Anime: Afro Samurai

This anime was made by Americans (Samuel L. Jackson, specifically) so don't expect to be that good. Also it's only 5 episodes, so you will have seen it in about an hour and so.

So, the story is about a black samurai (hell, now that's an awesome and original idea! seriously) who tries to get revenge for his father's death, by a weird guy called Justice who was after his headband of Number 1. The headband of Number 1 is a legendary artifact and indiacates that whoever wears it, is like God himself (in skills, it doesn't give its bearer powers). Also there is a headband of Number 2. If you wear this one, you are close to Number 1 and gives you the right to challenge the bearer of Number 1 to fight for that headband. Justice, who wears the Number 2 kills Afro's (that's the protagonist's name by the way) who wears the Number 1. Now Afro swore to avenge his father's death. And the rest of the story is just mindless, brainless and without cause violence in high levels (almost close to Elfen Leid, the closest i've seen in terms of high violence). During his journey though we see fragments of his childhood after his father's death. I believe (that's my opinion of course, not trying to defend it) that if there were more episodes of it, it could be slightly better. But it's just 5 episodes and it ends there (there is a movie, that's it's the sequel: Afro Samurai Ressurection).

The animation is good for an American anime, and it's better when it comes to battles. Seeing those buckets of blood and the way Afro kills his enemies is just satisfying as all hell (maybe i say that, because when I first watched, it was during my college exams season and needed to relieve my stress).

There is not much character development. In fact if it weren't for Afro's flashbacks, there wouldn't be any at all. Due to its short number of episodes, I bet that the producers didn't focus there, rather than the battles themselves (yeah i know i am digging at the battles a lot...)

BUT, the part that really rocks and outstands is its sound part. Since it's an American product, we have a lot of Afro-American rap (i am not saying it racistly). It's Soundtrack is composed by the RZA and boy, it delivers. From the opening theme song to the song at the finale, you will love (IF you love rap music of course).Oh, and Afro's voice actor is Samuel motherf****** Jackson himself (if you watched "Snakes on the plane", you will get it), even if he doesn't talk that much.


It doesn't have big value but it's surely and a good thing to pass your time. And for the enjoyment part, it will be an enjoyable trip. But, it's not like watching Bleach, Dragonball Z or anything like.

So, in conclusion, even though it's not a Japanese anime, you will be able to watch it. Yeah, it's brainless and mindless. Best way to watch it is when you have a lot of stress and need a way to relieve your stress (It worked for me :P . Afterwards, I had a calm mind to keep studying a bit).

To me, Afro Samurai really was a completely new type of anime and I have to say, I was completely seduced by what I saw.[br][br]Animation[br][br]Awesome. The drawings are amazing, characters all have their very specific style but above all, the fightings are incredible. Very gore indeed but so different from what you are used to see, a lot of action is going on and people fight pretty much all the time.[br][br]Sound[br][br]This may be the weak point of the serie. Apart from the opening song from RZA, the soundtrack isn't that good. One of the characters' voice is Samuel Jackson's voice, which is pretty funny at least.[br][br]Story[br][br]Well, it's simple. But at least it's coherent and doesn't add any useless or confusing elements into the plot.[br][br]Character[br][br]Awesome again, especially the Afro Samurai whose stlye in definitely unique. Some of the bad guys sometimes are weird but they do have some stlye as well.[br][br]Value/Enjoyment[br][br]I certainly would recommend it. I have been waiting for a second season but I don't know if there will be any. Very good anime which should give you a really good time if you are into this kind of stuff.[br]

I have always wondered what would happen if English people tried to make anime, sadly that question has now been answered. Ok so i was not expecting much, but the anime looked cool and even sounded cool. Is there any complaint about the quality of the visual that this anime delivers? Absolutely not thankfully this anime delivers on its promise regarding visual style and quality. The visuals are sharp and clear. The sound fits the story quite well obviously the makers stole a page from another great samurai movie Samurai champloo (its awesome check it out if you have not all ready done so.) Sadly the huge promise that the sound and visual promised is destroyed with the simply terrible plot and paper thin charictors that this anime employs. If you lack the ability to write an even half decent story apparently that is no deterrent from makeing an anime. If all your looking for is a realy simple brain dead anime filled with gore and violence that even a chimpanzee could understand (there is not much to understand trust me on this) then by all means this is a great anime. If you want anything more then i suggest seeking elsewhere.

I think some of the reviewers missed the point of this anime.[br][br]It's not trying to be thoughtful and original. It's not trying to be a masterpiece.[br][br]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. [br][br]But ultimately, this series is all about the action. [br][br]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. [br][br]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.

Just your generic action flick about someone wanting to avenge his father’s killer, the holder of the No.1 headband. Because he is wearing the No.2 headband, he is targeted by all those who want to make a name for themselves… And that’s pretty much it. Nobody was watching it for the plot, anyways. It’s all about the cool factor.

- Afro is a cool black dude, voiced by Samuel F-Bomb Jackson, ultra-powerful no matter what his opponent may be. He doesn’t talk much and doesn’t care about anyone else other than himself. He never tries to reason with someone and simply solves all his problems with brainless violence, making him distant.

- There is a sexy woman in the story, supposed to soften his heart. She is there to show him that happiness doesn’t involve killing a dozen people every day. Her contribution is hardly felt and in reality she’s just there for fan service.

- There is this funny imaginary guy that follows Afro everywhere. In a way, he is Afro’s inner voice of reason, and is supposed to question his motives of revenge. Again, his words are wasted on “I don’t care what you say” Afro and he becomes the comic relief in the story.

- The bad guys are typical insane megalomaniacs that engage with an obviously superior opponent but are too stupid to realize that they can’t win. The only thing they care about is wasting their lives on becoming the No.2 in the world. Why? So murderers like themselves will target them for the rest of their lives. What the hell are they thinking? They can be much better off as Afro’s lap dogs.

So yeah not much to praise when it comes to the characters. What about the production values? The artwork is weird. Rough edges and palette colors as black as the samurai’s race. Kinda like a dark-themed American graphic novel, it makes it stand out compared to generic shonen and so-cute-that-you-want-to-puke moecrap.

Action scenes get all the focus. Animation and sound effects are detailed and flashy, albeit improbable in physics. Villains with cool gadgets and an insane look will engage the grimace-less Afro in faster-than-sound speeds. The speed of the battles is extremely high and has no intervals. Swords versus rocket launchers and laser guns may sound ridiculous to go up against each other but then again Hollywood is famous just for being extravagant. And this series tries to follow Hollywood’s footsteps.

There is apparently a lot of air in the world of the series, as a breeze seems to run through everything and makes headbands, coats and hats to flap endlessly. This gives a non-stop movement to even stale images. You could even say that the breeze is in fact the strength of the characters’ resolve and lust for power! … Or just hot air coming out of those airheads… Whatever it is, it makes everyone a lot cooler and imposing.

The “air effect” also causes a lot of dust. As an optical trick, every action lifts considerable amounts of dust, giving the feeling that the characters are not fighting in a static image, called the background. It also helps to hide the outcome of every attack for dramatic effect, although that means you never really see the finishing blow.

Music themes are a combination of rap and techno, appealing to African Americans instead of being some J-pop nonsense. They fit in a story that has a black man as a protagonist, voiced by Samuel efing Jackson. Cursing included.

So, what about the legacy of this anime? Afro Samurai stood out for three things. The first being the only anime with a black samurai protagonist, something which no longer applies after Netflix made the Yasuke series. The second thing was the very cool action scenes regarding sword fighting. That also doesn’t matter once shows like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen came out. That leaves us with the third thing, the protagonist being voiced by Samuel efing Jackson. Not much of a reason, for a nothingburger anime.

P.S. This series reminded me of the song Dust In The Wind, performed by Kansas. It is full of dust and air. And it dissolves with the slightest wind before other good Samurai-themed series.

Afro is after revenge for his father's death. His father's killer is the holder of the #1 headband. The only person with the right to challenge #1 is the holder of the #2 headband. Afro has it, but anyone can challenge the holder of the #2. As he journeys to find #1, he encounters challenge after challenge, but also some reunions with old friends. We learn more about Afro's past through his meetings with old friends.

Normally, I don't like using the term "Style over substance." There's often more substance in a piece of media than just plot, or even characters. There's comedy, and anything else that contributes to how engrossing an anime or movie might be. Afro samurai does have some substance, and that lies within its slick visuals, and equally slick BGM arrangement. Everything else is really disgusting, from the anything-but-engaging discussion on the morality of revenge and murder (999,999 movies on the subject was enough for me, thank you), to the unbelievable drudge that Afro Samurai has for characters, it's as insubstantial as it gets.

The action is slick, no doubt about that. It has a semi-unique visual style that makes a lot of textiles (pants, robes, etc) look like they're always flapping in the wind. In an action scene, your eyes will be engulfed in changing camera angles, rapid movements of the characters, and random details like the flying textiles. The speed at which the animation goes is a notch above even high budget anime movies, and its action scenes won't break very often either. Even if the animation isn't the smoothest, its fast pace and spastic nature is adrenaline inducing. The music is very background(adj), fitting for BGMs, and it compliments the action nicely. Quiet and light, so it never overpowers the SFX, but cool and beat-y, and it gives the action a layer of excitement and rhythm. The opening theme is rap, not unlike the opening of Samurai Champloo...except it doesn't sound like something a 10th grader scribbled in some free-write in English class. Thankfully, it actually sounds like rap.

My one complaint about the animation is that while the movements are always well animated, they are not always conceptually well thought out. To draw a comparison, Samurai Champloo's animation is not really on the level of Afro Samurai's, but more often than in this anime, Champ's animations are conceptually sound. They never look exceedingly awkward, like some of the sword swings may at times look in Afro. If this was a Hong Kong movie, Afro would be like a movie with Donnie Yen, Jet Li, or some other spectacular talent, paired with a lackluster choreographer, and Champloo would be a stiff like Keanu Reaves with Yuen Woo Ping.

My biggest criticism of Afro Samurai has to be in the story and characters. Mostly the characters. The story has a good amount of complexity to it, considering that it's a mere 5 episodes. In this sense, it's not below average, but what brings it down is the pointlessness of it. This has to do with our main character not being an attractive character in anyway as well. It's very hard to get into the plot of Afro Samurai because the characters don't seem to have any motivations at all. You may be told that Afro is driven by revenge, but never do you get to see that need for revenge.

To explain where Afro Samurai went wrong as a whole, I'll start with the character concepts and the basics. Afro is marketed towards an American audience which has little exposure to Samurai movies/anime. Afro is treading the same path as Kill Bill in that they want to engulf us in this sea of exoticism. That exoticism is its main appeal. With that framework in mind, almost all the the characters are already molded for you. The female character has to be sexual, exotic (bathing under a waterfall? how played out is that?), and in every other way, empty. Afro himself is rather exotic, even if he appears and speaks like an African American. He's stoic, usually silent, but even when he does manage to utter some incomplete sentence, it's monotone and emotionless. "Stoic" type characters can't be leads. That should be written in stone. The moral discussions on revenge are corny enough as philosophy lessons, and they're stifled even more by a main character that can't even embody any of the emotions that come with such a theme. Afro Samurai has the emptiest, blandest, most uninteresting cast I have ever seen in a movie, Anime, or TV show.

This is what I mean by style over substance. In order to fulfill an exotic image, Afro creators decided NOT to design semi-decent characters. If Afro, or perhaps that one female character had anymore personality, any traits that would make a regular character magnetic, it would detract from the exotic atmosphere. To add to this problem, the plot is nothing interesting, nor is there any real comedy. The only thing i found enjoyable was the visual and audio aspect of Afro Samurai.

Now I won't say Afro Samurai is terrible. If indeed you are part of its target audience that finds Samurai interesting, but have seen little to no Samurai movies/anime, then this might be for you.

Much like how any HK movie buff would find Kill Bill disappointing in more ways than one, if you have seen a lot of anime or Samurai movies where the characters actually have a semblance of attractiveness, you will probably kick this thing to the curb.