Samurai Champloo, directed by legendary Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe, ran for 26 episodes. Each episode was filled with colorful characters, highly stylized fight scenes, and a lot of humor. While most episodes were standalone, they followed the general story of ronin Jin, vagrant Mugen, and young girl Fuu on their quest to find the "samurai who smells of sunflowers."
The episodes range from serious to humorous, and even heartbreaking at times. No matter what, however, each episode was special in its own way and never failed to deliver quality entertainment to viewers.
10 "Lethal Lunacy" — Episode 10
Episode 10 is a Mugen-centric episode. While Jin’s skills as a samurai largely stay the same throughout the course of the series, Mugen's unpolished and unorthodox fighting style hinders him at times, so he's forced to adapt and grow.
While the trio stays at priest's dojo, they learn of mysterious killings in the village. It's later revealed that these killings are committed by a man named Shoryu, whom Mugen later faces off against. In the first match, Mugen is overwhelmed by Shoryu’s non-contact attacks. In their second match, however, Mugen is triumphant.
9 "Artistic Anarchy" — Episode 5
As much as Samurai Champloo is entertaining, it is also very informative about historical events in Japan at that time. "Artistic Anarchy" is definitely one of the more historically-themed episodes of the series. In this episode, Fuu meets up with an ukiyo-e artist.
Fuu is ultimately scammed by this artist. She agrees to pose for him for one of his paintings but is subsequently captured by the yakuza. The artist is working for the yakuza because his paintings weren't selling. While Fuu is rescued at the end by Mugen, the artist flees to Holland, vowing to never forget about Fuu.
8 "Bogus Booty" — Episode 15
Following the more somber two-part episode "Misguided Miscreants," "Bogus Booty" is certainly more lighthearted and humorous in tone. It starts with Jin fishing, and Mugen and Fuu chiding his unsuccessful attempts. Meanwhile, Jin reels in what appears to be a load of treasure. Viewers learn, however, that this is not the case; the money is counterfeit.
Mugen teams up with a young woman named Imano. Together they work towards helping destroy a man named Ginas's gang. At the end of the episode, Imano promises to marry Mugen.
7 "The Disorder Diaries" — Episode 12
Many times, when a series does a recap episode, it's typically tedious filler that just shows viewers what they have already seen. Samurai Champloo, however, upends this concept by adding a unique twist to an otherwise banal episodic-series trope.
Jin and Mugen stumble upon Fuu's diary, from which viewers are presented with Fuu's perspective on the story up until then. It's informative and often quite humorous seeing Jin and Mugen's reactions to Fuu's take on events.
6 "Redeye Reprisal" — Episode 2
The second episode of the series nearly matched the first one in terms of quality and entertainment. One of the bandits who Mugen injured gravely in the first episode seeks revenge. He does this with the help of Oniwakamaru, an ogre-like figure, and Inuyama, a mysterious assassin.
This is arguably the first episode where Mugen and Jin are put to the test, other than fighting one another in the first episode. Jin nearly loses his match to the assassin, and Mugen only barely defeats Oniwakamaru.
5 "Tempestuous Temperaments" — Episode 1
The first episode of Samurai Champloo starts off with a bang. Viewers are introduced to Jin and Mugen as they are about to be executed. The series then flashes back to how Mugen and Jin come to meet one another. They engage in a fight in the restaurant in which Fuu works.
Fuu ultimately helps Mugen and Jin out in their escape from execution. After that, she cajoles them into helping her find the samurai who smells of sunflowers. From there, the journey of Mugen, Jin, and Fuu begins.
4 "Gamblers And Gallantry" — Episode 11
This episode is one of the more touching and heartfelt episodes in the series. It starts with Jin stopping a woman from committing suicide by jumping off a bridge. From there, it's revealed that this woman is being prostituted by her greedy husband.
Jin falls in love with this woman and seeks to help her escape. He ultimately succeeds in helping her escape to an island of refugees in a similar situation. The price, however, is that the two cannot continue their love any further, as Jin must let her go.
3 "Baseball Blues" — Episode 23
The best episode in the series is, notably, a standalone episode. It is also perhaps the most lighthearted and funny episode in all of Champloo. Mugen, Jin, and Fuu help a small village compete in a game of baseball against a ship of Americans crewed by baseball players. What ensues is a riotous game full of debauchery and intense sportsmanship.
The match basically devolves into a fight between both teams. In the match, viewers get to see the samurai skills of Mugen and Jin applied to baseball, which is very entertaining to watch. Ultimately, Mugen wins the match for his team.
2 "Misguided Miscreants" — Parts 1 & 2
This two-part episode focused on Mugen's backstory and was one of the darkest chapters in the series. The trio meets up with Mugen's old childhood acquaintances: Koza and her older brother, Mukuro, Mugen's rival. Mukuro ensnares Mugen into a robbery during which he ultimately betrays Mugen and leaves him to die.
Koza, desperate to escape the criminal life of her brother, ultimately tricks both Mugen and Mukuro. At the end of the episode, viewers a chilling encounter between potential lovers once upon a time—Koza and Mugen.
1 "Evanescent Encounter" — Parts 1, 2, & 3
This arc is the thrilling, three-part conclusion to the series. So much happens in these episodes: Fuu finds her dad, the sunflower samurai; Jin and Mugen face their greatest foe, the Hand of God; and the trio finally parts ways. When compared to Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop, which had a decidedly ambiguous (and frankly unhappy) ending, Samurai Champloo takes a different direction.
In Champloo, the series ends on an upbeat note. Mugen, Jin, and Fuu finally learn to appreciate the friendship that they have developed over the course of the series and go their separate ways.