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[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.

[Vic Viper]

i agree with you, i've already seen the entire series and i was completely disappointed with it. the first ep was probably the highlight of the series. The animation keeps its great quality and nice action sequences throughout the series, but this was about the series only good point. The characters don't really develop at all during the series, finishing it out in much the same mind frame as they start it. The main plot line of the series is also ignored for the majority of the series. Now, I'm not against episodic anime, but I do like a bit more of story progression during a series.


btw, sorry to go off topic but have you seen the new Hellsing OVA yet meryl ?

[Phenom]

WHAT!!! Nah, j/k... But I'm probably one of those people that would overrated this because I like samurai animes the most.

What I don't really care for in this anime is the little episodes that're in there just for humor purposes.... I.e. That baseball episode. Although that was the funniest thing I've seen, I feel it could've been left out.

I do understand where meryl is coming from with not liking Fuu. Honestly, compared to some other characters in other animes... I can put up with Fuu moreso than those characters. (Shinji, Naruto, Sakura.... etc etc)

Comparison to CB.... Honestly.... I never paid any attention to it, but I do see it there. I also can't say that I was disappointed in that though. Because I'm always looking for something on a similar basis to CB ^^.

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by Vic Viper

i agree with you, i've already seen the entire series and i was completely disappointed with it. the first ep was probably the highlight of the series. The animation keeps its great quality and nice action sequences throughout the series, but this was about the series only good point. The characters don't really develop at all during the series, finishing it out in much the same mind frame as they start it. The main plot line of the series is also ignored for the majority of the series. Now, I'm not against episodic anime, but I do like a bit more of story progression during a series.

Thanks for the info Vic...you've spared me from giving the series another try since I was going to rent the second disc because I felt I gave the series an unfair first impression. But since you said that the characters had no development (even though some die-hard fans would disagree) I see no point in wasting my time. And yeah, like you, I don't mind episode-like series, but there has to be something else going on other than just goofiness (like the baseball episode that Knightmare mentioned or that zombie episode that I read somewhere...I mean, WTF?).

Originally Posted by Vic Viper

btw, sorry to go off topic but have you seen the new Hellsing OVA yet meryl ?

Yes I have, I've seen the first episode (the only one released) and I was going to create a thread on it giving my impression.

[TtTackler]

I love and dislike Samurai Champloo for all the same reasons as Cowboy Bebop. I love all the characters, the animation/overall style of both series, and the indivual episodes. What I don't like, is that Shinichiro Watanabe [the director of both series] can not present a main plot well at all. In both series he tries to establish one, and just never tells it well [or if at all in some cases] or ends it well. Although you can say SC has an actual ending compared to CB, but it was still pretty weak.

With that said, both are great series that will not slip my mind for quite some time.