Afro Samurai (Directors Cut)
April 24th 2008 02:21
Category: Videos
Created by: Takashi Okazaki.
Director: Fuminori Kizaki.
Written by: Tomohiro Yamashita, Yasuyuki Mutou, Derek Draper (English version) & Chris Yoo (English version).
Producers: Koji Kajita & Taito Okiura.
Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Kelly Hu, Ron Perlman, TC Carson, David Wittenberg, John Di Maggio, James Arnold Taylor, Grey DeLisle, Greg Eagles & Yuri Lowenthal.
Produced by: Gonzo/Samurai Project.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 125 minutes. Rating: MA 15 .
When this film first made its debut everyone was talking about the background – how there were kimono wearing samurais using cell phones, how there was guns in a samurai film, the so called groovy backing track done by the RZA and of course let’s not forget the ever present afro hairstyle on which title is partially based. None of these features were the reason why I decided to get a hold of a copy of Afro Samurai, Samuel L Jackson I have to confess was a bit of a draw card but I was just curious about the film anyway so it was only natural that at some stage it would end up being gazed at by the Lantern. Getting past all the hype precisely what is that Gonzo/Samurai Project have actually created? What is the ‘truth’ of this anime flick, assuming of course that it has a ‘truth’.
Lets face it samurai with guns, cell phones and hip hop is not exactly anything new in anime, you only have to get a hold of Samurai Champloo to see that some of these elements have already be used and utilised, even down to a wandering beat boxing swordsman and his backing vocalists along with a sunglasses wearing yakuza gang boss, its all there. In Gasaraki we had the fusion of modern and traditional elements with the mecha of the JSSDF being based on similar constructs used in feudal Japan. In Naruto we get evil corporate executives talking to ninja masters on cell phones, so the whole hype about guns, phones and samurai realistically isn’t anything new. Anime and manga has been using this kind of fusion for quite some time before Afro Samurai hit the scene. Even when you look at the story it isn’t completely original, in fact when I watched it all I found there was a bit of a resonance with the old Kung Fu television series starring David Carradine.
What does make Afro Samurai stand out from the crowd is not all the facets that everyone else seems to be so fixated on but the fact that it tells a compelling story and it tells it well, for a show that is effectively only five episodes long it weaves its tale very effectively. And when all is said and done it does have a great cast who frankly do a good job of bringing their characters to life, of giving them a degree of depth that makes them something more than just two dimensional figures. The method of storytelling is also interesting, mixing the ongoing quest of the adult Afro with flashbacks to his past as a young boy and later as a young man. Its compelling stuff and it keeps the pace moving, never slowing down and drawing the viewer into its tale.
Aha I hear you say that’s all very fine and well but what is the tale? What is this ‘truth’ you’ve been rambling on about for a while now? Essentially the truth of Afro Samurai is that it is not solely an action anime flick with as much carnage as can be found in a Hellsing Ultimate OVA episode or even 30 Days of Night, it is a tragedy of almost Shakespearean proportions and irony. And it all begins with one single momentous event in the life of the young Afro but in reality the story began all so long ago in some forgotten era with the making of two unique pieces of headgear.
In this world there are these headbands, both of them marked with a red circle (or sun) and one of the headbands bears a number 2 and the other a number 1. These headbands signify that the wearer is either the number one warrior or the number two warrior in the world, the number one can only ever be challenged by the number two, the number two can be challenged by every tom, dick, kyon and akira that thinks they’ve got what it takes to be number two. So as you can see wearing either of these headbands means the wearer, especially the person with the number two, is in for a whole lot of trouble. Afro’s old man used to be number one till a mysterious stranger known as Justice and wearer of the number two headband took him out in a suitably violent manner.
From that moment onwards Afro vowed revenge against Justice (an ironic name if ever there was one) and sought to become the number two. A very noble and honourable sentiment, very fitting in with the entire samurai and bushido mystique, with which this series is based upon, but this revenge and desire to become the number two is not without cost. And this is where the tragedy begins, Afro ends up becoming the number two and is feared throughout the world for that very fact but he has lost so much in order to wear that headband and gain the right to challenge his father’s killer. In fact at the end of the day the headband proves to be less a status symbol of a warrior’s ability and more of a curse and blood soaked burden.
Of course it doesn’t help things that there are hundreds if not thousands of others who don’t see that angle along with a zealous almost evangelical ninja clan known as the Empty Seven, who believe that if they possess both headbands they will attain some kind of divinity or godhood. They’ve been watching Afro keeping an eye on his movements and actions in order to further their own rather bent and crazed agenda. These guys have more resources and firepower it seems than a small nation, still they need it when confronted with someone like Afro, this guy is a living incarnation of destruction who seems more than capable of taking on what the Empty Seven or anyone else throws his way. A terrible resolve drives him and even though it takes him to the veritable heights of martial prowess in the end all it seems to lead to is a terrible fall.
Afro Samurai, watch if for the story it weaves and forget all about the hype that it comes with.
Director: Fuminori Kizaki.
Written by: Tomohiro Yamashita, Yasuyuki Mutou, Derek Draper (English version) & Chris Yoo (English version).
Producers: Koji Kajita & Taito Okiura.
Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Kelly Hu, Ron Perlman, TC Carson, David Wittenberg, John Di Maggio, James Arnold Taylor, Grey DeLisle, Greg Eagles & Yuri Lowenthal.
Produced by: Gonzo/Samurai Project.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 125 minutes. Rating: MA 15 .
When this film first made its debut everyone was talking about the background – how there were kimono wearing samurais using cell phones, how there was guns in a samurai film, the so called groovy backing track done by the RZA and of course let’s not forget the ever present afro hairstyle on which title is partially based. None of these features were the reason why I decided to get a hold of a copy of Afro Samurai, Samuel L Jackson I have to confess was a bit of a draw card but I was just curious about the film anyway so it was only natural that at some stage it would end up being gazed at by the Lantern. Getting past all the hype precisely what is that Gonzo/Samurai Project have actually created? What is the ‘truth’ of this anime flick, assuming of course that it has a ‘truth’.
Aha I hear you say that’s all very fine and well but what is the tale? What is this ‘truth’ you’ve been rambling on about for a while now? Essentially the truth of Afro Samurai is that it is not solely an action anime flick with as much carnage as can be found in a Hellsing Ultimate OVA episode or even 30 Days of Night, it is a tragedy of almost Shakespearean proportions and irony. And it all begins with one single momentous event in the life of the young Afro but in reality the story began all so long ago in some forgotten era with the making of two unique pieces of headgear.
In this world there are these headbands, both of them marked with a red circle (or sun) and one of the headbands bears a number 2 and the other a number 1. These headbands signify that the wearer is either the number one warrior or the number two warrior in the world, the number one can only ever be challenged by the number two, the number two can be challenged by every tom, dick, kyon and akira that thinks they’ve got what it takes to be number two. So as you can see wearing either of these headbands means the wearer, especially the person with the number two, is in for a whole lot of trouble. Afro’s old man used to be number one till a mysterious stranger known as Justice and wearer of the number two headband took him out in a suitably violent manner.
From that moment onwards Afro vowed revenge against Justice (an ironic name if ever there was one) and sought to become the number two. A very noble and honourable sentiment, very fitting in with the entire samurai and bushido mystique, with which this series is based upon, but this revenge and desire to become the number two is not without cost. And this is where the tragedy begins, Afro ends up becoming the number two and is feared throughout the world for that very fact but he has lost so much in order to wear that headband and gain the right to challenge his father’s killer. In fact at the end of the day the headband proves to be less a status symbol of a warrior’s ability and more of a curse and blood soaked burden.
Of course it doesn’t help things that there are hundreds if not thousands of others who don’t see that angle along with a zealous almost evangelical ninja clan known as the Empty Seven, who believe that if they possess both headbands they will attain some kind of divinity or godhood. They’ve been watching Afro keeping an eye on his movements and actions in order to further their own rather bent and crazed agenda. These guys have more resources and firepower it seems than a small nation, still they need it when confronted with someone like Afro, this guy is a living incarnation of destruction who seems more than capable of taking on what the Empty Seven or anyone else throws his way. A terrible resolve drives him and even though it takes him to the veritable heights of martial prowess in the end all it seems to lead to is a terrible fall.
Afro Samurai, watch if for the story it weaves and forget all about the hype that it comes with.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I loved afro samurai, this Directors cut will be amazing.