Samurai Champloo vol. 7Rating: * * * * 1/2Type: AnimeLength: 75 minMPAA: Not RatedDirector: Shinichiro Watanabe
The final volume of Samurai Champloo is one of endings and beginnings, where Mugen, Jin and Fuu play out the finale of their respective storylines. The ending, such as it is, reflects a common theme in director Shinichiro Watanabe’s recent works, such as Cowboy Bebop, where all the shenanigans that became the series trademark are set aside, so that each character’s past can catch up with them, and they are forced to live or die with the results.
What can be said about this last entry in the series, that isn’t an outright spoiler, is that the trio reaches Nagasaki, and a great many skillfully crafted battles and confrontations rise up as a result. The outcome of which may turn off some viewers who watched the show under the pretext of comedy, as the many veiled references to pop-culture are nowhere to be found and are replaced by a violent and grim reality only hinted at in earlier episodes. These episodes are, however, highly recommended to anyone who has enjoyed this show, as the fruition of the series’ close is a tightly woven chain of events that answers the show’s many questions and provides a strong ending with options for a sequel.
The animation in these episodes is the strongest of the run, with fast, fluid battles and highly detailed character designs that truly render human emotion. There are no visual errors or issues to be raised about Geneon’s Anamorphic transfer, which allows for the full range of colorization we’ve come to expect from their overseas titles.
The sound aims to equally impress, with matching quality and a Japanese DTS track to tie the bow. The acting quality remains consistent, with the show’s main characters all receiving solid voice actors in both the English and Japanese tracks.
The movie’s extras, up slightly from earlier volumes, are the standby Art Gallery, the videogame teaser trailer and an eye-catch, which is a run-through of the various bumpers used in each episode of the show.
While the series began at a slow and somewhat weak pace, where character motivations and story-telling methods were constantly questioned, the series attempted to find vestiges of storyline and exploration. Eventually, the show grew into a caliber of its own, eloquently mixing a modern take on the samurai tale while interjecting facets of pop-culture to give the show a certain class that separates it from the rest. With a strong sense of the importance of solid music and subtly defined characters, Champloo manages to be a series with a big heart and an appreciation for culture as a whole.