JBern23032 Reviews

Samurai Champloo (2004–2005)

Excellent Anime

[28 July 2005]

Mugen is a fairly dim, self-taught swordsman who doesn't know how to hold back, Jin is the perfect samurai: cold, calculating, every move flawless. They could be no more different, and in fact one would gladly kill the other with the chance, but they are both reluctantly recruited by the ditsy teahouse waitress Fuu after she saves them from execution.

Samurai champloo is the story of Mugen, Jin and Fuu, as they journey across Japan trying to find "The samurai who smells of sunflowers." All the way they meet all sorts of people, get into trouble, and try to make money. As the show progresses, the mysteries of the characters pasts are slowly revealed.

Samurai champloo is an excellent series from the people who made Cowboy Bebop, the animated sequence in Kill Bill, and a few sequences in the Animatrix. The music is good, offering a wide variety of genres, the animation is excellent, and the dialog is kept to a bare minimum. Oh, and the comedy is great, too.

If you liked Cowboy Bebop, you will probably like Samurai Champloo. One's set in the future and has a lot of jazz music, the other's set long ago in Japan and has a lot of rap in the scene transitions. But the character types in both are pretty much the same, and in both the characters must come to terms with themselves. I recommend it to fans of this genre of anime.

12 oz. Mouse (2005–2020)

More simplistic Adult Swim

[6 July 2005]

Many Adult Swim shows, such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Tom Goes to the Mayor, are watched not because they are drawn well, but because the dialog and situations are so funny. 12 oz. Mouse seems to be the pinnacle of that. Honestly, it looks like it was drawn by a 4-year-old. One part of you will roll your eyes and say, "What has AS come to?" and the other part will laugh and laugh and laugh at the green mouse, his screaming, photo realistic assistant, and his attempts to kill his own boss, use a jet as a taxi, get run over, and other stuff I'll let you find out on your own. As with ATHF or TGTTM, love it or hate it. Hopefully three of the same type of shows is enough.