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[Reid]

This is one of the greatest things I've ever seen.

Has anyone else watched it yet?

If you've never heard of it, it's the new anime by Shinichiro Watanabe (who was also behind Cowboy Bebop). It's sort of similar in feel but has a very different plot. The setting is feudal Japan but judging by a little bit of dialogue in might be in the Meiji Era when feudalism was ending. The style is pretty different visually and musically as the drawings are based more on the manga (if you've ever seen the Bebop manga, it looks a lot like that) and the music isn't focused on jazz, swing and blues but instead, hip-hop.

Surprisingly, it actually works as the music is more reminiscent of conscious and underground hip-hop so it still maintains an instrumental flare to it.

The characters from the first episode were two ronin named Mugen and Jin and a waitress named Fuu. The character design is really good and it looks like the interaction should be interesting throughout the series. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be episodic but I can't be sure as the first episode was only about how the three cross paths and start to know each other.

The fight scenes are incredible though. They're animated beautifully and the mix of music and action is just as good as Bebop.

Anyway, if you have the means check it out. The next episode will be sometime mid next week so hopefully the quality will continue.

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Yup I got the first episode and its excellent. I seriously cannot wait for more.

[merylsilverburg]

Yes, I've heard about it a while back and been very excited to see it! I saw the trailer as well and it was fantastic! Very gorgeous character design (I've seen some in the Japanese magazines, "Animage" and "Newtype") and very creative details (such as Fuu's cell-phone charm at the end of her sword ). This is just one of the few series that really interested me.

I just hope that the storyline isn't going to be exactly like Bebop. I mean, I hate to be disrespectful, but while Bebop was good, Watanabe shouldn't really try to direct another series that's similar to his previous work. Otherwise, it just gets boring (kinda similar to the mangaka Watase, Yuu...her main hit was Fushigi Yuugi and while her latest one Ayashi no Ceres is different in some aspects, it remains somewhat similar. It was pretty dull). I also hope the characters are likable and there wouldn't be another "Spike" factor (his whole "I-don't-give-a-flying-f*ck-about-the-world" attitude). I just hope Mugen, Jin, and Fuu are all very different.

BTW, completely off-subject but regarding samurai...Reid, have you seen the first episode of "Samurai7"? It's the one based of of Kurosawa, Akira's "Seven Samurai" except the anime version is more "updated" and involves more mecha and probably a different story. I thought this one looks interesting (not so much as Champloo) but good enough. If so, could you please tell me your impressions via PM or on here? Thanks!

[Reid]

meryl, I heard about Samurai7 but I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. I'm a little bit afraid of something that tries to update The Seven Samurai with futuristic stuff after playing the game based on it so I haven't been terrible excited about seeing this.

Sorry about not having any information on that one, but if I watch any of it I'll tell you what it's like.

Also, at least so far Champaloo doesn't seem to copy Bebop very much. Mugen seems a little similar to Spike but not so much that it's close to the same character. I agree that I hope this series doesn't end up being too derivitive of Cowboy Bebop.

[merylsilverburg]

Thanks Reid. I do think that Samurai7 is okay from the looks of it...of course, I can't say more until I see it myself.

[Reid]

The second episode just came out and I can give a bit of a follow up here. It seems that it's going to be a bit episodic, kind of like Bebop but there's more of a unified storyline in this.
The animation is still really good, not quite as much as the first episode but still great.

Sasuke, have you watched this one yet?

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Originally Posted by Reid

The second episode just came out and I can give a bit of a follow up here. It seems that it's going to be a bit episodic, kind of like Bebop but there's more of a unified storyline in this.
The animation is still really good, not quite as much as the first episode but still great.

Sasuke, have you watched this one yet?

Heck yeah man. I thought the second was awesome and I'm really looking forward to the third.

*Spoiler*

I kinda think that Samurai that Jin was fighting might end up being the one they are looking for. It really seemed he had Jin on his toes the whole time. It will be interesting what kinda twists await in the future episodes of this series.

[Reid]

meryl, I saw the promo for Samurai 7 and I have to say, unfortunately, it looks terrible. The premise is that it's a direct retelling of The Seven Samurai but with giant mechs.



There are bandit robots and samurai robots.

It's just too absurd for my tastes I think but I might still watch a couple minutes of the first episode to give it a chance.

Also, the third episode was the first half of a two-parter . . . Champloo just keeps getting better as it goes.

A bit of trivia too for anyone watching it; champloo is an Okinawan word for "mixing it up". I think it was changed to sound English in the title and the Japanese pronounciation would be "champuru" (I think it's in there to reference the offbeat manner of telling the story and Mugen's fighting style).

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Speaking of Samurai 7, I just saw the first 2 episodes and I must say that its looks to be very promising in the future.

Edit: Reid where are you finding your episodes for Champloo? My source just went down. If you could pm me the link that would be awesome.