Afro Samurai

I was told that this was a very stylish, very gory anime. It was recommended several times to me, but when I got round to watching it, I was appalled at the terrible, nonsensical story.

First of all, the story as a whole is VERY mediocre: boy loses father, boy gets revenge on fathers killer, etc. It's like something from Daredevil. But the thing that really, REALLY pisses me of is this: he hardly ever fights humans. Seriously. He fights killer robots, humanoids and weird monks (one armed with a bazooka!), and finally a guy with 3 arms.

That is why this series comes off as poor.

However, ... this is saved by the excellent animation with unique styling and excellent sounds. The artwork is great, and the voice acting by Samuel L Jackson adds the extra bad-assery that the show needs.

The charaters were pretty bad. You know how I feel about the enemies, but even Afro-Samurai is badly portrayed. He's a 2D character, and the writers thought that if loads of bad stuff happened to someone, I'll automaticly feel sorry for him and be on his side. No, it doesn't work like that.

Overall, not a series worth avoiding, but only because it's so short. There are plently of better anime to watch in the mean time.

Afro Samurai
I really had high expectations for this anime, and they were crushed for how bad the story is presented and yeah, Samuel L. Jackson is here but, that doesn't make the anime good, the story and the characters should, not a big movie star.

Story
The story is mediocre at best, the story follows a vengeful, full of hatred man named Afro, who saw his father the bearer of the n.1 headband being killed by the bearer of the n.2 headband named Justice just for the sole reason of becoming a god (don't know how a headband will grant you that but...ok) and he tells Afro ... if he wants revenge he'll be waiting, that's where the 5 eps. anime starts with one problem, nonsensical bulls**t, what happened to the earth? why is technology only used by a group of old guys? why people can only kill the n.2 so they can kill n.1 and not directly? why those headbands are important anyway? or why those thing aren't explained? don't know and i couldn't care less now, it was boring, the only thing they were focused on was the past, in every eps. 15 min. of his past and 3 of action but they forgot the present and the unexplained.

Art & Animation
It wasn't bad but i didn't like it, it's a combination of western cartoons and anime (like Tokyo Tribe), it was ok.

Sound
The music was fine, the sound effects were bad, the voice acting was ok because only Jinno and Ninja Ninja (the one with white afro) had good voice acting and Afro (Samuel L. J.) didn't talk much and when he did it was ok.

Character
Mediocre characters, not appealing for me, i felt Jinno more than Afro, other than that, the characters were rushed, needed more eps. to be really good.

Enjoyment
It was boring, i didn't get why this is liked and popular maybe just because of Samuel L. J. and that's it, i was going to watch the movie but only if i liked this so no movie for me, mediocre enjoyment.

I had read rave reviews about this in a couple of anime magazines. I mean an anime that features the voice of Samuel L Jackson in the lead role is got to be cool right? I had to check it out.

I have to say I was very disappointed. The story is just a cliché, and there is virtually no character development. Had Samuel L Jackson not done some extra voices (like the annoying Ninja Ninja character, who is just a tad more tolerable than Jar Jar Binks) he would've had about 5 seconds of dialogue since the 'hero' isn't much of a talker.

The only saving ... grace for this is the quality of the animation, which is nothing short of superb. It would've been so much better if they ditched it as an anime and used it as a music video or something like that.

The reviews I have done so far have been fairly positive as I like to talk about highly rated anime. Now it is time for me to talk about an anime that I actually did not like: Afro Samurai. It's probably the most disappointing anime I have ever seen yet.

Art:
The art in this show is pretty bad. It suffers from the fact that it has no artistic value to it and what probably is the worst part is the fact that most of the time it is dark. REALLY REALLY DARK. So dark that you might as well be watching a black screen set to ... dialogue and the only animation being sword slashes and blood. In fact, that is exactly what happened most of the time, every scene is just of blood and flashes of light. Character models were even lazy as all the characters just fell to standard design choices not making any effort to standout above the rest at all. The animation is the worst aspect of the show because honestly the supposed style that this anime wants to convey brings absolutely nothing new to the table and is just a big mess.

Sound:
Now moving on the best part of the show, but not enough to save it, the sound. If there was one reason to watch this show and the reason that I myself was interested in the first place, then that would have to be the most notable feature: Afro is dubbed by Samuel L. Jackson. What I can say, he's the only thing you are going to remember about this show as everything else is forgettable. If it weren't for the badassery that was Sam Jackson, then I honestly would have left this show alone. Thank god Sam Jackson delivers because the rest of the cast does not. Note to all the casting directors, never ever cast James Arnold Taylor in a serious role again because honestly the voice of Tidus from FFX is the last person I want to see do a serious role. The music is what it is, nothing special but not unlistenable.

Story and Characters:
Afro Samurai is boring. Just like that it is boring. The story doesn't come out across well and most of these characters are completely unmemorable. One could argue that the story isn't great because they were stuck with five episodes and a movie. That's stupid though because most anime fans know that FLCL is only six episodes and managed to actually see a plot in it despite all the random insanity that happens. I will tell you one thing though that I will give Afro Samurai points for. One of the characters. Ninja Ninja (the character where Sam Jackson does what he does best) who follows Afro around, is actually the one aspect of the show that I actually thought was interesting as we don't know whether he is real or Afro's conscious. It's a thing like that can actually make Afro Samurai more interesting to watch, however everything else is just makes the show not entertaining.

Overall:
Afro Samurai is a huge dissappointment. From the way it is presented, it would seem like that this would be a cool show especially when you get cinema badass Samuel L. Jackson. However, since the show lacks a lot and is so lazy I can't highly recommend it. If you are a Sam Jackson fan like me, then check it out and give it a try, for the rest of us, spend your time on an anime like Samurai Champloo. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put the head of a bear costume and get revenge? This anime doesn't give me a good send-off.

Story-4/10
The story follows a not so "typical," ronin seeking revenge of the death of his father. Taking place in a world where the Strong's passion is to beat the even stronger and tougher; Afro (Who is named that because of his afro hairdo I guess,) is seeking the one who defeated his father in order to retain the title of #1.

First of all, I would like to point out that the protagonist only motive for his blood-thirsty actions is to find the guy that killed his father that he could barely remember. Yes, revenge is the only excuse for the plot of Afro Samurai, and ... it never goes any deeper than that, at the same time leaving no depth for any character personality. All of the character development is comprised of super macho men in stand-offs that ends in a gruesome scene; the premise of this story is fairly shallow and generic.

I always love action that have a lot of gore, but this series just overdid it. With zero investment in the characters, a non-sensual storyline, even the fluid animations seemed boring after a few episodes. You know that the main character is not going to get even much of a scratch on him; every challenger is just going to get his butt-kicked with much to none of a chance to retaliate.

Why is everybody aiming to beat Afro? Apparently only the one with the title of #2 can challenge the one with the #1 headband; what the series is telling me is that everybody wants to title of #2 so they can be targeted and attacked by murderers like themselves?

Oh yeah! Did I mention we got Rpgs and guns vs swords? XD

Art-8.5/10
Weirdly enough, I really enjoyed the animations of this anime. The dark and vivid color palette really fit in with the atmosphere of the anime. The animation is wonderfully detailed and flashy, but hardly realistic at times. You can either find this animation super fake; as Afro blocks arrows and slices bullets with ease, or setting all realism aside and find the animations super cool (like me!) With the deep shadows and amazing effects mixed with a beautiful slash of red, all in a super fluid motion. I do find the character designs weird, as they kind of look abstract some of the times.

Sound-7.5/10
We have Samuel Jackson voicing Afro. Half of the people that watch this show probably came for his voice. But sadly, the rest of the cast's voices just seemed bland and tasteless for me. The Op and Ost are nothing special either.

Character-5/10
Afro is a super overpowered and cool character. He rather sets things straight with violence than reason, not giving a fuck to anything else. Afro is the definition of badass; he does what he wants, where he wants, when he wants while holding an imaginary middle-finger to everybody that looks at him the wrong way. All the men in this anime look fairly badass, while women on the other hand are just decorations in this anime for the fan-service factor.

All villains are giant egomaniacs that engage in fights with opponents that are much more powerful, but are too dumb to realize that they cannot win. In the end, they all just end up as another blood stain on Afro’s sword.

Overall- 6/10
Afro samurai was a waste of time, but not a total waste of time. The characters had zero depth, and the plot was terribly bad. It did though; provide an excellent visual presentation and a great action atmosphere and lots of badass moments. I would recommend this anime to anyone who likes to watch a unique art style with lots of gore and flashy stunts.
The anime only contains 5 episodes, so if you have some spare time, you can finish this anime fairly fast.

Spectacular action, but it has no depth because of an an unlikeable, overpowered main character.

★★☆☆

There’s another action anime flick that Afro Samurai probably took some inspiration from, Ninja Scroll. I was a teenager when I saw Ninja Scroll. It gave what I wanted: fast paced action with lots of violence and tits. It wasn’t until years later when I re-watched Ninja Scroll that I realized no matter how good looking the action is, it’s shallow without the weight of good characters and story.

Afro Samurai has the same issue. I loved it on my first viewing. Now years later, I re-watched it to see if it ... still lives up, but the same lesson still holds. Action without meaningful characters and story is boring. Action isn’t actually about what’s happening on screen. It isn’t about the bullets flying, the cars exploding, the swords swinging; it’s the conflict between the characters and story.

There will be - SPOILERS - but Afro Samurai has very thin story and characters anyway so you aren’t missing out. It’s worth analyzing why it could’ve been better because the material is already there for a great story, but it doesn’t execute well.

The premise is that Afro, the main character, seeks revenge for the death of his father. He lives in a medieval Japanese fantasy setting mixed with some modern technology. His father’s killer wears the #1 headband, a symbol of power. Whether the power is real or not isn’t important. It’s that you need the #2 headband to challenge the #1. Afro sacrifices his friends and master for revenge. But the story isn’t about him obtaining the #2 headband. He already has it. It’s just one long walk to see #1; fighting along the way with flashbacks about his childhood.

The theme of Afro Samurai is what will you sacrifice for revenge? Afro kills his master and lets his friends get butchered. He chose revenge over everything. The problem then is that Afro himself isn’t an interesting character. Afro is the strong, silent type. But he’s written so one-dimensionally that he ends up un-likeable. It’s hard to care about his quest for revenge. He speaks a few lines and has little personality.

For us to care about someone who was willing to let his friends die so he could have his revenge, you NEED that character to be likeable. The show takes place after he’s already “cast aside his feelings” for revenge when it should’ve been about the process of it. We should’ve been seeing him give up his humanity for revenge. His childhood flashbacks don't help because they never paint Afro as anyone interesting. He's just as boring as a kid as he is now.

So because he’s such a boring character, everything else about him is boring. He’s so overpowered that it makes the fights dull. We should’ve had a character that was strong, but still struggled along the way. They try to keep things engaging by giving him a sidekick, but it should’ve been him that was the engaging character.

Add that with the fantasy physics then everything becomes a Saturday morning cartoon. They even try to make Afro look cool by having him smoke a cigarette after every fight, but it came off as lame.

The only good character is Jinno, his best friend. He was one of the survivors from Afro’s childhood friends so he has plenty of good reason to seek revenge. It’s ironic the person that’s most deserving of revenge and you end up rooting for wants revenge against the main character. If Afro himself was interesting then their fight could've been 100x more engaging.

The rest of the show isn’t too amazing either. All the colors are muted and gray so it becomes tiresome to look at. The villains don’t ever pose a threat and aren’t interesting themselves.

I liked that they kept the power of the headbands ambiguous. Did they really grant the power of a God? It added a level of mystery and didn’t take away from the theme of revenge. The action itself is great. You're given a buffet's worth. Overall, Afro Samurai is good watch the first time. Second time, not so much. You’ll be bored because the action has no depth.

ATTENTION: I watched Afro Samurai a few years ago and just now re-watched it. My opinion changed a bit as between my first trip to the crazy world in which the story takes place and this not-so-long ago as I watched a hundred or more other series and frankly said got used to the toposes found in the world of M&A.

Nevertheless, AS (as I will from now on abbreviate the title) is unique even after those few years. I'll cover the 6 criterions, which are Story (S), Art (A), Sound (S), Character (C), Enjoyment (E) and Overall (O) as I go through the series. Before ... I start, however, I have to admit that this is my first entry here, so よろしくね.

S: 6
I have to say that however typical the story is, it has some original flavour to it as a story of revenge. I liked the fact that AF follows his goal all the way through without changing his mind like many characters do. After watching the movie that follows the story I was even more satisfied with the state that we find him in the moment 'Ressurrection' begins. The mediocre side of the series got the best of it: there was a lot of situations when AF had no chance of surviving, barely survived and the next day looked as if he never got into any fight. The motif with him being targeted was interesting, but his skill made it all look not-so-fine. Also, gore moments were cool when I was a teenager, but now they just drag on and on throughout the episodes.

A:7
I have to admit the art of the series is quite unique as the style differs from other series. It kicked off as a doujinshi and that's the proper reason behind this, I have to rate it as a GOOD (if the series wasn't 7 years old but for example was produced in 2010, it would drop as the standard went a lot higher each year).

S:7
The rap music is not really my field of interest, but I have to admire the good quality of the soundtrack and how it tunes well with the fight scenes.

C:5
I have to admit: there was no depth to any of the characters. That's probably because the creators focused too much on the action, but nothing interesting other than the revenge motif came out during these five episodes.

E:8
I enjoyed it few years ago and even now it's fun to watch. Nothing deep or intriguing, only pure action and blood everywhere.

O:6
The series was original when it came out and it even went viral in my coutry. Nevertheless, probably I won't watch it ever again as it has nothing other than action. If there is somebody that'll read this review, I have to alert you: if you seek something more than action and guts, look somewhere else. I assure you: there are hundreds of more interesting series out there and you'll find many good ones soon enough.

While not the best wandering samurai show, it certainly takes a decent stab at the genre.

Story - Non-existent, if you're looking for one, try any harem series. Although if it's action you're looking for, this maybe for you.

Art - Gritty animation gave Afro Samurai it's own style, highlight of the series.

Sound - Samuel Jackson's performance as Ninja Ninja, the apparent comical side-kick didn't work for me. His chit-chatter of Afro Samurai's foreseeable demise is a common irritation throughout.

While the voice acting was mediocre, RZA can be commended for his polished musical score for the series.

Character - Being 5 episodes long, there was no chance ... of any character development whatsoever, you either loved the protagonist from the start or loathed him, which would explain why sympathy was used as the initial attention puller. For me, it failed, I've seen this too many times, done better.

Enjoyment - No story=snore. There is a stiffy moment in there for you H fans, though. *raises hand*

Overall - The series caused more sparks than lighting anything imaginative. Was AS a big disappointment? It has to be said, initially I felt AS would not interest me at all and it didn't fail in that department.

Watch this series once then put it with the rest of the pretenders.

If I never had a reason to accuse an anime of being all beauty and no brain. Then I would definitely have one now, because Afro Samurai fits the term "style over substance" like no other. It makes sure to cater only to a specific audience, which are the action and eye candy crowd. Studio Gonzo has been known to deliver when it comes down to visuals. Series such as Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo and Basilisk more than back up this claim. Afro Samurai continues to carry their legacy.

The artwork and animation are top notch without a doubt. The battle scenes are fast ... paced, very fluid, and detailed. It is amazing watching bullets chopped in mid flight only to scatter and kill people by the dozens. Plus the animation is completely free of stills with very little reused cels. The choreography is among the best I have seen in a samurai related anime with fights even surpassing that of Ninja Scroll, while completely crushing the completely horrid Samurai Deeper Kyo. Anyone whom says the animation in Afro Samurai is lacking either didn't see it, or they're searching for reasons to hate it; which really is uncalled for because it has more than enough dragging it down. The artwork is splendid with some great character designs and very nice settings with a very well use of color and schemes.

The soundtrack is very good as well. East Coast hip hop artist RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan is behind the soundtrack. The beats are everything you would expect from him, and they capture the gritty feel plus the rhythm of the series. When I first saw Afro Samurai and Samurai Champloo, I didn't care for hip hop in a samurai setting. I guess it had a lot to do with the traditionalist in me; but I'll admit that it does work here. Even though I'm still not completely a fan of it. In fact I'm not a fan of it at all.

The voice work is done by Samuel L. Jackson(Afro Samurai, Ninja Ninja), Ron Perlman(Justice), and Kelly Hu(Okiku). The voice work is average, but a majority of the time you will hear from the ultra irritating comic relief Ninja Ninja, and he never ever shuts up. The other two voice actors are barely heard from due to their short roles.

Afro Samurai also has an interesting world simply because the imagination definitely ran wild. These aren't exactly your traditional samurai and monks. The characters are equipped with a vast arsenal of weaponry and cybernetics that combines genres old and new, such as a monk using a cell phone along with ronin packing a crossbow/grenade launcher.

Now for the bad features of the series, this is the part that is completely a matter of taste. The writers focused so much on the eye candy and blood lust audience, that they completely forsake the character and plot driven crowd. All of the characters are incredibly bland, and almost no one is really likeable. Afro is not really developed, his sidekick Ninja Ninja is the opposite of Afro's quiet personality, in which he's very out spoken, loud, and upbeat. It is said, that he's actually Afro's character development. I just don't see that because Afro simply doesn't change for better or worse. He is one of the most static characters I can think of. This doesn't necessarily make him a bad character, just not a very interesting one and easily forgettable. The rest of the characters are merely meant to push the thin plot and nothing else.

Afro Samurai is a very violent series with lots of blood, death, and severed limbs. Followed with lots of profanity that Samuel L. Jackson has been known for. There is also a bit of fan service and an almost non graphic sex scene.

This series is not for everyone and I haven't re-watched it in years. Those whom love lots of bloody and gory action shades of Ninja Scroll will more than likely be entertained. Fans of Sam Jackson and RZA's production should give it a shot as well. The DVD set also comes with a second disk containing commentary, interviews with the voice actors, producers, and behind the scenes.

Highs: Very high production values, good blend of different genres

Lows: Paper thin plot, bland characters, weak ending

The Positive Side: Have you ever wanted to watch a cartoon version of Samuel L. Jackson kill the population equivalent of the state of New Hampshire while wielding a katana?

…What do you mean, ‘no’?

…Not even a little?

Afro Samurai is a post-apocalyptic western scifi samurai tale of vengeance, in which Afro, the titular samurai, seeks to kill the man who killed his father and claim the Number One headband, the symbol of Afro’s father’s former status as the deadliest man alive. Afro can only challenge the new Number One while wearing the Number Two headband. The catch is that the position of ... Number Two is perpetually up for grabs, and countless people attempt to kill Afro and take the headband for themselves. These people tend to fail spectacularly before being sliced open and producing enough blood to fill a kiddie pool, but that doesn’t stop them from trying.

The premise leads the audience to all sorts of interesting questions. Where did these headbands originate from? Do they actually grant any special powers, or are they only significant because of the status they convey? Who made them? Why is claiming them more important than attempting to rebuild society in the wake of nuclear holocaust? How the hell does Afro keep his hair looking so perfect when all the salons in the world have been wiped out of existence?

The answer to all of these questions is, “Look how badass Afro is!”

To be fair, watching Afro being a badass is fairly entertaining on its own. The striking, unique visuals and masterful animation are coupled with a gloriously shameless love of camp. At one point, Afro slices a rocket propelled grenade in half with a katana, and suffers no ill effects when it explodes directly next to him. At another, Afro fight an evil robot clone of himself, who, in the fight’s climax, uses rocket boosters to carry itself and Afro into the atmosphere before they both plummet back to Earth. This is a show that can seamlessly move between beautifully choreographed and animated sword-fights to a cheesy disregard for physics normally reserved for the kind of 80’s science-fiction movies you see at the bottom of a Walmart bargain bin. Afro Samurai has little going for it beyond sheer visual spectacle and style, but these are two areas it undoubtedly excels in.

The Negative Side: Afro Samurai is a series whose presentation is at odds with its own themes. The central message of the story, perhaps the only thing that might elevate it beyond the level of being highly stylish, violent and sexual fluff, is that a drive for vengeance and unchecked ambition are terrible forces that ultimately lead only to tragedy. The problem is, it’s hard to take that message seriously when 95% of the series is screaming, “Look how badass our hero is!” while he’s taking vengeance and murdering countless people on his quest to be the single baddest muthafucka on the planet.

The Kill Bill films (the other campy anachronistic samurai story of vengeance Jackson was in) struggled with the same problem, but the protagonist of Kill Bill was capable of running the full gambit of human emotion. She was capable of sorrow and regret and love, and this helped ground the vengeance story in spite of its gore and camp. Afro displays no such humanity. He is a blood-stained power fantasy with all the emotional depth of a can of Axe body-spray. When, as a child, his quest for vengeance leads to the death of his foster family, he simply writes it off as the cost of avenging his father. Not only is Afro seemingly incapable of recognizing the consequences of his actions or considering redemption, he never does anything that could make us like him on a level other than, “What a badass!”

There’s a particularly gross sequences of events in which an enemy spy falls in love with Afro, then sacrifices herself to save him from an ambush. Why does she fall for a man who rarely says more than three words at a time? Because Afro is a badass, of course. He is the most badass badass of all baddasses, so it goes without saying that in addition to being ridiculously good at killing people, he can also make every woman he meets wanna screw him by doing literally nothing. In fact, he’s too badass to even bother changing facial expressions during their lengthy, gratuitous and utterly unsatisfying sex scene. You’d think the death of this poor woman would have some degree of emotional fallout, but Afro never expresses guilt over being unable to save her, never considers seriously pursuing a relationship with her instead of continuing his quest for vengeance, and never mentions her name again. In fact, none of the women in the series accomplish much other than dying to motivate men or shaking their asses at the camera.

There’s a popular theory going around the internet to account for Afro’s seeming lack of depth that is worth addressing here. The theory posits that Ninja Ninja, Afro’s obnoxious jive-talking companion, is actually a figment of his imagination, or else a personification of his inner thoughts. The numerous times Ninja Ninja clearly interacts with physical objects contradicts this, but ignoring that, the idea that Afro is so emotionally damaged that he has literally cast out his feelings and conscience as a separate entity is a potentially interesting idea… an idea that, like the series’ premise and setting, receives zero exploration. As a series, Afro Samurai lacks the patience to give attention to anything but sex and violence, and once the thrill of the visuals wears off, this leaves it feeling hollow and forgettable.

Final Verdict: Afro Samurai is all flash and no substance. While its visuals are strong, there are other series with visuals that are just as beautiful and don’t throw character development and pathos under the bus. If you’re not a diehard Samuel L. Jackson fan, skip this one and watch Samurai Champloo instead.

(Reviewing the dub because I cannot imagine watching this subbed)

Afro Samurai is one of those shows where the concept and production is so good that you want to love it, but the execution just doesn't live up to its promises.

It's still enjoyable for what it is. The sound track is amazing, the art work is gorgeous, the animation references classics like Ninja Scroll while still being fresh and fluid, but don't expect any deep character development or innovations in storytelling. Our protagonist is the strong silent type taken to the absolute extreme (like everything else) and all emotions and human elements come in the form ... of flashbacks.

Afro Samurai s basically a blacksploitation film, but without the social sensibilities of Spike Lee or Gordon Parks. It's what would happen if you gave Shaft a tragic revenge story, took away all his lines, and dropped him in distopian Meiji era-future Japan.

What I liked:

It was awesome to see black characters staring in anime, and I loved that it was pointed out they they were different than all the Japanese characters around them. With Samual L. Jackson playing Samurai and his loud companion Ninja Ninja, the blackspoitation angle worked without being racist. I could not imagine watching this subbed.

The world was really cool. It was like Seven Samurai and Rurouni Kenshin met Cowboy Bebop. The mix of Old Japan and cyber punk worked and there were definite rules to the technology.

A few really interesting villains. One even had a teddy bear head!

The voice acting was all around great. I've already mention Jackson, but the leader of an evil syndicate sounded like and evangelist preacher and it was PERFECT. And OH MY GOD RON PEARLMAN IS AN EVIL VAMPIRE GUNSLINGER.

The fight scenes were good. There were A LOT of them though and after a while it felt more like a video game than TV show.

What didn't work:

There were so many references (Kurosawa films, classic anime, 70's cinema, the Terminator) that it some times got in the way of what was actually happening on screen. There are only five episodes, not enough time for all that.

The lone named female character was woefully cliche and died right after sex in another terrible cliche. Not exactly a feminist show.

There are almost too many fights (and I love fight scenes).

Ultimately:

The show could have benefited from a few more episodes to help the pacing, but I'm not sure Samurai's character could have carried any more.

You should give it a watch if you like things like both Samurai Champloo and Pulp Fiction. Sit back, brace yourself for the blood and enjoy the ride. Just don't think too much about it.

I was actually really looking forward to watching this series because it's very atypical most of the other animes i've seen and im not entirely sure what i was expecting but im not sure if i felt satisfied with the series

STORY: 6
there actually is no plot. the main character, afro samurai (known as just afro) is on a quest to become the number 1 samurai and avenge his father's death and kill the main antagonist, Jutsice (who's number 1). thats it really. they do include afro's backstory which actually IS really interesting and very dynamic and dense. it was interesting to see how this kid ... became a harden killer.

ART: 7
the animation actually is very very well done. everything was pretty fluid and the fight scenes were entertaining and beautiful to watch. im not so scary about the art style as much but it wasn't ugly. the color palate chosen really intensified the barren landscape and the overall feeling of emptiness

SOUND: 7
the music kinda reminded me of samurai champloo with those hip hop vibes. i actually really enjoyed the intro song. helps form the tone of the anime right from the start. Samuel L. Jackson is a great voice actor, he did an amazing job doing ninja ninja and afro. i cant really say the same for all of the other characters. it sounded like they were just straight up reading the script with no life behind their voices.

CHARACTERS: 7
the anime is short so there really isnt much time for character development per say, however the back story really helped the audience see how far the characters have come. Geno was one of my favorite characters because of the changes made from the past to present. he was such a complex character for not really being shown in the present for too long. afro is also a very deep character, whose story is portrayed beautifully with the help of the back story, the producers did a good job. the villains on the other hand, weren't so great. they were very superficial, dry and stereotypical. they were just a bundle of pure evil with no real rhyme or reason. a little disappointing

ENJOYMENT: 6
theres something missing to this series and its frustrating because i cant really put my finger on whats missing exactly. i didnt hate the series i just wasnt wowed by any one aspect of it as much as i thought i was going to. i suppose the series just wasnt for me. it was entertaining dont get me wrong but i just felt like it was just lacking in something. it might have been the voice acting that really put a damper on the dramatic parts of the series.

OVERALL:
-plot is very basic. a common revenge plot, nothing new
-animation was amazing. not crazy about the style. the color palate really help make for a feeling of emptiness, sadness and fastness
-music was on point
-geno and afro were awesome characters with great development. ninja ninja was annoying but necessary for comic relief. villains had no depth to them.
-voice acting overall could have used some more direction and energy. Samuel L. Jackson's performance was great though
-not for those of the weak of heart. a lot of blood, gore, fighting. theres a sex scene there as well
-a good anime if youre in between stuff because it's short

"Samurai, Motherf*Cker, Do You Speak It?"

Chanbara meets blaxploitation for a quick hookup instead for a more profound relationship. The result is obviously a short-lived stimulus.

Incorporation of elements borrowed from Eastern and Western cultures is done artlessly. In order to work believably they should've been thematically conjoined. It is an improperly blended mix that will make you ponder whether it is cool or just asinine.

It is more or less devoid of characterization. Afro himself is a man on a set path, which is what defines his entire character. The only trait that sets him apart from other vacuous characters is that his conscience manifests ... in a humanoid form. And what makes him memorable within the medium itself is his uncanny appearance.

Voice overs are a cheesy reminiscence of 70s trashy movies, therefore suitable to the overall tone. Music on the other hand -- at moments -- feels completely out of place and works better when listened separately from the anime.

The style over substance platitude cannot even be applied here since aim is clear; to make an adrenaline filled - cruise control story. It is precisely what it wants to be. However, this won't redeem it in the eyes of viewers who will notice its wasted potential and lack of a more palpable ambition.

Gateway anime, really. Will suffice if you just want to dip it in, but I doubt you'll call it anytime soon after that.

Man, this anime shouldn't be as underwhelming as it turned out to be. You got medieval japan with sci-fi elements like robots, cyborgs, guns, cell phones and other technology and then you got a cool ass no-nonsense samurai at the center of the story just marching forward to slice people up until he can reach demonic looking cowboy and kill him. It sounds cool and many people probably think it is but I was bored thanks to how badly it all fits together.

One thing to note before getting into the story is that it's extremely simple. It's a straightforward revenge plot with common revenge plot ... themes and elements that goes through average action movie progression of fighting stronger and stronger foes until reaching target at the very end. It's also about 2 hours long so you'd expect that story being as simple as it is would be given less of a focus to give way for the real attraction - action. However it's not so, the pacing of the show is quite horrible so a lot of the time is spent on contemplative walks that don't add anything, drawn out backstory or long scenes of villains talking about their plans to bring down Afro. Then you get a short fight and the whole thing repeats.

The fights are while generally well animated are a mixed bag when it comes to choreography, hardly any of them aside from maybe Justice fights are really memorable with only a few truly impressive moments sprinkled throughout. On top of that it's all brought down by the show's lacking visuals. To put it simply I think the original doujin/manga artist, Takashi Okazaki, designed some very unique, interesting and good looking designs but the way they transitioned to anime leaves a lot to be desired. Show's a gray, bland, muddy mess without anything impressive in terms of directing so it just undermines the whole art style. I feel like the show would be a lot better if went with the crisp, high contrast aesthetic a lot of Takeshi Koike works have.

Lastly sound which also unfortunately was a disappointment. RZA is credited for music which at first got me excited, I don't know much about his solo work but I've listened to WTC before and liked. Don't expect anything out of that however since the hip-hop beats are not only scarce most of them are far too basic and don't even fit what's happening on screen half the time. If you want a samurai anime with hip-hop aesthetic turn to Samurai Champloo instead cause score from Nujabes and Fat Jon are infinitely better.
Sound effects on the other hand were pretty good I thought. The sound of Afro cutting through people, sword clangs, the weird distorted voices of the ninja robots, footsteps, and other sounds were largely satisfying or interesting. In particular I thought the sound work for the robo-afro was good enough to make him seem more than just a generic robot.
Also english dub is about as bad as I think most would expect out of anime but Samuel L Jackson did a surprisingly decent work, especially with Ninja Ninja, out of entire cast his scripts and delivery felt natural.

That's about it. If you want a good, stylish action movie you're better off with anything Koike made. If you want Samurais, Champloo and Sword of the Stranger seems like a better choice. Afro Samurai itself it rather average and easily forgettable.

Every military’s greatest fear has been all throughout our history as a species: An enemy that doesn’t care. Something driven by nothing but pure instinct. Imagine it yourself rookie. You’re in the trenches laying in magazine after magazine into something, or someone, that does not falter the same way you do. Something that doesn’t care about strategic gain, and is just as satisfied and compelled to ravage itself than to specifically target you. Something that uses heavy weaponry and or artillery without any regard whatsoever to its own allies in the blast radius. Fending off an assault from them can seem bordering futile, all the ... strength you and your allies can muster does nothing but devolve into a battle of grinding attrition. A slow chipping away of morale and sanity as one by one you watch your comrades fall to the overwhelming tide, worst of all - any successful defense against them only embolsters and urges them to try again harder. There is no sleep. There is no remorse. Only a relentless swarm of the enemy, and their dark laughter even miles away from them echoing in your ears. You’re faced with the question of: “How do you stop, and analyze something that defies all logic and reasoning?”

Afro Samurai - is that something.

Trying to get a solid, firm and mental grasp around this show will do nothing but agonize you more and more, and eventually it will either force you to submit to its madness, or you’ll simply give up. Either way, it’s going to win. We all know there are shows where you just need to: “Turn your brain off”, fine, understandable, even so, Afro Samurai stands out due to never being concerned about the story as more than a prop to get you to the next action scene, and it doesn’t admit this - it loves and relishes it. Simply beginning how to break it down on a logistical level will give you a a migraine. So, what are you supposed to think of it? What are you supposed to make of it? I don’t think that was a concern from the producers in the slightest, this is almost like a show made for one’s personal deliverance. I guess… this is usually the part where I try to explain stuff. O.o

Young boy who watched his father die grew up, became a samurai, and wants vengeance - done. . . . what? You know there’s nothing else to it. Fine, I’ll get serious.

Afro Samurai’s lead, voiced by the oh-so-bombastic Samuel L. Jackson, who is named. . . Afro, isn’t exactly a character as much as he is a stagnant concept and caricature for the story to continue its pace, rather, to string itself along to the next fight scene. If I had to say anything about our protagonist it’s that despite being as bland as wonderbread he does have an air of charisma, no doubt due to the VA himself voicing him that will make you not exactly root for him, you know he’ll win every encounter, but become enthralled into what creative way he will discover to defeat his next opponent. Strategy is not a thing employed too well in the series itself but the jaw-dropping acrobatics and animation used do make a joy for the eyes to gander at. I never cared for him or his goals, but he did keep me going along the way which to be fair deserves a slight bit of praise as, in the hands of a less competent-catharsis would be a horrible and numbing experience, there are seldom worst fates than a protagonist being someone who is unfavorable to watch.

The supporting cast, what little there were, are somewhat entertaining if not and once again only due to the voice acting in the English dub - with another character who of course is also voiced by Sammy himself. Otherwise, Jinno if not typical was a decently interesting concept that at times I nearly wanted to see more of than Afro and was the only bit of true pathos the show could siphon from me in this flick - I say “flick” because the pacing at times is so breakneck it can feel like a western Hollywood blockbuster, either that or an arcade game. Only sad that there is no music as catchy as those found in arcade games, pardon if I don't give the OST much of an eye, but there's piss-poor to talk about, some cliche Japanese strings here, a decent foot-stomper when Afro rushes into battle, nothing you'll listen to by itself.

Also, while this was done by studio Gonzo let me assure you - this is NOT Gonzo - this is Gonzo when they actually care/have money. One of the studios I am fascinated with the most because their works either rival madhouse or might as well move at one fps. They have done an amazing job putting Sammy’s vision to work, he forked up some big-money for them to get off their arses and put their hidden talent to use. The animation is consistently arousing in every action scene on screen, though with a keen eye you will notice that on occasion not just the designs in the distance, but the backgrounds themselves can begin to show their rushed-job if you’re paying close attention, then again who is from the pretty fair lighting used along with some intimate camera-angles when the scenes really start to get gory. Speaking of which when blood does spill it’s, promise, not a psychopath - majestic to see explode into the air and land gracefully on the ground.

It’s extremely obvious that the aesthetic was lifted from western action shows that themselves were inspired by Japanese animation, such as Samurai Jack and Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it rides this aesthetic till the wheels fall off, its dedication to the craft while something you may be tempted to look over, does garner at least a fair bit of respect, the amount of detail put into capturing adult, western animation is astounding if you grew up with them (past your bedtime) like me.

The antagonist of the show is about as depth-filled as Afro, that is to say not very much, but also has a pretty damn good voice actor too and you got me - I was at least curious to see how Afro’s final confrontation from them would play out from a story perspective rather than a battle one, which is something I thought would never happen, the two do not share a good, if any dynamic at all, but from the show’s narrative perspective these are two titans clashing, do you actually feel anything when they fight? Hell no but it's one of the best fight scenes of the 2000’s when it comes up, seriously, this is what Hellsing 2001 COULD have looked like if they just had some extra dough.

By the end of Afro Samurai, what do you exactly gain? It’s certainly not a waste of time, but also not something to make fun of and laugh at ironically.` I was absolutely entertained during my time watching it, but I can’t help but make the comparison of eating mountains of candy. It was a hell of a ride, and you would do it again another time, but you’re left rather empty when the high calms down. Do you regret your decision? I wouldn’t say so at the time, and you had some fun looking back on it after it's over. It’s such a nebulous thing to break down because the show’s primary audience, no kidding, was for Sammy himself, which confirms my statement at the start that this was his own catharsis. We weren’t meant to view or care about the show like a traditional work of narrative and structural art, regardless of it possibly appearing otherwise due to this having a three-act-structure. Its only concern is having a good time - with itself. But you know what? It never lied and tried to tell me otherwise unlike many other works of benighted talent in this medium. Should you watch it? Why not. You have nothing to lose and it’s a decent pit stop in between your next arthouse contender.

Turn off the Kurbick, turn down the Vivaldi, shut that hardcover of Paradise Lost closed, and go wild every now and then. You could say I recommend this.

Ahhh my first gateway Anime, i remember back when i would stay up all night, drink too much soda, listen to Wu-Tang and watch Afro Samurai. With its main character, title and ost, it's very easy to see this show’s western appeal even getting Sam Jackson! This was a very easy sell to me. It was the same year I learned who RZA was, I watched this show and you cannot separate the two. For RZA’s music sets the tone for everything this embodies, over the top blaxploitation kung-fu samurai action, even if this lacks some of the charm compared to its musical equivalent. ...

Story and Character: 5

The story is painfully average, while many old school kung-fu movies have a light hearted cheesiness to them, this anime takes itself seriously. Even as a generic anime revenge story this falls flat. Afro himself is a block of wood, his sidekick Ninja Ninja is annoying and everyone else is just archetypes. Villians, babes and ex friends, all equally as forgettable if not for their imagery. The story starts strongly enough but fizzles quickly with a very anti climatic end and an underwhelming cliffhanger.

Art: 7.5

This show has some pretty decent animation, many fights are fluid and impactful. Acrobatics are easy to follow and the hits have weight, making fight scenes easy to watch and enjoy. A particular standout is a fight that sends our main character in the air, battling a robotic version of himself, fighting while he descends at rapid speeds. I like many of the character designs whether it may be the main character's fly afro, the designs of the android henchman or striking Bear-faced antagonist Kuma, character designs stuck with me even though the characters themselves were forgettable. My biggest complaint is the lack of color as the show can look very bland, with a dark grey palette.

Sound and music: 9

Not much to say for the anime itself, everything makes sense and the voice acting is well done but the soundtrack is excellent. A nice mix of R&B and Hip Hop. I’ve listened to the album outside the anime and if you love Rza production or R&B, i suggest giving it a listen.

Enjoyment and Overall: 6

The anime is very short and doesn't wear out its welcome too much but i can’t rate it more than above average as there just isn't much here. It’s enjoyable enough for what it is, nothing exceptional and if you're not really into blaxploitation or hip hop this probably wont be for you but if it’s something you’ve been meaning to watch i’d give it a try.

The art style is beautiful. The action is fluid and fast paced. It's just all around fun to watch. Good popcorn action.

But for me a lot of it was way over the top. It acts like a b-movie at times despite its top notch animation and art direction. This could appeal to some people I'm sure, but could be a huge distraction for others. With something like Samurai Champloo - even though the action is over the top - one can still see all the physics going on in combat and make sense of what they're looking at. But Afro Samurai just throws out all ... logic at times for visual gimmicks.

Again, some may think this is a good thing about the show, but I think it's something that people should be aware of going in to it. But being only 5 episodes long, you won't feel like you wasted too much time if you dislike it.

Fun show, but there's other anime who have done this same thing better I feel.

Ever since I first heard about this show I already knew there was a slim possibility of me liking it. Eventually I proved myself correct as I only got through three episodes before deciding it was not worth finishing. Don't get me wrong the animation of it is beautiful, but a show can't run on animation alone. As I watched the episodes I couldn't stop thinking it was a rip off wannabe of Samurai Champloo without the humor and great soundtrack. Samuel L Jackson will forever remain one of my favorite actors, and I do believe he did a good job voicing his characters, I ... just thought the storyline for this show could have been more then what it was. Endless blood, and killing people, and then some sex, thrown in with more killing people. All I can say is poor choices was made with this show. They could have done more and they dropped the ball.

Afro Samurai is a show that did a lot of things wrong and few things right. The characters, which seems like it should've been the main focus of the story in an anime that catologues the heroes' journey, aren't well designed. The episodes typically consist of the main character, Afro, fighting some foe that he takes out because he's a samurai. And apparently that makes him cool.

The creators seemed to have expected us to root for him and think that he was the ultimate badass because of his voice actor, Samuel L. Jackson, his afro, his sword, his afro, his stoic and reserved aura, and ... his afro. There isn't much room for character development or even story telling when your main character only says two sentences per episode that attempt to highlight how badass he is.

The story, one where Afro must face off against the man who killed his father, isn't well crafted either, as the entire thing can be summed up by the first and last five minutes of the series, meaning that in a five episode series, four and half episodes are unneccessary.

Despite this, I still found myself mildly entertained most of the time, and would recommend it to certain people, especially considering how short it is.

Throughout time, many legends have been told about the mighty samurai... Warriors of honor, loyally serving their masters, as well as lone ronin, serving only to uphold the values they hold true, whether they be religious or personal. Around these parts, you’ll hear tales of one such ronin, a bad ass motherfucker who’s as silent as the grave and twice as terrifying. This man knows no love, no empathy, and no tears. He invites no trouble, and will offer no mercy to those stupid enough to give it to him. He knows few pleasures, save for the warmth of a woman’s body, the refreshing tang ... of a cool glass of lemonade, and the sweet, sweet flavor of revenge. Rumor has it he doesn’t even need to eat... That the blood of his enemies, which constantly bathes the blade of his sword, provides him all the nourishment he could ever need. I myself have no idea which rumors are true and which ones are just the product of fear, but I’ve got no intention of finding out, and neither should you.

You’ll know this young samurai when you see him, as he sports an afro... A rare hair style indeed, and one that will surely become his sigul long after he’s departed our world, if he ever does. But don’t worry, traveler, there’s no need to fear this man... Well, unless you have what he wants. Otherwise, he’ll be perfectly willing to live and let live. See, you’ve probably heard tell about the headbands... Trophies only the mightiest of samurai are able to carry, and the only way to obtain one is to spill the blood of it’s previous owner. Well, this Afro Samurai is carrying the #2 headband, which... If you can’t guess... Is the second most prestigious headband in the known world, and the only one that grants it’s user the right to challenge the greatest samurai currently living, the holder of the #1 headband. And you didn’t hear this from me, dear traveler, but the Afro Samurai’s drive to challenge this man isn’t based on mere ambition, but something much more personal. He fights not for glory, or for honor... But for revenge.

Unlike most anime, Afro Samurai was the product of an international collaboration. Studio Gonzo was interested in adapting the deeply personal work of Takashi Okazaki, a manga artist who had been influenced by his love of both samurai classics and African American culture, particularly in regard to rap and R&B. He was shy at first, and probably wouldn’t have signed over the rights if not for the encouragement and participation of American actor Samuel L Jackson, who had gotten his hands on a rare action figure based on Okazaki’s illustrations, and had become obsessed with seeing the project through. Jackson and Okazaki apparently connected instantly, language barriers be damned, and the project went ahead, albeit with what I’m told was a 1 million dollar budget.

For an American cartoon, that sort of budget for a five episode series is abysmal, but it’s not that generous for an anime, either, despite the fact that anime is universally cheaper than it’s western counterparts. For Afro Samurai, this meant that each episode could only cost less than twenty thousand dollars, and that meant they had to cut a lot of corners... Which they did, brilliantly I might add, by turning the cheapness they’d been cursed with into a highly appealing visual style that incorporates the absolute best out of all the budget saving tactics you’ve seen before. It never quite falls back on the time old talking heads, at least not to the point that you’d ever notice it, but when movement is limited, the beautifully detailed artwork is more than sufficient to keep your eyes glued to the screen.

To be completely honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anime... Well, any animation, really... Get this much mileage out of such a limited color palette. There are occasional splashes of color throughout the series, especially when it comes to the buckets full of red blood and the golden glow of our hero’s precious lemonade, but for about 90 percent of the series, the colors on screen are almost monochromatic, playing with numerous shades of white, black and gray, as well as the occasional tan of the ground. At night, the cloudy, overcast sky is a captivating sight, and during the day, the lighting effects are beyond gorgeous. Other visual effects such as rain and fog filters are integrated smoothly with the cell-drawn animation.

The real triumph here are the action scenes, which are fast, fluid and dynamic, even when the animators have to break a character’s anatomical frame in order to keep the pace up. It only takes one real glance to see this kind of animation style in motion, as Afro’s namesake blows in the wind like the reflection of the moon in a puddle, and the animators are not shy about letting an occasional arm or leg move with exactly the same level of consistency. It winds up working out better than you’d think not only because of sharp, fast editing, but because the sound design of every single sword movement is completely on point. I love all of the action scenes in this series, but a few easy highlights are an early fight where Afro splits a bullet with his sword, a huge bloodbath of a brawl from when he was a teenager that almost feels like Saving Private Ryan in the way it’s brutality is show to effect him, and of course, there’s also a fight towards the end where he takes on a robot who’s been designed to look and fight like he does, but has no problem taking Afro to the sky with it when those tactics don’t pan out.

As you may have guessed from Okazaki and Jackson’s connection that I mentioned earlier, the music in Afro Samurai is made up mostly of hip-hop, full of vocal tracks whose head-banging beats fit the pace of the action in a way that’s easily similar to The Boondocks. The vocal work was performed by RZA, a former member of the Wu-Tang clan, a band that was, in it’s own right, influenced by Eastern culture. He also produced much of the music, as he did for his former band. The instrumental tracks feature slightly more traditional orchestration, but they fit more to the background, humbly doing their job without standing out too much. Besides, why bother making the instrumentals stand out when you have tracks featuring The Game, Too Short, Snoop Dogg and more, which are guaranteed to leave an impression all by themselves? The soundtrack, if you’re lucky enough to have it, features a small handful of tracks that weren’t from the show but inspired by it, and I don’t mean ‘inspired by’ like all the bullshit tracks on the Pokemon Movie soundtrack... These are songs that actually fit the series.

The English dub is a very unique entity, as it’s comprised almost entirely of actors who work in traditional animation. or “Pre-lay.” This is a term referring to the practice of recording a voice actor first and then animating a character around them afterwards, as opposed to ADR voice acting, which does the opposite. Thankfully, they translate very well over to the more prevalent Anime recording style, although there are minor lip-flapping hiccups from time to time. The only anime regular who appears in this dub is Yuri Lowenthal, who plays Afro’s childhood friend, Ginno, who was an idealistic young boy in Afro’s past, but is even more compelling in the present day scenes, due to certain spoiler reasons. He does an outstanding job, probably the best performance in the dub, but because of a certain other big name, he was never the one I was going to get excited over.

No matter how much hype went into the American airing of the series... And yes, the hype was palpable... The truth was, regardless of the show’s success, I was going to watch it either way because of one of the names attached to it. He’s one of the most underrated actors of our time, in my opinion, and as much as I enjoy his live action work, I practically chomp at the bit when I get a chance to hear him in a cartoon, or even in the rare video game, and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to hear him in an anime. He’s not only my favorite black actor, or my favorite voice actor, no, he’s my favorite ACTOR, period. I’ve been following him since BEFORE what many would consider his most memorable role in Pulp Fiction, and his inclusion made this dub for me. That’s right, I’m talking about Phil Lamarr, the original voice actor for Samurai Jack, who once again returned to the genre as the young version of Afro, as well as one of the Brothers, a league of elderly assassins including such prolific actors as Jeff Bennet and John Dimaggio!

Oh, you thought I was talking about Samuel L Jackson? He did a fine job. I wish I could say more, but as a main character, he had relatively little to do or say throughout the series. The titular character Afro is a very soft-spoken character, choosing only to speak when necessary, letting his actions do the speaking for him unless he has no other choice. It’s not really Jackson’s fault, as it’s not really an acting-heavy role, but he still does an admirable job with it. Thankfully he has dual roles, as he gets a lot more lines as the mysterious Ninja Ninja, a loud-mouthed tag-a-long who appears to Afro the minute he earns the #2 headband properly. The true identity of Ninja ninja is never openly revealed, nor is it stated until the final episode whether or not he exists at all. While his endless jabbering is welcome most of the time, breaking up long periods of silence and questioning Afro’s motives, he can become annoying with his knack for stating the obvious. Think of him like... D’s hand from Vampire Hunter D.

The other two high-billed names are Kelly Hu and Ron Perlman, though neither one really appears enough to justify having featured names. Outside of flashbacks, Kelly Hu only appears in one episode as a shrine maiden who takes Afro in when he’s near death, and nurses him back to health... Using both medical AND sexual healing to see him through. Kelly exaggerates her accent with this character, which I guess is fitting, because she’s one of the only definitely-asian characters in the cast. Ron Perlman is unrecognizable as the main villain, Justice, who only appears in the first and last episodes, but that’s mostly because he hisses his lines like a snake, playing up how misanthropic and morally bankrupt this #1 samurai has allowed his time in the top to make him, as well as highlighting his delusional, god-like ambitions. If there’s a problem with this dub, it’s probably in the fact that some of the Brothers, played by veteran voice actors though they may be, are performed as though they were southern evangelical priests, a bafflingly poor fit for the tone of the series.

You wouldn’t be unjustified in saying that Afro Samurai had a very weak story. Despite all that happens in it’s five episode run, little to none of it seems to matter in the long run. Afro gets into fights that are resolved as easily as possible, and then moves on afterward, as if nothing had happened at all. This is because, at it’s core, Afro Samurai is the very simple story about a surprisingly simple man. While we do get generous doses of flashbacks to explain who he is and why he’s doing what he’s doing, you really wouldn’t lose anything important to the plot if you just told his backstory, and then cut directly to Afro standing at the gates of his final enemy. Even at five episodes, this anime could have been reduced to one, or two at the most, with nothing you would need to know lost in the process. The story does not see actual progress very often, and neither does Afro’s journey, as he himself sees little to no development, at least if you don’t count his childhood and teenage years in the flashbacks. This has become a major criticism of the series, and it’s one I feel I should address.

One of my favorite movies of 2013 was 2 Guns, a more-or-less by the numbers action film that featured both Denzel Washington and Mark Walberg as undercover agents from two separate factions pretending to be friends to investigate each other, constantly fighting together and backstabbing each other as the story progresses. I say that, but the story for the most part was an incoherent mess. There were so many betrayals and plot twists that I’m not sure even the writers knew what was going on, so why did I love it so much? The answer lies in the execution, and what the movie brought to the table that worked. The insane story was made palatable by the sharp, clever dialogue and the chemistry between the two leads, and it ended in such a way that it was able to embrace it’s insanity... Where else am I ever going to see a shoot-out between the Navy, the CIA and a drug cartel that takes place in the middle of an honest to God cattle stampede?

And that’s exactly why I like Afro Samurai so much. There are plenty of samurai stories with depth and complexity to them... Samurai Jack, Seven Samurai, Rurouni Kenshin... But in how many of them do we get to see the main character ride a robot version of themselves into the stratosphere, and then fight it all the way down? The only theme that Afro Samurai really tackles is the cost of revenge, as you do get to feel the bodies of Afro’s friends and enemies pile up over time, which forces you to wonder whether or not vengeance for his father’s death is really worth it in the first place, and his past does come back to haunt him at numerous occasions, as will often happen with the hunt for vengeance. Aside from this, there are a lot of things that just kind of happen, but the saving grace... And what makes the execution here so good... Is that it’s all done with so much sincerity that none of it ever feels forced or pointless. Every single fight is memorable, no matter how easily they’re resolved, and even no matter how forgettable or how generic the attackers themselves may be.

Does this excuse the obvious problems with the series? Well, yes and no. On the one hand, while this series does make for good popcorn material, it doesn’t offer much in the way of a rewatch, and much like your typical Superman story, it’s kind of difficult to get invested in the story of an unstoppable man. There’s also quite a bit that doesn’t make any sense... The rules behind the headbands in particular are a head scratcher, and I’m not just talking about how easy it would be to fake a #2 headband, but... What happens when #2 kills #1? Do they choose who gets the #2? Apparently they do, because Justice just hands it over to little Afro so that some bandits can pick it up. And why can’t someone just break the rules and kill the #1 with a sniper rifle? Guns exist! And while I had no problem with most of Afro’s enemies, the writers never portended that they were supposed to be important... Except for the Empty Seven, who prove to be completely wasted by the end.

And yet, the series keeps a consistent tone that makes it really easy to get lost in. Shallow as the story may be, one dimensional as adult Afro may be, underdeveloped as several concepts may be, it’s a dark, gritty story that’s taken completely seriously and steeped in the love of two very adult genres. It’s definitely style over substance, but with both a style and substance that feel more like a collaboration between Kanye West and Quentin Tarrantino than a collaboration between Sam Jackson and a Mangaka, it’s worth at least a second look. That’s not to say the series is as much as the sum of it’s parts, but there’s something to be said for how much fun it is to watch a passion project that’s creatively unhinged, and held back only by budgetary limits. It’s not trying to be art, it’s trying to be grindhouse, and to that end, it does a pretty solid job.

Afro Samurai is available from Funimation in an impressive fold-out DVD case, as well as your standard thin blu-ray release. A follow-up movie, Afro Samurai Resurrection, is also available from the same company, and while you can buy them separately, you can also get them as a bundle in a set called The Complete Murder Sessions. The original manga consists of only two volumes, and it IS available stateside from Seven Seas Entertainment. A video game for the Playstation 3 and X-Box 360 is unfortunately out of print, but it’s not that difficult to find a copy online.

Afro Samurai isn’t for everyone. In fact, I’m done making excuses for it. There’s a good reason I can only watch this series about once a year, tops. It has a definite cool factor, but so did the first seasons of RWBY and Hellsing, and I hated both of those. Granted, Afro Samurai has quite a bit more to offer than those two did(as much as it fails compared to their future incarnations), mostly in regard to it’s great production values, addictive music and engrossing adult tone, but I have to admit that if it were even one episode longer, I’d probably hate it. I love Afro Samurai, but like so many other guilty pleasures out there, I have to be brutally honest about it... This series works really well, but only in small doses spaced out over time. I give Afro Samurai a 5/10