[merylsilverburg]

Yeah, that's what I said. Maybe it's unfair of me to judge the series because I only did see 4 episodes (I had bought the first DVD eons ago but only saw it yesterday for the first time) but my impression of it from just those 4 episodes are not too good.

The one aspect of the show that bothered me the most is Fuu. I went back to an old thread about the ending of SC and someone said that Fuu is a helpless woman but not annoying. I'm sorry but yeah she is. She bugged me from the start, but I was willing to give her a chance, but no, it's impossible...after the third episode, I had to wonder how many times she's going to mention about the "promise not to kill each other" and "you have to help me find the samurai who smells like sunflowers" and on and on. I'm sorry, but I don't like nagging characters who pretends to act stupid but really isn't (if she was so dumb, then why was she all mighty and on-top-of-the-game near the end of the fourth episode with the dice rolling thing?).

Another thing that I didn't like was that the show seemed like it was trying too hard to be "cool." Yes, I am aware that the whole hip-hop tone/mood is something different and unique and I don't deny it. But, it still gave me the feeling that the show was trying too hard to be cooler than it really was.

Finally, I get the feeling that the series is just "another CB" imitation. Yes, I've read countless opinions that CB and SC are no way alike, but there are the few aspects where they very much are. The loose-plotted stories, the characters like Mugen's don't-give-a-flying-f*ck-attitude (hmm...where have I seen that before? ) and Jin's silent but wise (again...you don't have to wonder much) and the somewhat zany humor and the music (yes, it's hip-hop this time around, but the attitude of "coolness" is like CB's, except CB pulled it off better).

I'm not saying the series is that awful, but I think it's highly overrated. I do like the animation and art style (Maeda's style is very beautiful) and the humor is sometimes amusing and I only really enjoy watching Mugen's and Jin's antics/stories when they come on (only because they don't act stupid and are, um, what's that word - independent, unlike a certain female character.