A great story, but the ending feels off.
Firstly, I am not a Cowboy Bebop fan... but this does put a smile on my face.
There is no doubt that Samurai Champloo is a good anime. From the very start, characters and the story are well defined, and the idea of mixing 19-century samurais with hip-hop culture is rather well executed. The dynamic between Jin, Mugen and Fuu is very interesting and funny to watch, with the two swordsmen constantly being each other's opposite. The development of the story is quite fascinating: the main goal is always to find the Sunflower Samurai; however, everything that happens to the trio on the way is a result of them trying to find some food and get some rest. Some of the plotlines felt too real, as the matter of a fact, and the themes of violence, slave trade, gambling and promiscuity definitely provide the show with an appropriately dark undertone.
On the-not-so-bright side of things, the last few episodes could have been done better. The show is all great and realistic up to the twentieth episode when I-do-not-know-what happens; and the baseball filler kinda ruins the tension we are supposed to get at the climax of the story. The character development is also a bit lacking; we know what Jin and Mugen are like from the very start, but little do we get to know them throughout the whole series. Also, how many cuts and bullets can one samurai take before they die? No spoilers here, but that question ruins the ending for me personally.
All in all, give it a go - if not for the story in general, then for an entertaining and realistic way the 19-century Japan is presented.
Firstly, I am not a Cowboy Bebop fan... but this does put a smile on my face.
There is no doubt that Samurai Champloo is a good anime. From the very start, characters and the story are well defined, and the idea of mixing 19-century samurais with hip-hop culture is rather well executed. The dynamic between Jin, Mugen and Fuu is very interesting and funny to watch, with the two swordsmen constantly being each other's opposite. The development of the story is quite fascinating: the main goal is always to find the Sunflower Samurai; however, everything that happens to the trio on the way is a result of them trying to find some food and get some rest. Some of the plotlines felt too real, as the matter of a fact, and the themes of violence, slave trade, gambling and promiscuity definitely provide the show with an appropriately dark undertone.
On the-not-so-bright side of things, the last few episodes could have been done better. The show is all great and realistic up to the twentieth episode when I-do-not-know-what happens; and the baseball filler kinda ruins the tension we are supposed to get at the climax of the story. The character development is also a bit lacking; we know what Jin and Mugen are like from the very start, but little do we get to know them throughout the whole series. Also, how many cuts and bullets can one samurai take before they die? No spoilers here, but that question ruins the ending for me personally.
All in all, give it a go - if not for the story in general, then for an entertaining and realistic way the 19-century Japan is presented.