NoaIzumiAnime Review: Afro Samurai
April 23rd 2009 14:07
Afro
When the warrior known as Justice killed his father, young Afro swore to avenge him. Now, he’s the number two warrior in the land, and justice is at hand. So, if he kills you in his quest for payback, remember, it’s nothing personal, just revenge.
Afro Samurai, another highly anticipated title, blends hip hop, soul, blaxploitation, and the Western movie genre in a wonderful creative stew. The creator, Takashi Okazaki, gives Afro Samurai an off-the-wall quality, with cell phones and cyborgs alongside swordsmen and duels. A perfect example of this is The Empty Seven, a group of brothers who are Afro’s main antagonists through most of the series. For a bunch of monks who are facing a guy with a sword, they’re very technologically sophisticated, and make and use highly advanced robots to do their dirty work, including a copy of Afro himself. As for Justice, he isn’t actually a swordfighter, he’s really best described as a demon cowboy (seriously, six-guns, spurs, the whole bit). Half the fun of the anime is just seeing this crazy world. You never know what you’re going to run into next.
Justice
The Empty Seven
Speaking of crazy, that brings us to Ninja Ninja. He follows Afro around, and has a habit of saying exactly what he thinks. He’s sort of a combination of a Greek chorus and the clown in King Lear, and easily the most fun character in the series (like Afro, he’s voiced by Samuel L. Jackson). There are a lot of opinions about his true nature, but that’s something I’ll just leave to the viewer. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Ninja-Ninja
Plotwise, Afro Samurai is really two stories in one, the first being the story of adult Afro and his pursuit of vengeance, while the second, and more interesting, story is told in flashback and shows us Afro’s childhood, when he was taken in by a kindly samurai along with some other children, who become his surrogate family. In the first one, we see him on his path. In the second one, we see exactly what he gave up to go on that path in the first place, and that helps us better understand his actions in the first story.
Okiku
Great Moments: When Brother #6 pulls out his RPG, Ninja-Ninja’s reaction is hilarious.
Geeking out: In the same RPG speech, there’s a reference to Samuel L. Jackson’s character in The Incredibles.
Extras: Uncut version only: A fifteen minute featurette on the voice talent, a five minute featurette on the music, and a twenty-five minute featurette on the characters.
Summary: It’s “nothing personal”, but it’s still a lot of fun on one level, while being deeply dramatic on another. Grade: A
Age rating: 16 and up. Bloody violence, language, sex, nudity
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