Anime, like any medium, is full of different approaches and ideas. But there are some common strengths you'll find throughout the best examples -- mixing charming characters with exciting action and strong animation. Shinichirō Watanabe, the creator behind the seminal Cowboy Bebop, was very experienced in all those strengths when he brought the action comedy-drama Samurai Champloo to audiences.
Fifteen years ago, Samurai Champloo ended its original run on television in Japan. Even by then, it had already proved to be a perfect representation of what anime can be at it's best, a legacy that remains to this day.
What Is Samurai Champloo?
Set during the Edo period of Japanese history, Samurai Champloo centers on three people from three different paths who run into each other by happenstance and end up entangled in each other's lives: The vagabond warrior, Mugen, the stoic ronin, Jin, and the clever loner, Fuu. Both Mugen and Jin dispatch dangerous killers across the town for their own reasons (Jin does it to protect a defenseless man while Mugen just wants dumplings Fuu promises as payment for saving her), and upon seeing how skilled the other is with a sword decide to have a duel to the death. But the two are knocked out in a fire and promptly captured by the vengeful governor, with his forces preparing to execute the pair.
Fuu is able to create a big enough of a diversion for the trio to escape. As thanks for saving their lives, she demands they put off their duel at least until the two samurai can help Fuu make her way across the country and find a mysterious samurai who smells of sunflowers. Mugen and Jin reluctantly agree, and the three soon start making their way across Japan in pursuit of the samurai -- developing a bond as they cross the nation and are forced to deal with numerous threats, including each other's personal demons and dramas.
What Makes Samurai Champloo Special
The show primarily plays out episodically, with very few characters outside of the core three appearing in many episodes. This episodic nature helps give the series strong pacing that runs across a lean 26 episodes. For this reason, the show doesn't waste any time -- working hard consistently through its limited run and ending with a strong, character-based climax. The trio's journey across a bygone era of Japan serves ends up being a pure, non-stop adventure with lots of unique quests, shifting in tone from tense to comedic to dramatic at the drop of a hat.
This puts more focus on the central three characters, and luckily, they're all fleshed out and well-written enough to carry this weight. All of them prove to be charming subversions of their assorted archetypes: Mugen is softer hearted than he'd like to let on, especially considering his dangerous upbringing, and Jin's dedication to honor is shown to have impacted his life in tragic ways. Fuu, meanwhile, proves to be a charming inversion of the typical anime damsel role. She's given far more slapstick and character depth than most of the women who fill similar roles in other shows, and is essentially the protagonist of the show even when she can't fight like Mugen or Jin. It balances the characters well against the world around them and lets them find connections where they can.
The world around the characters is beautifully fleshed out, finding the quiet chaos of this period of history. New ideas and technologies are slowly coming to Japan, and the cast has to not only contend with that but also try to adjust to it as well. The show reflects actual historical elements, such as the spread of Christianity throughout Japan and the changing political sphere of the nation. Jin and Fuu both have a particular connection with the modern times that Samurai Champloo is set in, dealing with ideas of honor and faith and how they would have probably done better if they were born in a different era.
Beyond the character writing, the actual animation and action are frequently fantastic. While the clumsier minions are unrefined in their movements, impressive warriors like Mugen and Jin are given their own unique ways of fighting. Mugen, in particular, utilizes a fighting style that's almost reminiscent of breakdancing. It's a clever and engrossing style of combat, and the fluid animation makes each fight scene flow with a better sense of movement. Watanabe's eye for action on Cowboy Bebop was always on point, but those beats weren't typically the core driver of the action. Cowboy Bebop usually relied on drawing out conflict and building tension to elevate the action when it did appear. With Samurai Champloo, the characters are skilled enough to engage in actual fights right from the get-go, leading to some of the best sword combat to ever appear in an anime.
Samurai Champloo is the perfect union of strong writing, fleshed-out characters and impressive animation. It subverts usual expectations of the medium and delivers a top-tier series that is exactly as ambitious as it wants to be, while still finding time for episodes dealing with things as strange and varied as zombies and baseball. Samurai Champloo is everything right with anime, and it's well worth revisiting 15 years later.