Samurai Champloo: Finale

And so the trio’s journey ends. In a happy note, I should add. Much to my recoil, the previous episode seems to suggest otherwise. I can appreciate a well-placed character death since it sometimes immortalizes characters and even stamps the ‘instant classic’ trademark to those who successfully utilizes them. (i.e. While Cowboy Bebop is an impressive anime in its own right, I still think it’s the concluding arc or I dare say the last episode which actually made it to a classic.) Thankfully, the director did not opt to waste away any of the main characters.

Overall, Samurai Champloo is a fun ride even with the bumps on the road. Fuu’s sunflower samurai arc is a bit thin but it serves as an adequate basis for the trio’s journey. I’m quite glad that the Jin-Mugen-Fuu trio never stepped into that dreaded love-triangle mode. Or at least, it was not fully realized. When Jin asks Mugen to take care of Fuu during his fight with Kariya, I believe he wanted Fuu to understand that there is affection underneath Mugen’s callous words.

Although character development has never been consistent in Samurai Champloo, it continuously boasts of stellar animation, well-executed choreography, and experimental techniques. Yet to say that this title only stands with aesthetics alone is completely false. Albeit uneven at times, the Hell-Island arc, the Geisha episode, and the Sara arc prove to the audiences that this title is capable of deep and powerful storytelling.

Remove these dramatic scenes and we get a bunch of quirky and sometimes hallucinogenic episodes such as the ‘Night of the Living Dead’ re-enactment, the pot-filled binge, a fool’s baseball game, and a dismal graffiti war. SC has always a fresh supply of interesting characters, from the gay Dutchman, the creepy painter, the perverted detective (I swear, he’s a pervert), to the skilled female ninja whom Mugen has been lusting over.

Oddly enough, it is rather saddening to part with this title. While it has strong moments, I can hardly consider this as one of my top favorites. It holds one of my favorite scenes but as a whole it still falters. Maybe a repeated viewing will help looking for some of the subtleties. For now, it’ll be interesting to see if this series will age gracefully or will become a minor footnote in anime history.