Back to panicmage's Profile panicmage's Profile

Samurai Champloo is an anime I suggest to many of my friends who are just getting into anime. If you are a beginner to anime, I say give this show your best shot, sit back, and enjoy the drama, action, and occasional hilarity that follows Mugen, Jin, and Fuu.

I watched this show when I was trying to define my taste in anime, so I wasn't quite new to anime but had only watched mediocre and "mainstream" anime- never something that fully gave me reason to think any further about anime. Samurai Champloo helped me figure out that sound design, pacing, and beautifully crafted action scenes ... were more than just "something that maybe happened once or twice in any show".

SOUND ★★★★★
Nujabes is a name I wont forget anytime soon.
The perfect flow between the action in Samurai Champloo and the R&B beats that make everything cohesive alone makes this show worth watching. Seriously! The soundtrack for this show oozes with style and uniqueness that only Samurai Champloo can have.

ART ★★★★★
On my initial watch of Samurai Champloo I had found myself wanting to mimic the art style of the show. The somewhat stylised characters that have designs that are appealing and not so gaudy that they distract from serious beats in the story, but not so serious that they become bland and flavourless. The gorgeous imagery that comes with backgrounds scenes, especially the details in the cities the crew passes by in their journey. And finally, just the sheer style that, as I said before, can only be found with Samurai Champloo. I think the best way to see it is just by watching the opening. (If you're contemplating watching this show, I urge you to watch the opening!) My only gripe with the art in this show is that most characters have features that are small, all designs look pretty cohesive and like they belong with each other, though Fuu seems to be an exception. She doesn't look bad, but she does not seem to be designed with any other purpose than "cute girl". That's acceptable to me though, in a world that doesn't do this to every female character.

ENJOYMENT ★★★★
I watched this show with my boyfriend, so this section may have some feelings apart of it more than what the anime alone had given me, so take this with a grain of salt! I loved watching this show. I would eagerly get in the discord call and wait for the opening, hoping to see a resolution to all of the characters' stories. Regardless if the episode helped talk about story, or if it was just a funny episode that didn't have much to do with anything (looking at you "Baseball Blues", which was easily my favourite episode of anything I had watched at the time), I always felt glad to be watching and paying attention. While it did have it's slow moments, or scenes I thought made little to no sense, these weren't so drastic that it made me think less of the anime. I think why I gave the enjoyment a 4 star, rather than a 5 star, is because some moments were just disappointing. Things not going in ways I had hoped, or expected, sometimes had made me not care to watch the next episode. But, of course, once I got back into the screenshare, those feelings melted away as I went back to bobbing my head to the beat of Battlecry.

STORY ★★★★
The story is intriguing. The introduction to Mugen and Jin make for an interesting dynamic between characters, as well as the sisterly interactions it allows Fuu to have with them. Even though Fuu's story is the one meant to be the primary point of interest, I personally liked seeing more about Jin and Mugen myself. There are a lot of intricate little details and points of interest with the story, however I don't want to tread into spoiler territory. The gist of it is Fuu needs to find the Samurai who smells of flowers, and Jin and Mugen are exploited into helping her. Mugen wants to prove he is worthy by finding the best way to ruin Jin's day. Jin, whose days are already permanently ruined, is on the run.

CHARACTERS ★★★★
Mugen's hot temper with Jin's cool sophistication makes for a duo that is at each others throats while also watching each other's backs. Mugen's relatively petty inclinations to violence and fights made me sometimes feel conflicted about rooting for him, vaguely childish in nature, I also found that these behaviours made him feel human. Faulty and sometimes wrong, Mugen is more antihero than hero at the end of the day. Jin, however, keeps his cool and is well put together. Haunted by his past, Jin's composure is somewhat off-putting but logical (similar to he is). While I wouldn't say Jin is uppity and snobby, as I'm sure those who flanderise this character would believe, he does have an air about him that reeks of superiority. This is something that agitates the charcaters around him, making moments where he stumbles or shows more than just his unimpressive expression truly feel captivating. Jin was my favourite character in Samurai Champloo. As I said before, Fuu is more of a sister to the group. The driving force that gets the group together, she is an oxymoron in every sense. Somehow ditzy, but also clever. Somehow useful, but also useless. Somehow soft and gentle, but also fiery and passionate. Unfortunately, I didn't care for Fuu much. She can be compelling, and has her moments in the spotlight, but compared to Mugen and Jin, I found her to be dim and uninteresting. Together, though, those three characters intertwine with each other, help each other grow and learn, and make for some moments that are either truly heartfelt, or truly hilarious. This trifecta of characters were written to have chemistry with each other, and they waste no moment to display that.

OVERALL ★★★★★
I can't say I love this show, as it doesn't breach even my top ten. But, if there is one thing I can say about this show, is that its spectacular in every field. Great for a rewatch, while also perfect for beginners. Everything melds together with intentions to make something that stands above the rest. I think this show levitates over the rest. Stylish and fun, but not bombastic/outrageous beyond belief and childish. This show knows what it is, and it respects it while respecting the viewer which is something I admire from anime. If you're looking for an anime that radiates that Japanese history, that keeps its combat in serious tones but not afraid to poke fun of itself, and that has beats and music that isn't found in other anime (and other anime that attempt to mimic it miss the mark completely)- then I implore you to watch Samurai Champloo.