ANIME/MANGA PRIMER | Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo (サムライチャンプルー, 2004) is the brainchild of Shinichiro Watanabe (of Cowboy Bebop fame) and the animation studio Manglobe. The show shares some traits with it’s sister series: both depend heavily on music and cultural references to their respective genres; they differ in their usage of these things. Champloo falls back on hip-hop culture, the historical Edo period, themes of chambara (sword-fighting samurai) films. The series produced two manga volumes, two anime “seasons,” four soundtracks, and a video game.

The plot focuses on a party of three: Mugen, Jin, and Fuu.

• “A young woman named Fuu is working as a waitress in a tea shop when she is harassed by a band of samurai. When a mysterious rogue named Mugen enters the shop, he offers to get rid of the band of samurai in exchange for food, but instigates in a brawl instead. Jin, a young ronin in samurai garb, enters the tea house in the midst of the fight. Mugen attacks Jin after he proves to be a worthy opponent and they begin fighting one another, ignoring a fire that started during the brawl. They both faint from smoke inhalation. When they awaken, they find they have been arrested for the murder of Shibui Tomonoshina, the magistrate’s son who had burned to death in the fire, and are to be executed. With help from Fuu, they escape and Fuu asks them to travel with her to find “the samurai who smells of sunflowers,” a mysterious man Fuu can give little description of, but whom she insists she must find, as she thinks he’s her long lost father. They agree to join her, with Fuu making in the condition that they are not to duel one another until the journey is done.”

Anime (Dual Audio [Japanese/English], English Subtitles):

• 01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07 / 08 / 09 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26

Manga:

• Volume One + Volume Two

I think it would be a mistake to omit any soundtracks from this primer; it is integral to the series. The soundtracks consist of songs mixed by Nujabes, FORCE OF NATURE, Tsutchie, and Fat Jon, along with the opening and ending songs by MINMI.

• Departure
• masta
• Impression
• Playlist