Post by Os3y3ris on Mar 31, 2005 1:41:07 GMT -5
Samurai Champloo
This anime is out in the US at the moment and can be picked up whever you usually buy your anime. Its not finished in Japan, so I can review the whole thing/
Let's cut to the chase. This anime sucked. Well animated, badass characters, awesome fights, all wasted on lazy, pretentious concepts and writing.
This anime is about 75% bullshit and 25% quality. I'll start with the quality. The main storyline kicks all types of ass. Hardly any time is spent on it, but when it is addressed, the action, the character development, the music, the art, are all beyond excellent. The best samurai action anime I've seen since Kenshin OVA. The main male characters, Jin and Mugen are both badass in their own way and their attitudes and sword styles are quite cool. Both have chaotic pasts and when they're delved into for whatever reason, you know that shortly you'll see some of the best anime you'll ever see. Mugen's pirate battles are top notch as are Jin's battles against those that know who he is.
Now, lets get to the bullshit. First of all, this show is NOT FUCKING FUNNY. Ok, one hallucinogen episode is acceptable. Two is just lame. A baseball episode? A gay, white samurai (yeh, there were gay samurai and japan IS xenpophobic, but this has nothing to do with the story)? A hooker tunred thief? Samurai vs Shaolin? Blah... All this stuff is standard, is unfunny and has nothing to do with the story at hand.
Now, lets cut to the REAL problem. The supposed hip-hop theme is a disaster. They didn't do they're homework and it shows. Its pervasively lame and forced and really is quite embarrassing. Engrish rap? STOP. Random japanese cats with a wooden boombox, beatboxing into a katana hilt? STOP. Former swordsmen turned grafitti artists tagging the shogunate property? STOP. The b-boy swordstyle of Mugen and the cutting and scratching of the fights in the first episode were cool enough and can slide. Now, see, most that shit is lame and its only touching the superficial elements of hip-hop. Nothing about the rebellious nature of hip-hop culture, no commentary on its rapid commercialization and watering down, nothing representative of the braggadacio of the culture, no flamboyant names, just superficial bullshit. Didn't even touch on the music itself besides one badass use of the old style Japanese language, spoken in rhythm and the opening song. Now, we've seen that hip-hop and various martial arts cultures DO mix, Ghost Dog being the best and most relevant example. You got your hip-hop music and genuine hip-hop culture combined with authentic samurai culture. Even a Zatoichi type approach where the music sets a unique setting and the characters move to the music would better express hip-hop. What's seen in Samurai Champloo is downright nonsense.
This anime is out in the US at the moment and can be picked up whever you usually buy your anime. Its not finished in Japan, so I can review the whole thing/
Let's cut to the chase. This anime sucked. Well animated, badass characters, awesome fights, all wasted on lazy, pretentious concepts and writing.
This anime is about 75% bullshit and 25% quality. I'll start with the quality. The main storyline kicks all types of ass. Hardly any time is spent on it, but when it is addressed, the action, the character development, the music, the art, are all beyond excellent. The best samurai action anime I've seen since Kenshin OVA. The main male characters, Jin and Mugen are both badass in their own way and their attitudes and sword styles are quite cool. Both have chaotic pasts and when they're delved into for whatever reason, you know that shortly you'll see some of the best anime you'll ever see. Mugen's pirate battles are top notch as are Jin's battles against those that know who he is.
Now, lets get to the bullshit. First of all, this show is NOT FUCKING FUNNY. Ok, one hallucinogen episode is acceptable. Two is just lame. A baseball episode? A gay, white samurai (yeh, there were gay samurai and japan IS xenpophobic, but this has nothing to do with the story)? A hooker tunred thief? Samurai vs Shaolin? Blah... All this stuff is standard, is unfunny and has nothing to do with the story at hand.
Now, lets cut to the REAL problem. The supposed hip-hop theme is a disaster. They didn't do they're homework and it shows. Its pervasively lame and forced and really is quite embarrassing. Engrish rap? STOP. Random japanese cats with a wooden boombox, beatboxing into a katana hilt? STOP. Former swordsmen turned grafitti artists tagging the shogunate property? STOP. The b-boy swordstyle of Mugen and the cutting and scratching of the fights in the first episode were cool enough and can slide. Now, see, most that shit is lame and its only touching the superficial elements of hip-hop. Nothing about the rebellious nature of hip-hop culture, no commentary on its rapid commercialization and watering down, nothing representative of the braggadacio of the culture, no flamboyant names, just superficial bullshit. Didn't even touch on the music itself besides one badass use of the old style Japanese language, spoken in rhythm and the opening song. Now, we've seen that hip-hop and various martial arts cultures DO mix, Ghost Dog being the best and most relevant example. You got your hip-hop music and genuine hip-hop culture combined with authentic samurai culture. Even a Zatoichi type approach where the music sets a unique setting and the characters move to the music would better express hip-hop. What's seen in Samurai Champloo is downright nonsense.
