Afro Samurai

alright, so i've real a lot of negative reviews of this show on here. Well kids, i'm going to defend this show, because there's a lot too it you guys are missing out on.

Afro Samurai is the new anime produced by and starring Mr. Samuel L. Jackson, as well as high end voice talent like Phil LaMarr of Samurai Jack fame, and Ron Perlman, the man who is and will always be Hellboy.

Like the great works of Shinichiro Watanabe, this work employs heavily the influence of western culture, specifically black western culture, which i suppose makes sense considering our stoic protagonist. now when i say black western culture, i'm not just talking about hip-hop music, i'm talking about Blaxploitation as well.

for those of you who don't know, Blaxploitation was a sub-genre of the 70's Exploitation films that dominated the drive-in scene during that period of American cinema history. the most famous and accessible Blaxploitation films these days are probably the Dolemite series of films, the Shaft series, or the classic Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song. these films were, for the most part terrible, but they influenced a generation of post-civil rights urban youth struggling to find an identity into action. they were stylish, fun, and gave an overall message of standing up for yourself and being proud of who you are, despite their inherent sexism, these films were the Noir flicks of their day, gritty and edgy and bleeding style. theaters in the 70's that would carry Exploitation and Blaxploitation films also carried many Kung Fu and Samurai films, so when 70's funk culture evolved into hip hop culture, it wasn't so shocking that the children who idolized Sweet Sweetback, also pulled influence from Yojimbo and Zoatichi, in fact, one of those children of influence even did the score for Afro Samurai - The RZA of The Wu Tang Clan, a seminal rap group that not only incorporated samurai and kung fu films into their lyrics, but into the music itself as well.

Okay, History lesson over, the reason i wanted to make you read all that is so that you have a better idea of where Afro Samurai is coming from, it is, for all intents and purposes, the coming together of cultures that are not, and have never been so far apart as you may think. a lot of people are also calling Afro-Samurai a child of the spaghetti western genre, which i suppose is true, but it must also be understood that the spaghetti western was heavily influenced by samurai films before them. Sergio Leone probably wouldn't even have a career if it wasn't for Akira Kurosowa's films.

Now, onto the show itself. Afro Samurai is incredibly simple, but i say that in the most endearing way possible. being convoluted is not a prerequisite of having substance or being artistic. Samurai Jack, a long running and long praised show has proved this time and again. great stories like the Hellboy series of comics or the popular Battlestar Galactica show, are great because they manage to turn schlocky cheese into high art, by giving it a modern overhaul. Afro Samurai takes it one step further, to the point where the schlock IS the art. Anime is very much like our version of the Exploitation genre of yesteryear, it's very underground, but still holds popularity and knowledge in the mainstream, it's filled with shitty crap, but the good stuff is worth watching, and it has it's own very unique style that has influenced generations of artists who've been exposed to it.

the story of Afro Samurai is very very basic, it's a revenge story because it needn't be anything more than a revenge story. it's intent isn't to change your life or make you weep for it's tragic hero, it's intent is to make your eyes melt and your heart pump, and maybe throw in a laugh or two. there's a saying: You Don't watch Kill Bill the same way you watch Shindler's List. that applies.

shows like Afro Samurai and the vampire miniseries Hellsing are fantastic shows because they take from the well of culture not everybody likes to admit is there, and shows you something that takes it one step further, shows you what those film makers of yesteryear could have done with the technology at our disposal today. they work on a storytelling level because the stories are simple and have been told many times. they are human stories.

the idea of Afro Samurai, i can say with some confidence, was never to get you thinking about our society like Ghost in the Shell or Neon Genesis, it's not that horse. Afro Samurai is meant to appeal to something deeper than your ego or your intellect, it appeals to your instinct. that's why it's so stylish. it's pleasure is purely aesthetic, and that is not at all a bad thing. Anime has a long history of taking from western culture and vice-versa, i like to think of Afro Samurai less as a corny bloodbath, and more a celebration of the corny bloodbaths we all know and love. western stories like Fist Full o' Dollars, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, and eastern stories like Ninja Scroll and Yojimbo. the standard for art these days is too narrow and too pretentious considering our history. i love Afro Samurai because it's not trying to deny all the things we hate to love, blood, gore, revenge, and i'm not saying that to be nihilistic or cynical. i'm saying that because it's true, it's just easier to justify revenge and blood and gore when we can come up with some over-convoluted plot to fit it into. well screw that.

Enjoy.

Seeking to avenge his father's death, the Afro Samurai sets out to kill the #1 fighter in all the land, a man called Justice. After earning himself the title of #2, which is required for him to be able to challenge Justice, Afro Samurai sets out on his journey to revenge. His road is a dangerous one as he must first find out the location of Justice from his foes – all of whom would seek to protect Justice and also win the title of #2 for themselves. His task is a lonely and dark one, but like it or not he has a companion in the constantly b1tching Ninja Ninja.

Although it will not be to everyone's taste, Afro Samurai is a perfect example of something being pitched right at the target audience it is intended for. adult swim is the perfect home for it because it is very much targeted at young males who like their hip hop, Anime and traditions of feudal Japan. It mixes these in a great series of animations that some audiences will claim is very high on style at the expense of content. Now I appreciate that most reviews here are gushing in their praise of this series and not keen on anyone criticising it but, the thing is, those saying it lacks substance do have a point. Like I said before though, it is target audience stuff and for those into it, there will be plenty of content to support the style – those looking to be intellectually stimulated by the themes and ideals behind the characters will not get what they are looking for (but why were you looking here for those things). However for target audience the emotional core and the narrative twists will be more than enough to fill the running times of each episode and expand across the season.

What the series delivers in spades though is the cool world of the samurai crossed with the violent and stylish world of Anime with a big dollop of urban culture thrown in there too. It is no surprise to find The Rza involved because again it brings it back to a product that knows what its audience. So those coming to it will be looking for certain things and it delivers it well visually. The Anime animation is slick and cool and moves with all the conventions you will be used to from the genre. The soundtrack compliments it really well because, as other things (eg Boondocks, Wu-Tang etc) have shown, the mix of ninja/samurai (yes, I know they are very different) cultures and modern hip hop seems to be an easy fit. Performance wise you gotta say that Jackson is perfect for the role and again shows that he )or his agent) can pick the roles that bring him heat from his base fans. He is really good in his dual roles and brings the dialogue alive. Of course he is well supported by a famous cast – even if they are not all given roles that are that big. Perlman has a great voice and uses it well, but while I think Hu is again a good example of targeting your audience's tastes, her voice is not her strongest feature. Generally though all voice work is good because they are matching the style of the series rather than giving performances per se.

Overall then, not for everyone's tastes but in targeting its audience it is as ruthlessly efficient as Afro Samurai himself. Stylish, bloody, brooding and with an overall air of effortless cool, it is a fine series that I enjoyed. Put it this way, if you like the sound of it then you will almost certainly like it – it is that good at what it does.

Afro Samurai came out of left field from me. Totally unexpected, I saw the tile pop up somewhere and sounded cool enough for me to give it a go. And even though I'm not an anime fan, I found lots to appreciate in this mini series of blood and mayhem.

The main appeal for me was the combination of blaxploitation culture and samurai swordfighting (chambara). Samuel Jackson doing the voice-overs for both Afro Samurai (Clint Eastwood style, few words, calm and badass) and his sidekick Ninja Ninja (wisecracking non-stop banter) was another major plus. The third advantage is the simple story that takes its cue from a long line of revenge movies: this is a simple revenge story and that's why it works so well.

In a futuristic world, young kid watches his father get cut down by baddie who is after his father's Headband #1. Headband #1 allows its bearer to be like a god. The only one who can challenge him is the one who wears Headband #2. Anyone can challenge Headband #2. As one could expect, Headband #2's path is littered with corpses as everyone and their dog want their chance to challenge Headband #1. Young kid grows up and becomes Afro Samurai and walks the path of revenge against Headband #1. A colourful ensemble of baddies will stand in his way, from a neo-Buddhist cult of assassin monks, to cyborgs to teddy-bear faced guys with a grudge to common crooks. Through flashbacks we come to find out how Afro Samurai became who he is and how he obtained Headband #2. Simple yet effective.

The main appeal here is the visual aspect. Being a fan of 60's and 70's chambaras and jidai-gekis I find the swordfights a tad too hyperkinetic for my taste, but that's anime for you I guess. However everything has a smoother, more westernized approach perhaps to the rapid, eyesore that often is the genre which I took to with pleasant surprise and relief. The graphics and design tend to be great (especially Afro Samurai's) although they can settle for just good or serviceable at times. The blood geysers and slashing, taking their cue from stuff like Lone Wolf and Cub and Lady Snowblood (copious amounts of glorious arterial sprayings) will please every fan of the red stuff although it's not particularly gruesome. Good, clean, family fun.

The soundtrack is done by usual suspect RZA. I have to say that the whole combo of hip-hop/anime/exploitation works particularly well even though I'm only a fan of the latter third. If you wanna get a picture of what Afro Samurai is, think of the animated sequence in Kill Bill vol. 1.

Afro Samurai will stay in my collection as a pure guilty pleasure, a black samurai saga that has more than a touch of being made just right for die-hard fans of blood-drenched anime (or, for that matter, members of the Wu-Tang Clan, for which RZA did the music, and is an asset via groovy beats and is an occasional deterrent with rap going on during a big battle). At the same time it's also got a little tongue pressed into cheek, as the usual clichés in a revenge saga get just the right touches of harsh comedy (the side character Samuel L. Jackson mostly voices, Ninja Ninja as the fool of the series, gives some of it, and some of it just comes through the wild ways that the other samurais send out their forms of slaughter to Afro) and rapid stylization, with not just one specific style, though it is mostly indebted to recent ultra-violent anime. Through first-time director Kizaki and the writers who are also working mostly as their first efforts, experiment with its "ghetto" influence with it looking as much like an exploitation flick from the 70s as much as a sword-revenge story (many of those out for Afro's head could be compared to those out for Grier or Williamson's heads in the classic films).

But it's also science fiction to a degree, or at least futuristic in scope, mixing feudal Japan with crafty cyborgs and robots and other technology thrown in (including a robot clone of Afro who mimics his moves but not his subconscious). It's not anything exactly masterpiece-like, and after a few episodes it does come close to being a little tiresome in seeing Afro, who has little-to-no personality and just a straightforward bad motherf***er attitude, on his quest to achieve something higher than his simple 2-level. But it's downright exhilarating, as far as today's anime can get, in seeing the extremely bloody swordplay and other violent bits that come quick but with a lasting after effect, and in seeing how the conventions inherent in the supporting characters, be they in flashbacks to Afro's training or in the present as the ones out for Afro's head on a stick. It might actually be too based on the action for some, and it is a little light on story as it goes along past the flashback episode. Yet with people like Jackson and Perlman as the voices behind the figures, and in such a distinctive blend of the usual and unusual in the genre, it's worth a look for fans, and maybe even as a curiosity to those who dug Chapter 3 in Kill Bill 1.

First things first: If you are a fan of Anime movies, than this one is exactly up your alley. Hopefully, the fact that it is in English, won't disappoint you. It shouldn't, especially with Samuell L. Jackson speaking the main part(s)!

But when I say Anime, than I mean more in the vain of "Ninja Scroll" than let's say something from the Ghibli Studio. This one right here, is pretty intense and aimed at an adult audience. Even if the Blood is animated, it might be too much for some viewers.

I was lucky enough to watch this at local theater, where they showed the whole season back-to-back (5 episodes) ... only thing that was kind of a bummer, was the fact, that you did notice when an episode ended. They still edited it good together, but this might be something, that could put you off a bit. Other than that, I don't see any reason not to watch this (and it's also recently available "Sequel") ... unless you're not adult of course! ;o)