Afro Samurai

I watched this series on Spike TV and i must insist this is one of the best dubbed animes i have ever watched! The voice over cast list start off with Samuel L Jackson (pulp fiction, Starwars) and Kelly Hu (X2: Xmen United) two A list actors very famous for their action movies. And their voices get put through the test as they use their voices for multiple characters in the series. And the voices they portray are very believable in my opinion. As in terms of animation value, one only needs too look at their hair and their tattered clothing flowing in the wind just like in a classic samurai showdown of the old days. Everything is very artistic and not to mention VERY gory (which is a plus for me). As expected of a 5 episode series, the story is not very detailed on character backgrounds and side stories except the main character (their website more than explains each character). But, they do throw you in the mix right away. The main character "afro samurai" is the second samurai in the world. And he is on a mission to become the number one samurai in the world. And thats where the story starts, his journey to his headquarters. the verdict? For those who want a quick pick me up action anime that you can finish in one sitting, by all means pick this up! but if youre looking for a super long anime, youre looking in the wrong place.

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.

When I started watching this anime, I wanted to hear the voices in japanese, thing that I never managed to, because I therefore learned that this anime was an American answer to Japan.... And I'll tell you what, they were very successful, one of the best dubbed anime I ever heard. They managed to fit everything like the art... I mean look at the details of the characters' drawings, their particular portraits, the dark "aura" they managed to bring from this dark world and look at cool gore scenes! A nice fitting music, enjoyable action moments and all in 5 episodes. What about Samuel Jackson's voice coming from Ninja's mouth? It is just... Awesome!! So basically, the story goes around a futuristic feudal Japan where there are two headbands: Headband no.1 and Headband no.2. The fighter who holds the No.1 is considered god-like, the best of the best and can only be challenged by the one who holds the No.2 one. However, everyone, but literally everyone, can challenge the No.2 holder for the headband, meaning lots of trouble for that guy. Afro's father was the No.1 holder and died against a character named "Justice". Seeking revenge, Afro got the No.2 headband and is now heading to where "Justice" is waiting for him. He goes on as some people try to stop and kill him to get the No.2 title and at the same time we learn about Afro's past as he was training to be a great samurai. The fighting scenes are very enjoyable and the story is very simple but it is the typical good samurai revenge story. However, the characters are not that much deeply explored and explained, unlike Afro, but I personally think that it's not necessary in this case. A nice 5-episode anime to watch in a row. Everything it needs to be an awesome samurai-way entertainment. And the final scene... It just gave me chills! :P "It's nothing personal... It's just revenge" ~ Afro

When I first started watching Afro Samurai, I was blown away by the action scenes early on, as well as how contrived and generic the plot was. My early theory was that the plot was mostly around in order to set up more fights. As I got a few more episodes into the show, I was extremely disappointed to realize that the show creators didn't seem to realize how weak their own plot was, as flashbacks from Afro, and the main plot actually take up a very good chunk of the screen time, and those parts are pretty consistently boring. Afro's plot is just plain stupid really. It starts off with the always reliable revenge story, but then it turns into a lot of stupid crap about trying to be #1 in the world. The character motivations to kill the hell out of each other never really make sense, so it's frustrating that so much time is spent on them. They try really hard to make Afro the coolest man ever, but well, he ends up not really standing out from any "badass" character I've ever seen. Pretty much every other character in the show is basically annoying. Afro's main redeeming point is the fights, in which there are sadly not enough of them. All the fights in Afro are ridiculously gory, stylish, and satisfying. I might even say jaw-dropping. It's easy to look forward to the fights, but sadly, they don't occur nearly as often as they should. The amount of the fights on the show do start to increase a bit as the show goes on, but for the most part, they don't seem as good as the show goes on. I think that after the initial shock and awe of the blood and gore, the fight scenes kind of lose their effect, but they are still pretty fun. Afro Samurai's attempts to be stylish and cool really work when it comes to the fights. When it comes to the plot, the attempt to make a classic tale super cool and stylish end up falling completely flat. Afro Samurai was a shot with high potential to be an awesome guilty-pleasure. Instead, I just felt guilty that I devoted an hour and a half of my life to it. I wouldn't reccomend watching this, even if you are a total action freak.

I think some of the reviewers missed the point of this anime. It's not trying to be thoughtful and original. It's not trying to be a masterpiece. Rather, it's a typical samurai-looking-to-avenge-his-father story, the only difference being that here our protagonist is black, and enjoys an icy glass of lemonade. The series does manage to succeed with its characters; while they're mostly cliches, they're also humorous and light-hearted enough that one enjoys their presence. But ultimately, this series is all about the action. And in that capacity, this anime succeeds; the fights between Afro and his enemies are visually stunning and well-choreographed. The movements are original, the enemies are bizarre and detailed, and motion feels very fluid. As with "Snakes on a Plane", the title tells you all that you need to know; "Afro Samurai" is a fun, entertaining series, which is all it ever strove to be.

I'm gonna go out ahead and say that most people should watch Afro Samurai at least once, or give the first episode a chance. Story: The story is pretty flat, but at it's heart it follows the traditional revenge story. Samurai blaxploitation revenge even. Not at all uncommon for anime. However, this anime is genre wise ALLl over the place. The main antagonist Afro seems to be pursuing through the anime is a gunslinger, so you think a bit of a samurai spaghetti western for a moment ( think Sukiyaki Western Django ), but then he's totally fighting cyborgs. Now, you ask yourself what the hell just happened, but that's the thing it does it really well and fits into the Afro Samurai universe by itself that you really pay no mind. Art: For a nation that hasn't exactly been known for it's positive portrayal of people of color ( and use of black face among other things ), I honestly think the creator got Afro right for this. I have no complaints about the animation. It flows beautifully. I don't think I could like the anime nearly as much if the art wasn't as good as it is. Sound: The sound is very good in Afro Samurai also. The wind blowing scenes do very well, as you can hear their clothes blowing smoothly, not choppy crappy sound effects you get in a lot of anime or recycled sound effects used in some movies. The music is done by RZA, and if the name isn't familiar then you're probably not familiar with the Wu-Tang Clan. The soundtrack is dare I say it...and I think I do, "dope". It is amazing, it is a mixture of not only hip hop but some rock for some tunes. Not to mention the voice acting. Samuel L. Jackson is the icing on the cake for the voice. I could listen to this man's lines over and over again. "DO THEY SPEAK ENGLISH IN WHAT!?!" Character: Afro is pretty flat. He only has one objective: "Get the headband." I'm honestly not sure what compelled me to like Afro, by all means he's kind of boring minus his awesome blade skills. The other characters aren't really developed upon much, but toward the end of the series we see a lot more into Afro's thoughts through flashbacks. However, Afro himself remains stoic, even though his previous incarnation was quite animated. Due to the events we witness through flashbacks, it's safe to assume when we find Afro now he's sealed himself off. He doesn't grow through out the series visibly, I'd say he's not very round at all. Enjoyment: I really enjoyed this anime. There are good animes ( that win awards ), and there are AWESOME animes. The difference is, awesome animes aren't always good or thought provoking, and good animes are not always awesome ( think A Whisper of the Heart, good anime, but not awesome ). If you're the kind of person who watches movies lots of action movies and frequently says "There weren't enough explosions." chances are you'll like Afro Samurai for it's awesome factor. Overall. I give it an 8.

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.

I picked this anime up one night while just walking through the anime section. I had heard it was pretty good so i wanted to check it out. To my surprise I noticed that the series was only five episodes long. They do in fact just through you into the story without a lot of backstory on any of the characters except for Afro Samurai. Story: The story was short, but it got straight to the point. Their are two rankings of Samurai in the world, The Number One, and The Number Two. The whole series is really about Afro Samurai, being the Number Two samurai trying to become The Number One and Avenging his father who was killed for the number one spot. I liked the story because as it does follow the traditional style of anime, it is different in it's own right. Art: I found the animation to be really good, but that's just in my opinion. I thought the detail of everything in the settings was animated very well, and the characters themselves as well. The gore is brought out the best way it could be without being excessive. Sounds: The music for this anime was different being more of a rap song, with a sweet beat. It's not something you would expect in a normal anime, but compliments this show very well, and the music throughout is also very good. Overall I would give Afro Samurai an 8, because it was very good even thought it was only five episodes, it had the copasity to be so much longer, probably even as long as a traditional anime being 25 to 50 episodes. It's a good anime that I myself would recommend to others that are looking for a action filled anime that they can watch in one sitting. Thanks for reading, and this is my first review!! ^_^

I'm the rare reviewer that gives this movie 10's across the board and some of it is due to the fact that this series opened the door to the world of anime for me. Story-If you like revenge stories this is a great series for you. The bandana storyline is also pretty clever. Art- I know people that didn't like the way this was drawn, but I loved it. Sound-Original soundtrack by RZA Characters-Samuel L. Jackson in a duel role-'nuff said Enjoyment-If you don't mind alot of blood you'll love it

I was actually kind of reluctuant to watch Afro Samurai. There was no reason why, but I\'m glad I watched it. The plot is pretty much about a man seeking revenge for a samurai killing his father. In a way, the plot isn\'t that original, but with the voice talents of samuel L jackson, it brings a little comedy into the "seriousness" of the plot. The animation I would say is quite good, not outstanding, but not too bad. Alot of samurai action, which I would say is the main point. The fact that it\'s 5 episodes is really a plus, because this kind of plot couldn\'t go on forever. So.. really, if you want to watch something short and sweet, and isn\'t drawn out, give it a go.

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.

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.

Afro Samurai is an example of blaxploitation in anime working gallantly. We follow a revenge-driven man simply called Afro, learning more about him through flash-backs, as he strives to be the number one swordsman. There are several things that sets this apart from typical blaxploitation titles. Most of it for the better. Firstly, it has high-quality animation that makes it look like it had a far higher budget than most titles in its genre. Its main characters are fleshed out to a greater degree than I had expected. In addition, it barely even touches upon racial stereotypes and ethnic differences. Why I think this all works, is that now it stands out with amazing stylized art, more relatable main characters, and conflicts that are more personal to them, rather than just racist villains who'd want to fight Afro because he's black and nothing else. While Afro by all accounts is fleshed out in his backstory, he also suffers from being a silent protagonist. This makes Afro less interesting to watch by himself, but it fixes this problem by making his interactions with the world around him all the more contrasting and entertaining, especially with his ninja counter-part. While I do love battle royales and tournament-anime, Afro Samurai is a gauntlet-story, where the journey mainly consists of going through one minor villain after another in order to get to the boss at the top, video-game-logic. It falls into the same trappings as most other stories of its kind, which would be several villains that are just 1-dimensional throw-aways, and a very linear journey with no particular twists. Despite not usually being a fan of the format I think it did the best it could with its plot in how it told it. A simple plot with good music, visuals, and entertaining characters.

NO SPOILERS. I tend to like going into anime that don't require me to think deeply, or search for symbolism. I mean I like thought provocative stuff but it's just this type of thing appeals to my more lazy nature. That being said Afro Samurai definitely doesn't require you to analyse details or think about character motivations, let alone explore their psyche. I went into this show looking for action, maybe some good technical performances (BGM, animation, good fights) as well. Sadly this doesn't make it any good to me. If I were to take aside the brilliant animation and art to explore this show from a critic's point of view — there would be nothing to redeem it. Whatsoever. The show starts off strongly, showing a boy witness the brutal decapitation of his father: an act that justifiably sees him take on a journey of vengeance to eventually murder his father's killer in the future. Now THAT is a statement. Buuuut...even a person who loves this show greatly would agree that...there's pretty much no story. I went into this anime expecting nothing from the story either way. Yeah, there's a ton of flashbacks in between fight scenes to add some superficial layers to Afro or the people he's in contact with — but that's pretty much filler to the action scenes. Overall very poor in the story department, but that's understandable considering what this anime is trying to be. Before I take rip this anime apart, I want to list its positives. The animation for this show is downright gorgeous. I love how smoothly done the fights are: channeling the best of Samurai Champloo in some of its fights together with all these satisfying sound effects when blades make contact with each other, or when tear into flesh. The artists have done a good job nailing the atmosphere as well, I was in love with some of the shots in Afro Samurai. There's really some great cinematography here. Also the dubbing is the best lol. Samuel L. Jackson knocks his role out of the park, with some of the greatest voice work I've ever seen. He brings such life to his character that actually highlight his abilities as an artist himself. Job impeccably done. Sadly that's about it. That's all I can enjoy about this show. A lot of people are fans of the soundtrack, but I'm just fully underwhelmed by it. Let's start with the BGM...which feels so cheaply done at some points. Some of the sounds feel like the things you produce when you go to a 90's keyboard and click on the different modes (Latin/Bossa Nova etc) while playing four or five notes again and again. While there are a few scenes where the music complements the mood/action sequences, they are sadly too few and far between. The overwhelming majority of the BGM put me off so bad. There are occasions where important characters are thrust into (what's supposed to be) emotionally draining situations—and you just have an awkward BGM that keeps you stoned in your seat, just not feeling anything. That kinda pissed me off. Maybe some of you may like it, I agree that music is a very subjective experience...but I feel it could have been miles better. It didn't bring anything new to the table and it wasn't faithful to hip hop. But if you're expecting something along what Nujabes contributed to Champloo, please just don't get your hopes up. I also mentioned that the animation was pretty sick—but based on what I've watched so far, all of this is style and not substance. I draw parallels from the hand to hand fight scenes in Cowboy Bebop or even Fate: Zero. Every move made sense in the flashy fights you see in those shows, there was a REASON for every punch thrown, an intended effect. Drawing back to even shows such as Samurai Champloo (the easiest comparison here): Afro's swordplay (at its best) is animated as gloriously as Champloo's, but the tactical nature of the latter is missing in the former. Afro Samurai is choreographed to be more of a flashy dance, flying from wall to wall and breaking through stuff; rather than to actually defeat an opponent with style. And I don't know, but for a fighting/action anime to lack meaningful choreography...it just made this anime harder to enjoy given that it has little to no plot, exceptionally shallow characters and as I've mentioned, an overall underperforming BGM. On the note of characters here; again...nothing much. It doesn't have an expressive cast, and its MC shows nothing much and isn't relatable in the slightest. Perhaps the only thing worth noting about Afro was how much regret and doubt he harbours in him for most of the show, but that's really all there is to say about him. I can't really go into the other aspect of this show because that would be a spoiler, but rest assured — it's nothing much. You shouldn't be looking for characterisation in this anime either, won't find a single ounce. Every other character is extremely forgettable, not playing a role at all—unless they're fodder to Afro's blade. And ah yes, the final boss fight. I expected something at least...gripping. But I was met with the same "gore is god" mentality after a cheap and insignificant plot twist. Not even a decent fight. No great moves, none of the fun animated fight pieces that the show flaunted in its first 30 mins. Meh. I enjoyed probably the first 30 mins of Afro Samurai but the action got very repetitive after that. It's only strength and selling point was something that lost me as the show went on longer; and given that there aren't strong characters, or anything else of value besides for the action...I found myself just hoping it would end already. And right now as I type this review, I'm just glad I'm done with this. Maybe there's stuff I missed, but I'm just not in the mood to revisit this show anywhere in the near future. TLDR: Afro Samurai is not a show that EVERYONE can enjoy. I sure as hell disliked the living daylight out of it, but it's something you should consider giving a go nevertheless—if you feel you may like it. As you can see it rubbed me off the wrong way, but several of the points I penalised it for may actually appeal to you, as this kind of experience varies with the individual.

Here's the thing about Afro Samurai - it's not a complicated tale, the characters are not really very deep, nor do they really grow very much, the plot is terribly predictable and it is filled with all the tropes. But, seriously, who the hell cares? Because you're not supposed to watch this anime with a desire to see a complex plot, novel storytelling or deep characterisation. What you're supposed to expect when you decide to watch this series, is Samuel Jackson being a bad ass mother f*ck!ng samurai on a 5-episode-long quest for pure, bloody, decapitating revenge against the gloriously awesome Ron Pearlman. And that's exactly what it is. The art is done in quite monotone and muted colour, with the exception of the bright red gushes of blood drenching almost every scene. It makes for a visual treat. The presence of modern technology in places throws you for a loop at first, and I didn't quite get used to it, considering the environment the characters are in, but it's all part of what makes this show cool. And then there's RZA... is there anyone better out there to make a hip-hop soundtrack to a Samurai-bent-on-revenge-themed piece of visual media? I didn't think so. Afro Samurai is an excellent piece of bad-assery and entertainment. Don't go looking for more than Samuel Jackson just being his cool self and you'll be completely satisfied, you dig?

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.

Overview: I normally write my reviews by dividing them into neat categories and using a scoring rubric, but Afro Samurai is an unconventional anime and I will review it in an unconventional style! The story is basically the same sort of revenge tale that was common during the low budget 1970s "samurai slice em up" films like Lone Wolf and Cub, which was released in the US as "Shogun Assassin", and released elsewhere as "Baby Cart: You go to HELL!" These were grindhouse samurai exploitation films that you would see in an old drive-in theater after a screening of "Blood Sucking Freaks" or "Wizard of Gore". These films didn't try to be artsy or deep. They simply wanted to spray the audience with blood and give them a good time with lots of stupid fun! By the way, a drive-in theater in case you didn't know is where the audience pulls up in cars and watches from their cars as a projection is cast on a large outdoor screen. Yes, those actually used to exist in the 1950s-1970s! They usually played non-mainstream films, most often violent exploitation films and porn. One does not watch Afro Samurai for the amazingly deep characters and philosophy, but for the over the top madness and fun! In addition to absolutely nailing the tone and feel of a 70s Samurai exploitation film, it also mixes that with another 70s staple: the blaxploitation film. Due to the synthesis of samurai style with hip hop music and dialogue, Afro is often compared to Samurai Champloo. The difference is that Afro takes itself far less seriously, but is MUCH more entertaining to watch and actually mixes the 2 cultures in a much more effective manner. The voice acting by Samuel L Jackson is superb, and the soundtrack is actually quite good, unlike Champloo! Afro Samurai may not be an artistic masterpiece, but it is a very fun ride that I would highly recommend. It is an American produced anime, but the Yanks actually did a great job with this one, so don't let that put you off! If you actually sit your ass down and finally watch this underrated anime, you will probably enjoy it.

ive read an article in the past that samuel l jackson will voice a character named afro samurai. it made me curious because i just dont like english dubbed anime it sounds icky to my ears. so here is my review story: i liked the story of the show very classic samurai elements and all. with the mix of new technology elements. and a setting of a world of killing and chaos made me want to watch more. art: very superb art and the detail is marvelous. the movement of the characters was art itself. the art has a gory element on it so it gives a little plus for me. sound: the opening song was nice but not good enough for me they couldve made a better track. character: i just loved how ninja and afro talked about stuff and the like. really made me watch more because of their chemistry. enjoyment: i had fun to watch this its like a moving canvass. plus the way that ninja talked was tight. overall: if you wanna watch some all out samurai action. watch this one it wont disappoint. but there is one dissapointment for me i wished that they made this into a movie. not a 5 part anime so that the viewers could grasp the story even better.

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