For the first time ever, the buck wild samurais of the Champloo crew are carving up the competition on Blu-ray…catch the action now before the game passes you by.
Let’s break it down. Mugen’s a reckless sword-slinger with a style that’s more b-boy than Shaolin. He’s got a nasty streak that makes people want to stick a knife in his throat. Then there’s Jin, a deadbeat ronin who speaks softly but carries a big blade. He runs game old-school style, but he can make your blood spray with the quickness. When these roughnecks bring the ruckus, it ain’t good for anybody, especially them. Enter Fuu, the dizzy waitress who springs her new friends from a deadly jam. All she wants in return is help solving a riddle from her past. She and the boys are tracking the scent, but there’s ninety-nine ways to die between them and the sunflower samurai.Shinichiro Watanabe’s film noir-ish sci-fi adventure Cowboy Bebop set a new standard for cool in anime in 1998, and Samurai Champloo, an edgy mix of Edo-era martial arts and hip-hop irreverence, is a worthy follow-up. A string of coincidences brings together three misfits in a two-bit tea house: Mugen, a rebellious vagabond; Jin, a taciturn ronin; and Fuu, a nutty waitress. The sardonic Mugen lacks the polish that distinguishes a classic martial artist–he uses break dance spins and flips against his foes. Jin moves with a polish that approaches iciness: When he unsheathes his sword, he becomes a lethal work of art in motion. Fuu forces Jin and Mugen to help her find a mysterious samurai “who smells of sun flowers.” As the ill-assorted trio wanders towards Nagasaki, Watanabe treats the audiences to a string of outrageous, anachronistic adventures. In Episode 18, Mugen belatedly learns to read at a smackdown elementary school, while Jin tries to settle the rivalry between the heirs to the dojo of his former sensei. The seemingly unrelated storylines collide in a no-holds-barred graffiti contest featuring Tokugawa rap lyrics, ink-brush tagging, Hiroshima homeboys, and a caricature of Andy Warhol. But Watanabe reveals the hidden significance of these nutty interludes when he brings his picaresque adventure-comedy to a close. Like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo leaves the viewer wanting more. (Rated 16 and older: violence, violence against women, profanity, brief nudity, sexual situations, alcohol and tobacco use) –Charles Solomon
Buy “Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series “ For Only $38.99
January 22, 2006
#1
As pointed out in several reviews, FunAnimation has pulled a bait and switch and passed off what is basically upscaled dvd’s in a blu ray box. I find it insulting to pay premium prices for something that is marginally better than the dvd counterpart. This is not why consumers invest in blu ray, and efforts such as these should not be supported.
At a minimum, please read the detailed reviews on the internet describing this problem at hi def digest and asian blu ray guide
January 22, 2006
#2
If you don’t have the DVD Boxset of Samurai Champloo, this is a must have. The picture is great considering it’s just upscaled.
The audio is perfect. Sound great on surround sound. It contains a lot of the same feature the DVD Boxset have.
If you have don’t have a Bluray player, definitely get the dvd because the quality difference is not at all very increased from the bluray since it’s upscaled.
January 22, 2006
#3
Awesome! Samurai Champloo is a good series and having it on BluRay is a must. The artwork of this series is beautiful in HD. Add in the really cheap price, this is a must buy for any anime lover with a BluRay player.
January 22, 2006
#4
I’m not into anime per se, but I do love a good story no matter where it’s from. Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] is from the director of Cowboy Bebop, a series I’m completely in love with. Even though stories about samurai don’t necessarily interest me, Mr Watanabe’s involvement (and amazon.com’s blu ray sale) made me pick this up on blu ray and I’m glad I did.
There are some elements from Cowboy Bebop that can be seen in this which I enjoyed, down to the occasional John Woo reference (watch for birds), and the characters are interesting enough in the beginning to hold your interest until the story kicks into higher and higher gear as the show goes on. We have Mugen the maniac: born on an island where prisoners were exiled and looked to be basically raised by wolves. Fiercely independent and feral yet with glimmers of gold in his heart. There’s Jin: quiet and dignified, very refined. Also fiercely independent, yet disciplined, graceful and does not waste a movement. Driving the story is Fuu, a ditzy 15 year old tea house waitress who saves their lives and extorts a promise from the two guys to travel with her and act as her bodyguards as she hunts for the samurai who smells of sunflowers.
Their adventures on the way are by turns hilarious and terrifying and watching the characters grow, both personally and in their relationships with each other is a joy to watch. The story builds to a mighty climax that is worthy of Mr Watanabe’s followup to Cowboy Bebop. This is a three disc set, and by the time the third disc was in my player, I couldn’t stop until it was finished.
The artwork is nothing short of gorgeous. These characters move among a world that look like paintings that could be displayed in the finest art galleries. I wasn’t sure about a hip hop soundtrack, but it really worked in this show and I need to see if I can buy it. My particular favorite is the opening theme song which I can’t get out of my head (and that’s a GOOD thing). The 5.1 soundtrack sounds wonderful and the picture was crisp and clear, just as you’d expect from a blu ray release (if only Cowboy Bebop would be released on blu ray!).
I haven’t watched the dubbed version, but the voice actors’ performances on the original Japanese soundtrack are terrific. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Koichi Yamadera (Cowboy Bebop’s Spike) in one episode as well as Unshô Ishizuka (Cowboy Bebop’s Jet), who appeared as a character in a couple of episodes as well as doing some voiceover narration in several more. I felt like I had moved to a new neighborhood and was treated to visits from some old friends.
Even if you’ve never seen Cowboy Bebop, this show is very worth seeing, especially if you’re fond of samurai swordplay. You’ll see that aplenty in Samurai Champloo. That said, like Bebop, this is not a show for kids – I’d say it was rated PG-13 at the very least. With swordplay, you have blood and these folks aren’t shy about having characters bleed on screen. I’ve seen more explicit results of violence in other shows and movies, but this one has enough violence that some parents might want to consider waiting until children are older before showing it to them. There is also some language that might be inappropriate to the little ears in the family, as well as some brief nudity and mature dialog.
As far as I’m concerned, this has everything, great characters and relationships, easy on the eyes and ears and a story that builds and develops to a very satisfying conclusion.
Highly recommended!
January 22, 2006
#5
This is one of my favorite anime series. It’s comparable to Cowboy Bebop, mainly in its attitude. The action is very well animated and it’s also hilarious, at times.