Samurai Champloo Review

The mash-up could have been a gimmick and is not, because the anachronism is structural rather than decorative. Graffiti, turntablism and beatboxing are used to make the Edo period feel like a place with a street culture instead of a museum, and the swordplay is choreographed to breakbeats with an editing rhythm no other period piece uses. Mugen fights like a b-boy, all improvisation and bad decisions, while Jin is textbook and rigid, and the contrast does most of the characterisation before either of them speaks.

Fuu is the reason the three of them stay together and the series is honest that her quest is thin. Nujabes and Fat Jon produced a score that outlived the show and is still how most people find it. The episodic structure means quality swings hard, and the baseball episode and the zombie episode are indefensible on any grounds except charm. The closing arc pays off considerably less than Bebop's does. Nothing else made before or since looks and sounds like this, which counts for a great deal.