Samurai Champloo Vol. 2
Synopsis
Mugen, Jin, and Fuu continue their journey across Japan searching for the man who ’smells of sunflowers.’ Unfortunately, they travel broke and hungry, and continue to try and solve these two problems at every turn. If they aren’t trying to earn money and get food, it’s being stolen off of them.
Review
As you can tell by my synopsis, not much actually happens in Champloo Vol. 2. But, if you need a recommendation on whether to see this show or not, go read my Vol. 1 review. For those who were on the fence after seeing Vol. 1, continue reading. Vol. 2 continues Vol. 1’s style over substance, which I’m still enjoying quite a bit. If things keep going like this into the middle of Vol. 4 though, I’m going to become quite annoyed.
It’s not that Champloo’s episodes aren’t enjoyable, because they are. My review of Vol. 1 is a testament to that. But these filler episodes (with the same premise each time) is getting boring, despite very cool inventiveness and references in each episode. I can’t keep going on just like this for more than 3.5 volumes (like in any show that doesn’t change), or I’m going to get tired of it. The music and animation are of consistent quality, so if you liked that stuff in Vol. 1, you’ll like it here.
What makes these such enjoyable episodes are the hilarious inside jokes that go on in each. For example, episode 5’s joke is that an Ukiyo-e painter gets one of his paintings into the background of a Van Gogh. Episode 6’s is that a foreign man and his platoon are from Holland. Funny thing is, he’s a big homosexual man and his platoon wear pots on their heads (potheads, because they are from Holland, get it?) and wear clogs for shoes (ahhh…stereotypes). And episode 8 has a funky beatboxer. It’s freakin’ awesome.
Another plus are the character interactions. Seeing Jin, Fuu, and Mugen obtain food and money through their own methods are great, and seeing them try and work together always creates a good laugh. I just know though I’m going to get bored if this keeps up.
The Breakdown
The show is starting to slow down, and I’m still enjoying it, let’s just hope everything picks up by the end of Vol. 3.