Samurai Champloo

Story
Art/Animation
Music/Sound
Characters
Enjoyment

Samurai Champloo anime opening OP: "Battlecry" by Nujabes feat. Shingo2

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Samurai Champloo anime synopsis / summary

  Samurai Champloo is an action/adventure and comedy anime set in feudal Japan. It is directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, famous for his award winning series Cowboy Bebop. Samurai Champloo is without a doubt the most popular if not the best anime to have come out for 2004. Its unique mixture of hip-hop music, superbly animated fighting scenes and hilarious comedy are all trademarks of Watanabe’s anime style. And like all his works, the whole package is polished to make Samurai Champloo a truly memorable anime experience.

  The story revolves around the journey of three title characters. Fuu is an energetic young girl working at a tea house in order to make a living. Mugen is a renegade swordsman who is brash and short tempered, often living day by day picking fights and causing mayhem where ever he goes. Jin is a ronin samurai who is extremely talented but is highly reserved and quiet.

  As Jin wanders through a town one day, he witnesses a corrupt local magistrate abusing his authority by ordering his personal samurai guards to kill a man because his bribe wasn’t sufficient enough. Jin interferes and kills three of the samurai who were suppose to be the most skilled in the region. As Jin leaves the scene, the magistrate orders his other men to arrest him but they are too fearful of Jin’s skills to comply. In the same town, Fuu is working at a tea house. She is angry because the son of the local magistrate is causing a ruckus with his drinking buddies and picking on other customers. At this point, Mugen enters the tea house and offers to rid the drunken group in exchange for some dango (sweet dumplings). At first, Fuu thinks the man is crazy but pleads for Mugen’s help after the magistrate’s son threatens her life when she accidently spilt tea on him. The men were no match for Mugen’s skills, and he insists that the survivors bring back some stronger opponents. As fate would have it, Jin walks into the tea house at that moment. Upon hearing Jin had killed the magistrate’s personal samurai, Mugen attacks. The two were equally matched in a fierce sword fight when one of Mugen’s opponents from earlier set fire to the tea house as revenge. Yet the Mugen and Jin continued to battle and soon lose consciousness due to the smoke and heat.

  Upon waking up, Mugen finds Jin and himself locked up by the magistrate. He had lost his son in the fire and now plans to execute the two rogue swordsmen in the morning. At the time of their execution, Fuu sneaks into the Magistrate’s fortress and throws fireworks to distract the guards. In the chaos, Mugen and Jin manage to fight their way out and escape by mixing into the crowd. Fuu catches up to them, Jin and Mugen were ready to continue their unfinished duel. Fuu insists that they come with her as body guards on her quest to find a particular samurai who has the scent of sunflower seeds. Mugen and Jin are reluctant so Fuu suggests they decide their fate on a coin toss. Luckily, Fuu wins the gamble and their journey begins.