In Japanese story telling, there?s a strong inclination toward stories about extremely independent characters coming together as a unit. Samurai Champloo is one of those stories. Yet it takes its characters? independence to a refreshing extreme. Hardly an episode passes without you wondering why they continue to stick together, and that?s the beauty of the series. There are no moments of histrionic expressions of caring; it?s all under the surface. At the series? best, why they stick together is a question never explicitly answered but left for you to interpret.
Despite its hip hop coolness and avant-garde laxness toward history, the show is, at its core, a display of traditional, tried and true storytelling. That may sound bad, but it?s not. What separates Samurai Champloo from other action anime series is that it tells a good story without trying too hard. At times, it seems even to defy your wishes. It?s the opposite effect of being cloying; you fully want everything to work out for the group of three friends (maybe associates is more appropriate), but the show retains enough edge to make the group?s survival enjoyably uncertain.
When you take this uncertainty and combine it with well planned fight scenes, fluid animation, and a unique sense of style, you get a very enjoyable?maybe not brilliant?show.
Despite its hip hop coolness and avant-garde laxness toward history, the show is, at its core, a display of traditional, tried and true storytelling. That may sound bad, but it?s not. What separates Samurai Champloo from other action anime series is that it tells a good story without trying too hard. At times, it seems even to defy your wishes. It?s the opposite effect of being cloying; you fully want everything to work out for the group of three friends (maybe associates is more appropriate), but the show retains enough edge to make the group?s survival enjoyably uncertain.
When you take this uncertainty and combine it with well planned fight scenes, fluid animation, and a unique sense of style, you get a very enjoyable?maybe not brilliant?show.