whilst this may sound as if the show already has a story arc – you’d be wrong. This set-up simply allows for this trio to then take to a rambling across Japan ending up in adventures and trouble. And this show does it so very well. The episodic nature of this show, much like Shinichiro Watanabe’s ‘Cowboy Bebop’, allows for a broad scope of creative freedoms with the plot of this show. So if you are after battles, rivalry, yakuza, samurai and comedy then this show delivers.

So with four episodes on this disc we get quite a few different tones to the show: from Fuu getting kidnapped as part of a human sex slave trafficking scam, or the light hearted episode where all three get caught up in an eating contest and losing to a European. Or the episode where our tri9o attempt to track down a thief who is motivated by more than greed, and rounding off this brace of episodes disc is an encounter with an ego-centric samurai hunter and his feeble attempts to woo Fuu into his ‘harem of his heart’, and how this all ties into Jin’s past. Once again the diversity of this show is to be applauded, a show that continually keeps the viewer on the edge of their seats! Of course the action scenes remain as fluid and exciting as those from the first volume, and you can be assured that whenever either Mugen or Jin draw their swords there is sure to be some ferocious swordplay!

This show has come a long way from the first volume already, whilst the first few episodes really tried to get the mood of each of these characters the writers seem to have moved on from that and just allowed for free character development from whatever they encounter along the journey. Mugen’s past remains shrouded in mystery even though he is quite clearly a headstrong loner simply tagging along out of some idea of obligation, Fuu’s motivations are also unclear. Whilst clearly a more open and trusting individual her relationship to this ‘samurai who smells of sunflowers’ has not at all been enlightened. Rounding off this trio is Jin who has slightly more of his past revealed but each of these characters still have a lot of story to be told.

Now of course there will be comparisons with Watanabe’s earlier fan-favourite ‘Cowboy Bebop’, and this volume does little to really set this show apart from a ‘Bebop in the past’ vibe that it has had so far. Not that there is anything really wrong with that so far as it is a successful and entertaining formula. Yet that in itself is the issue. When we have seen this all before a few years back, we are hoping for something new with Samurai Champloo! Yes this show remains a highly enjoyable experience, and I cannot criticise the obvious care and attention that the creators have put into this show, but I truly hope that this show finds its own footing rather than being defined by the incidentals of place and hip-hop style and yet remaining essentially a Bebop clone. Yet aside from that one complaint I cannot recommend this show enough, the characters are engaging, the action exciting, and the stories enjoyable, all wrapped up in a package that just oozes flamboyant style!

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English Language 5.1; Japanese Language 5.1; Japanese Language 2.0; English Language Subtitles; Creditless Closin; MVM Trailers

Release information: OUT NOW

Notes: A recent series this show is presented beautifully transferred onto disc, with several different audio options for whatever your set-up is. The packaging is also superb, with the graffeti style cover art fitting well with the vibe of the show. A lack of extras is the main gripe here, with this being a strictly bare-bones release, but MVM as always find themselves limited by what extras there are on offer.

-- otaku_kei 16th Dec 05

Samurai Champloo Images