Review 2: Afro Samurai

In a mix of Feudal Era and urban themes, Afro Samurai is a title that combines hip hop and swordplay action, though not the only one to do so. It shares it's place with Samurai Champloo, another acclaimed series that blend the two elements... but Afro Samurai is bloodier, raunchier, and a bit more loud vocally. Despite modern elements, the plot details come off as sort of classical... sort of.

Afro is a man that, hence his name, sports an Afro. However, while that is a uniquely distinguishable feature, he is known more for his brutal nature and sword skills. That and his headband, as in this story, people seek that headband, for defeating the "#2" will make them a step away from becoming a god: the "#1" warrior. As such, those who have the #2 headband must kill its owner, or die defending it. So in a sense, this is a survival game where the reward is power. For any man, that's enough of a reason to paint their sword crimson, but if Afro's case, he seeks not power, but revenge. As a little boy, he bore witness to the killing of his father by the hand of a gunslinger named Justice, and has been somewhat of a recluse mentally. Even then, revenge has been long set in his mind, and the events leading to his solo journey only added to the flames of revenge, as well as his emotionless brutality. Family, teacher, friends... all take a backseat in the past, as the road before Afro is dyed red. And as the new owner of the #2 headband, he is a marked man himself, though he will stop at nothing to make it to the top of the mountain... and lay waste to the man that killed his father. Even should it mean that the blood of other combatants must be spilled to make it happen.

As a doujin, Afro Samurai was self-funded. The anime was a TV Mini series of sorts, only having 5 episodes, but compiled, it can be made into a movie on it's own, where as it's successor, Afro Samurai: Resurrection, IS a film, where the plot plays somewhat differently, and in a sense, more tragic. Shown on Spike TV here in the US (now known as Paramount Network), it saw other channels elsewhere, even Adult Swim in the UK and Ireland showed this. As for it shown stateside, the animation was done under the animation studio Gonzo, who as of the old blog, I covered many projects they animated. What I found amusing is that the script, made by Gonzo, fell into the lap of revered black actor Samuel L. Jackson, who would later be billed to voice the title character in both the mini series and the film. Another interesting aspect is that the muical score was done by The RZA, a rapper from the infamous rap group Wu-Tang Clan, and no stranger to filmography himself, having under his belt titles like The Man with the Iron Fists. So in a manner of speaking, this was a collaboration between Sam L. Jackson, RZA, Gonzo, and the author of it all: Takashi Okazaki. Prior to being aired on Spike, Funimation licensed this, making both the mini series and film followup Funi products.

Having saw the mini series over the weekend, and I will review Afro Samurai: Resurrection later after seeing it, I will say Afro Samurai has me. A tad early to toot the horn, but I dare say this may be perfection, and give it the 10 of 10 nod. I only hope the film sequel doesn't disappoint.