TV . Afro Samurai First Episode Impressions

by Chris   ⋅   December 6, 2006   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

So, Funimation was nice enough to send us the first episode of Afro Samurai, complete with the new voiceovers by Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Hu, and Ron Perlman. To be honest I have no familiarity with Takashi Okazaki’s Manga, or the original Japanese Language cut of the miniseries, so I really had no idea what to expect.

Note: If you haven’t read our previous blurb on Afro Samurai, check it out here.

Straight of, this has got to be one of the craziest Anime releases to ever hit basic cable television. Afro Samurai is insanely violent, on par with Ninja Scroll, Angel Cop, and the like. Heads are split and lopped off, geysers of blood are liberally loosed, faces are smashed…it’s absolutely nuts. Topping off the decidedly mature content are shots of glossy-assed babes, a pinch of swearing, and, well, more fighting. I have no idea how Spike will air it on TV without getting into heaps of trouble.

The visual style of Afro Samurai is extremely slick. The rather elongated character designs, Afro and his companion’s floaty, jaggedy hair and clothing, the super smooth, fast twisty action shots….the whole thing possesses an undeniable cool. The show has a similar sort of alternate techno-feudal vibe to Samurai Champloo, what with its samurai sporting sunglasses, cell phones, and RPGs, though on a far less “teen friendly” basis. And then there’s Sam “The Man” Jackson doing not one, but two voices. The addition of Kelly Hu and Ron Perlman as voice talent are nice, but to be honest you’d be hard pressed to pick out their voices without knowing their characters beforehand. Lastly, the music by the RZA is perfect for the series, bringing a sort of chanbara meets blacksploitation vibe to the project.

Afro Samurai looks to be very cool, very hip, rulebreaking anime event. Be sure to check it out January 4th on Spike.

Screenshots below: