I have seen this anime be mentioned in multiple reviews, lists and conversations of Samurai animes.
It's name never far from the likes of Ruruoni Kenshin and Afro Samurai.
Now I haven't watched Afro Samurai, but I have watched and I'm a major fan of Ruruoni Kenshin.
So last week, just by a whim, and because I had a little more Internet left in my night plan bundle, I decided to check it out.
In Edo Japan, the era of Samurai's is at its peak and there's hardly a region without one or more of its own Samurai dojo training hard warriors for their Shogun.
These Samurai's are used to quell trouble, but of course they can also be the cause of trouble.
Fun, a waitress at a tea house is being harassed by rowdy customers. She makes a deal with Mugen, a broke Samurai customer who wandered in looking for food.
Mugen deals with these customers and faces Jin, another Samurai who just happens to walk into the tea house.
As Mugen and Jin face off, the tea house gets set on fire and they're captured.
Fuu rescues them, in return making Jin and Mugen promise to follow her on her journey to look for the Samurai who smells like sunflowers.
This anime is so many kinds of fun and is totally not what I expected. The randomness of it is just insane and we see it start from the first episode.
I'll admit, I had an entirely open mind when starting this show, yet this 2004 anime series totally jad me surprised in all aspects; humor, animation, fight scenes and plot.
Mixing hip-hop and the normal Samurai style is a true breath of fresh life into the traditional Samurai genre, and I'll admit, if you just hear it for the first time, it's hard to imagine it working.
But it works so well!!!
There are loads of things I love in this show, yet I'm just going to list three...
This is one show that you really can't say you know what's going to happen next.
We're left as blind as the protagonists, Fuu, Mugen and Jin. We know that the end point is finding the Samurai who smells like sunflowers, yet how we'd get there is to be determined.
So every episode we see the trio in a new problem or trouble completely unrelated to the previous one. This unpredictability leaves the audience always enthralled and curious. Always guessing at what would happen next.
The characters chosen are quite a study. I think I know for a fact now that Mugen isn't a character I'd soon forget.
The characters chosen aren't one who's grip on your hearts are so sudden and loud that you'll be forced to notice them.
They just somehow linger on even when you try to forget.
With Mugen, one can always remember his wild way of fighting. Tradition swordsmanship mixed with breakdancing and erratic movements.
Then there's Jin with his calm and efficient way with the sword. Skill and speed of solving that is way too impressive to forget.
This is one show that'll make you relook at the date of production and be in awe with how good it was in it's time.
From the colours and change of lights and tones to the incredible fight scenes.
The animation is one that'll help you truly appreciate the techniques of the old.
All in all this was a lovely anime to watch. The perfect mix of humor, action and solemnity about life (because the anime isn't a laugh fest throughout). I totally recommend it to all anime watchers and for all those who like the Samurai Genre.
It's said that the director of this anime went on to create Cowboy Bebop and is still the one in charge of Lazarus that is coming out this year.
I haven't and don't think I'd check Cowboy Bebop, but I will without a doubt watch Lazarus to see more of Shinichiro Watanabe works.
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