1850s Samurai culture meets 1995 New York Hip Hop culture. Well, almost. This unique series brought a typical story line and made it into a slick contemporary production. This period piece is placed near the end of the Edo Period when Japan was ruled by the Tokugama shogunate. This period is also seen as the beginning of the modern era for Japan. The world began to open to them with the arrival of the Black Ships and the influx of the western culture. Samurai Champloo takes the blending of these two cultures literal at times, but the blending is also from different time periods. The raw approach that was taken by Shinichhiro Watanabe, the creator and director, is gratifying in its beauty and also unnerving in it's raw punch at times.

A young, 15 year old, waitress at a small restaurant has a very hard day and is introduced to two wandering Samurai, who end up being rivals and friends in a very quick series of events. Together Fuu, Mugen and Jin are bound together by a promise to help Fuu find the Samurai who smells like Sunflowers. Together these three take a journey that has a greater effect on the ones they come in contact with, than on themselves. The gritty nature of the story is humorously told with the slapstick and goofy stories at times.

Highlight

The 26 episodes cover a mind boggling series of events. From fighting pot growing Warrior Monks to playing a baseball game with Abner Doubleday. The story is played out in several different ways. Some of the episodes are real time and some of them are told in historical reference by a Narrator. The odd part is that the Narrator is also a recurring character in the story, but provides a historical perspective that reaches out over 30 or more years at times.

There are several outstanding episodes, the top on my list has to be the three try to cross through a border crossing that is known for being the toughest in the country. They are stopped and Mugen is forced to deliver a wanted mans head to a neighboring province. His trek takes him through the county side that is controlled by Warrior Monks. When they try to kill Mugen he starts a fire that burns the Warriors crop. The crop is called the mystical grass and the smoke travels through the valley and makes everyone at the check point become free and easy. They open the gates and allow everyone to travel through without any hassle. The mystical grass looks to have the similar appearance of Pot. There are many of these hidden gems and many gems that aren't so hidden. There are direct links to Hip Hop / Bebop and the Graffiti culture which provide a wonderful juxtaposition of the opposing cultures.

Overall

I am sure you can tell that I am a huge fan of this series, but I have a felling that that if you watched it you too would become a fan. The writing and story telling was well above par and worthy of high praise. The ability to blend two cultures and their hedonistic philosophies was done so well I began to believe that Hip Hop was started in the Edo period. Or, Baseball was exported to Japan in 1858. Of course the humor was by far the strongest aspect of the series. The humor was dry, but made perfect sense. There was also the constant underlying story of three misfits that go from being all alone to creating their own family, and as dysfunctional as any I can think of.

The only issue I had with the series was that it was over too quickly. I did take a week to review the series and now I wish I would have stretched it out longer. By the time I came to the last disc, I realized that there was something deeper to the story and plan on going back to discover more of what it has to offer. The art was presented in a raw flowing style that was the proper fit. Any other style would have cramped the story and it would have lost it's flavor of youth and vigor. Although the violence was a little crude at times, it seemed to blend in and not become overbearing. The soundtrack helped to set the mood of the stories seamlessly and captured the essence of the dichotomy being presented.

There was one outstanding extra. This was the liner notes found on the inside cover of each disc. They each have in-depth interviews with many of the people involved in the creation of the series. The topics range from the Creator's thoughts to the Musician's thoughts on the series. They are worth the read.

This 7 disc, 26 episode series is a classic and should be a part of any Samurai, Anime or Hip Hop collectors special section of their collection.

ComicsOnline gives Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series, 5 out of 5 Zombie Rock Star Treasure Hunting Samurai.