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Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]Director: Eric P. Sherman
Actors: Kari Wahlgren, Kirk Thornton
Studio: Funimation Prod
Category: DVD

List Price: $79.98
Buy New: $38.49
as of 3/16/2010 15:41 CDT details
You Save: $41.49 (52%)


New (16) Used (2) from $38.49

Seller: sucardinal97
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 16 reviews
Sales Rank: 965

Format: Animated, Color, NTSC, Widescreen, Subtitled
Languages: Japanese (Original Language), English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Media: Blu-ray
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number Of Discs: 3
Running Time: 650 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 5.4 x 1

MPN: FMABRGN08655
UPC: 704400086557
EAN: 0704400086557
ASIN: B002KYIAKG

Release Date: December 15, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Studio: Funimation Prod Inc Release Date: 12/15/2009 Run time: 625 minutes

Amazon.com
Shinichiro Watanabe's film noir-ish sci-fi adventure Cowboy Bebop set a new standard for cool in anime in 1998, and Samurai Champloo, an edgy mix of Edo-era martial arts and hip-hop irreverence, is a worthy follow-up. A string of coincidences brings together three misfits in a two-bit tea house: Mugen, a rebellious vagabond; Jin, a taciturn ronin; and Fuu, a nutty waitress. The sardonic Mugen lacks the polish that distinguishes a classic martial artist--he uses break dance spins and flips against his foes. Jin moves with a polish that approaches iciness: When he unsheathes his sword, he becomes a lethal work of art in motion. Fuu forces Jin and Mugen to help her find a mysterious samurai "who smells of sun flowers." As the ill-assorted trio wanders towards Nagasaki, Watanabe treats the audiences to a string of outrageous, anachronistic adventures. In Episode 18, Mugen belatedly learns to read at a smackdown elementary school, while Jin tries to settle the rivalry between the heirs to the dojo of his former sensei. The seemingly unrelated storylines collide in a no-holds-barred graffiti contest featuring Tokugawa rap lyrics, ink-brush tagging, Hiroshima homeboys, and a caricature of Andy Warhol. But Watanabe reveals the hidden significance of these nutty interludes when he brings his picaresque adventure-comedy to a close. Like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo leaves the viewer wanting more. (Rated 16 and older: violence, violence against women, profanity, brief nudity, sexual situations, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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5 out of 5 stars DVD or Blu-ray?   December 16, 2009
TeamReveal (California)
45 out of 51 found this review helpful

This show has been reviewed in detailed lots of times so if you want a review of the content then you should look at the various reviews for the dvd version as the content of the 26 episodes is in fact the same. I'll concentrate on the blu-ray vs. dvd debate that is brewing up.

Now, I've been told that this show will never actually be in true hd because of the various CG(computer graphic) elements that were done in SD. In order for us to see this show in true hd they would have to go back and redo all of the CG elements that were originally done in SD. A lot of earlier shows have this problem, such as Cowboy Bebop which when this comes out in blu-ray will probably be an upscale as well. Thus, this is probably the best we will ever get. Older animation that was hand drawn was done completely on film which in fact has an infinite resolution. Computer graphics are limited to the actual resolution at which they were created at, but they can be upscaled such as in this tv show. Since this was a tv show that aired on SD originally, the computer graphics were done in SD, hence the need to redo the CG for a true HD resolution.

I've seen pictures from an upscaled DVD and from this Blu-ray and overall the Blu-ray looks better in my opinion. If you look carefully at still shots you will notice that the dnr filter used removes some of the detail in the picture. So looking closely, the DVD has just a tad more detail in certain parts. You have to remember though, that the animation style does not have a ton of detail to begin with so you will have to look really hard to see the difference in detail. The ONLY time I could really tell that the DVD had more detail was on scenes were there were large pieces of wood paneling. On the DVD you see that there is more detail on the wood where the blu-ray version slightly blurs this out because of the dnr filter used. Again, in the still shots I saw, I could only tell on the wood paneling of certain scenes. On the characters, backgrounds, etc. I could tell no difference in detail.

A lot of people REALLY miss the benefit of blu-ray in these instances though. DVD's are much more compressed than Blu-ray's in both picture and sound. That is one of the reasons why the DVD version has colors that are not as vibrant and a picture that has a lot more noise and macroblocking. So while the DVD has just a smidge more detail in certain parts, this is negated by the fact that the DVD version is highly compressed, introducing artifacts into the picture and in the process giving you a picture that is not as good as it could be.

Overall, in my opinion, this makes the much higher bitrate sound and picture in blu-ray the winner. We can complain that the show isn't in true HD, but we have to remember that unless they redo the CG parts, it probably never will be in true HD. People can cling to their DVD's and say they are the best, but they will miss the fact that the higher bitrate of blu-ray in both picture and sound give a better overall experience.

The difference between the DVD and Blu-ray isn't night and day but it is definitely noticeable. If you have neither, then the blu-ray version is the one to pick up, but if you have the DVD set already then this isn't worth picking up unless Samurai Champloo is one of your all-time great favorites, or you just have money to burn.


5 out of 5 stars THE REASON I CHOSE BLU RAY   March 7, 2010
David T. Harmon (SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS)
this is an amazing anime which i enjoy thoroughly. i simply chose blu ray because it only costs $1 more on amazon as opposed to the regular discs and the blu ray discs will never scratch. as far as arguments in detail, who cares? this is the only set i've ever purchased and it will last forever because i was smart and paid $1 more on amazon.


5 out of 5 stars LOVE IT   March 11, 2010
E. Mercado (NJ)
I dunno what ppl say about the blueray version lookin crappy, It looked fine on a 40in screen connected with hdmi on my ps3 soooooo...
This series is a must have, and the price is great....do pick it up


5 out of 5 stars LOOOVE IT!   January 10, 2010
SciFi lover (Alpharetta, GA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

The sound quality is awesome on this blu-ray version, which really makes the series come alive. If you liked Cowboy Bebop you will love this!


5 out of 5 stars A great show with everything you'd want   January 17, 2010
D. Brown (FL)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I'm not into anime per se, but I do love a good story no matter where it's from. Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] is from the director of Cowboy Bebop, a series I'm completely in love with. Even though stories about samurai don't necessarily interest me, Mr Watanabe's involvement (and amazon.com's blu ray sale) made me pick this up on blu ray and I'm glad I did.

There are some elements from Cowboy Bebop that can be seen in this which I enjoyed, down to the occasional John Woo reference (watch for birds), and the characters are interesting enough in the beginning to hold your interest until the story kicks into higher and higher gear as the show goes on. We have Mugen the maniac: born on an island where prisoners were exiled and looked to be basically raised by wolves. Fiercely independent and feral yet with glimmers of gold in his heart. There's Jin: quiet and dignified, very refined. Also fiercely independent, yet disciplined, graceful and does not waste a movement. Driving the story is Fuu, a ditzy 15 year old tea house waitress who saves their lives and extorts a promise from the two guys to travel with her and act as her bodyguards as she hunts for the samurai who smells of sunflowers.

Their adventures on the way are by turns hilarious and terrifying and watching the characters grow, both personally and in their relationships with each other is a joy to watch. The story builds to a mighty climax that is worthy of Mr Watanabe's followup to Cowboy Bebop. This is a three disc set, and by the time the third disc was in my player, I couldn't stop until it was finished.

The artwork is nothing short of gorgeous. These characters move among a world that look like paintings that could be displayed in the finest art galleries. I wasn't sure about a hip hop soundtrack, but it really worked in this show and I need to see if I can buy it. My particular favorite is the opening theme song which I can't get out of my head (and that's a GOOD thing). The 5.1 soundtrack sounds wonderful and the picture was crisp and clear, just as you'd expect from a blu ray release (if only Cowboy Bebop would be released on blu ray!).

I haven't watched the dubbed version, but the voice actors' performances on the original Japanese soundtrack are terrific. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Koichi Yamadera (Cowboy Bebop's Spike) in one episode as well as Unshô Ishizuka (Cowboy Bebop's Jet), who appeared as a character in a couple of episodes as well as doing some voiceover narration in several more. I felt like I had moved to a new neighborhood and was treated to visits from some old friends.

Even if you've never seen Cowboy Bebop, this show is very worth seeing, especially if you're fond of samurai swordplay. You'll see that aplenty in Samurai Champloo. That said, like Bebop, this is not a show for kids - I'd say it was rated PG-13 at the very least. With swordplay, you have blood and these folks aren't shy about having characters bleed on screen. I've seen more explicit results of violence in other shows and movies, but this one has enough violence that some parents might want to consider waiting until children are older before showing it to them. There is also some language that might be inappropriate to the little ears in the family, as well as some brief nudity and mature dialog.

As far as I'm concerned, this has everything, great characters and relationships, easy on the eyes and ears and a story that builds and develops to a very satisfying conclusion.

Highly recommended!

Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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