From the creator of Cowboy Bebop, Shinichiro Watanabe, this funky fresh new take on the samurai genre breathed life into the anime scene when it was released in the UK last year. No longer were the noble samurais restricted to moody soul searching, lengthy monologues or tedious sword fighting, instead, Samurai Champloo crammed in break dancing, hip hop intros and a visual style which oozed cool alongside the historical trappings of the Edo era.

The main characters are a disparate bunch, with flaky waitress Fuu binding the manic and lazy Mugen together with quiet nobleman Jin in order that they help her on her quest to find the sunflower samurai. Despite their personality clashes (and on occasion, physical clashes in the form of sword fights), along the way it becomes apparent that the three need each other much more than they realise, and their seemingly endless search for food to fill their empty stomachs ends up leading them into some very bizarre situations.

Watched alongside Manga Entertainment’s painstakingly historically accurate Otogi Zoshi, Samurai Champloo seems bizarrely irreverent to the idea of history at all, what with the boom boxes, sunglasses and ultra modern fashions, but it manages to throw in a huge amount of Edo-era references. How many other anime series can give you a history lesson on Isaac Kitching, the governor general of the Dutch East India Trading Company, together with a funky soundtrack and host of weirdly out of place nods to modern life?

Samurai Champloo is more than simply an anime series, it’s an experience. From laugh out loud funny to tragic, alarming and then right back again, it’s definitely a title that any self-respecting fan should see.

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