Afro Samurai

Its been a long time since I saw an anime in English, but since this was done in English first and not Japanese, I move along.

This five-episode anime has some outstanding animation, but I didn't find a lot else for me. For starters, this is a bloody fare, with geysers of blood when foes are hit. Maybe those foes of Afro Samurai had high blood pressure. There are tons and tons of fights, with just enough story to explain the fights. But this is all about well-animated, bloody fights more than story.

As to the story, I'm not sure what else could have been done. When you have a revenge story, you are pretty much locked into a certain course of actions that will ultimately lead you to the final confrontation with the villain you wish to gain vengeance on. This anime is no different except it gets to it in five episodes rather than drag it out. The downside of dragging it out is the lack of any meaningful human elements. The writers do their best to capture this in the limited time they have, but because we have such a bloody mess and the character development is done mostly via flashback, it doesn't work as well.

The merging of American hip-hop culture with Japanese culture does work for the most part. After all, this is supposed to be some futuristic Japan I guess and so anything can happen. We don't get any knowledge of how we came to this future or how the head-band wars started, which is a shame.

The voice acting isn't bad here. I believe that Samuel L. Jackson has some Japanese knowledge or may even be fluent since when he spoke Japanese things (rare, but he did do it), he spoke quite clearly. Then again, I remember him speaking Japanese in Loaded Weapon 1. His Ninja Ninja character is what I would deem classic Sam and Afro was where Sam became something else and that was a good thing.

Bottom line: not my cup of tea as it is too violent and too bloody. However, I suspect that college-aged guys through their 20's who like hip-hop, anime, and fanserviced bloody action will enjoy this.

Last updated Saturday, February 03 2007.

An article in Anime Insider magazine (May 2006) describes Afro Samurai as "the epitome of blood-soaked, vengeance-filled cool... Much like Gonzo's Samurai 7, Afro Samurai takes place in a world that melds feudal Japan with futuristic technology. To give it extra oomph, the story will feature more urban elements and a dark, vengeance-tinged storyline. The plot centers on Afro, the world's second most powerful warrior on a quest to take down #1: Justice, a seemingly invincible gunfighter who also killed Afro's father."

According to the article, there will also be a live-action Afro Samurai movie (starring Jackson, and slated for release in 2007), Manga, and one or more Video Games.