Samurai Champloo, Volume 1 (Episodes 1-4) [DVD]

This anime is easily in my top ten. It's extremely enjoyable to watch, and easy to binge. The story isn't super deep (kind of generic actually), but the characters, music, and fight scenes carry it well. I was never bored, as every episode had an cumulative effect on the story and how it progressed; so I never thought to myself "did I waste my time watching the last episode?"Again, maybe there are plot holes (idk/idc), because what keeps me returning for more are the characters and how the anime is written. It's fun and some of the tense action moments had me sitting there wondering "what just happened".If anyone cares, my top 10 in no particular order:Neon Genesis Evangelion,Berserk,Ouran Highschool Host Club,Guyver,Hellsing,Trigun,Outlaw Star,Samurai Champloo,Gungrave,X TV

Still enjoying them

This has to be one of the coolest animes ever made. With the Director of Cowboy Beebop, the creators of the series have turned history on its head, as we join Mugen, Jin, and Fuu on their road trip in Meji-period Japan. Mugen, with his rough and ready back street fighting skills, and Jin, with his uncompromising elegant swordsmanship, help the young waitress in her journey to find the "Samurai who smells of sunflowers" in return for her saving them from execution, while also trying to find enough food to eat along the way. The most impressive aspect of this series as a whole is in its ability to change from heart-breaking storylines to extremely funny episodes. This anime shows us a totally different historical Japan, one that has the walking dead, baseball, and nude paintings. However, it grounds itself by also showing us the emotional background stories of the characters and the people they meet along the way. You really never ever know what to expect from one episode to the next, so the series is always fresh and never gets boring.The animation is very good and the creators have put a lot of effort to ensure their characters have detailed facial expressions. The voice acting is spot-on, with Mugen's attitude coming across brilliantly and the music is good. I love the song on the ending credits, however, the opening hip-hop tune takes a bit of getting used to. This is on of the top animes out at the moment and deserves to match the success of Cowboy Beebop.

When I first heard of this I openly mocked my friends that told me about it and the idea. For one, I HATE hip hop. I was an addictions counselor for 2 years and ALL the clients listened to was hip hop. Drove. Me. Mad. Second, I like my anime set in the future.So hip hop and samurai means obviously this would suck, right? Well... I must admit I am wrong. It doesn't suck. In fact, I just may commit sacrilidge here, but I enjoy SC more than Cowboy Bebop. Everything about this show seems so finely crafted and integrated, I can't even imagine it without the intercut hip hop. The second episode is my favorite on this set, and I hope we see the assasin again. My only complaint is the first episode gets a LITTLE crazy with the "record scratching" effect, but no episode since then uses it so much so it is easily forgiveable.I've gotten all three SC dvd's that are released in the states so far and it has quickly become my favorite anime series of all time (although to keep that title we'll have to see how the end of this series compares to the end of Full Metal, which I also haven't seen!).Give it a shot, fun characters, fun adventures and some really cool action.

Samurai Champloo is the long-awaited next project from Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe. His two short films in the Animatrix compilation (Kid's Story and Detective Story) give American audiences a sneak peek at the phenomenal art style of this series, but they barely hint at the jaw-dropping action and unorthodox blend of history and music contained therein.The first four episodes of Champloo introduce its three protagonists: the vagrant swordsman Mugen, the rogue samurai Jin, and the tea-shop waitress Fuu. This unlikely and volatile trio begin a road journey through post-shogunate Japan (ca. 1780), brought together by circumstances best seen to be believed."Champloo" means mixed-up or stir-fry, and that's what this series is: a stylish blend of old school values and situations, meshed with more modern sensibilities, fighting styles, and visual design. Over the lush, dynamic art, a soundtrack of some of the best hip-hop from modern Japan plays. Though it's a noticeable device in the first few episodes, it doesn't take long before the music feels like second nature despite the anachronism.Champloo is many things: a mature drama, an action series, an uproariously funny comedy and a visual feast. Watanabe-san demonstrates here that the success of Cowboy Bebop was uniquely his, and no fluke - fans of that series will not be disappointed, despite how radically different the two storylines are from one another.As the first title card of the first episode of Samurai Champloo says, "Just shut up and watch."

Love this anime! One of my favorites of all time! Also Amazon bunked up the name of one of the episodes, it's War of the Words, not worlds. I would love to see this corrected. Especially since it's probably one of my favorite episodes!!!!!

This has to be my all time favorite anime... adult swim ftw.

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen this series from beginning to end, it remains one of my all time favorites which I will never tire of. The style, the reparte, the nods to old films before it ("Monzo the Saw" = "Hanzo the Sword"), and most especially, the music. I think it's Nujabes that really sets the tone so perfectly for the series. It was this series that introduced me to his work and made a huge fan thereafter. I lamented how I'd have loved to have seen a series two but I don't think justice could be done. Instead, i'm content to watch the series over and over for as long as i can.

quick sender and perfect undamaged item :)