Kei's Anime Reviews

Samurai Champloo Episode 1

"Tempestuous Temperments"

Wow!

I had no idea what to expect from what I'd heard about this show, but what I got certainly wasn't what I expected. (That is to say that I was surprised about what the show was about, not just that it turned out to be good.)

Let's see. If I were to come up with a quick description of what Samurai Champloo is, I'd call it a "hip-hop samurai action show". My first impression of the show is that it's kind of like Cowboy Bebop with samurai instead of bounty hunters and hip-hop instead of jazz (complete with weird, scratching transitions from scene to scene).

The part that stands out the most about the first episode of Samurai Champloo would have to be the action sequences. There's more than a few fights in the first episode (it's almost like one continous fight, once the show starts rolling), and the action is actually pretty cool. Mugen fights with a spastic, breakdancing sword technique, while Jin uses a much more traditional, economy-of-movement sword style. Fighting against and with each other is extremely well realized, and fun to watch. On top of that, the show has a significant level of gore and violence, so people are getting in some serious pain.

I have no idea what this show is about, from the first episode, but there's a loose story introduced about Fuu (the last of the three protagonists), recruiting Mugen and Jin to help her find someone. Other than that, I can only hope the show continues to have the cool action, and crazy style along with whatever it brings to the table.

Rating: A-

Posted by Kei at July 16, 2004 01:47 AM