"Samurai champloo" (2004) TV series 2004-2005

User Rating:

9.0/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

11 January 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Music

Tagline:

Death, betrayal, and... hip hop!

Plot:

Fuu, a waitress who works in a teahouse, rescues two master swordsmen, Mugen and Jin, from their execution to help her find the "samurai who smells of sunflowers."

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Female Nudity | Teenage Girl | Martial Arts | Honorable Death

Cast

Kazuya Nakai	...	Mugen (26 episodes, 2004-2005)
Ginpei Sato	...	Jin (26 episodes, 2004-2005)
Ayako Kawasumi	...	Fuu (26 episodes, 2004-2005)
Steve Blum	...	Mugen (26 episodes, 2004-2005)
Kirk Thornton	...	Jin (26 episodes, 2004-2005)
Kari Wahlgren	...	Fuu (26 episodes, 2004-2005)

(more)

Series Directed by
Shinichirô Watanabe		(10 episodes, 2004)
Takeshi Yoshimoto		(2 episodes, 2004)

Series Writing credits
Shinichirô Watanabe		(17 episodes, 2004)
Shinji Obara		(5 episodes, 2004)
Dai Sato		(2 episodes, 2004)

Series Produced by
Hideki Goto	....	executive producer: Geneon Entertainment (6 episodes, 2004)
Mami Okada	....	assistant producer (6 episodes, 2004)
Kaeko Sakamoto	....	producer (6 episodes, 2004)
Eric P. Sherman	....	producer (6 episodes, 2004)
Hiroe Tsukamoto	....	producer (6 episodes, 2004)
Takatoshi Hamano	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Yoshimoto Ishikawa	....	media producer (unknown episodes)
Shinichirô Kobayashi	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Takashi Kochiyama	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Sanae Mitsugi	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Shirô Sasaki	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Tetsuro Satomi	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Force of Nature		(unknown episodes)
Fat Jon		(unknown episodes)
Nujabes		(unknown episodes)
Tsutchie		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Kazuhiro Yamada		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Shuichi Kakesu		(8 episodes, 2004)

Series Art Direction by
Takeshi Waki		(unknown episodes)

Series Set Decoration by
Kazunobu Kawagoe		(5 episodes, 2004)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hirotaka Endo	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 2004)

Series Art Department
Anna Tsubaki	....	artist: Ukiyoe (7 episodes, 2004)
Toshiyuki Yamashita	....	graphic designer: opening credits (5 episodes, 2004)
Kazuki Akane	....	storyboard artist (2 episodes, 2004)
Masahiro Emoto	....	artist: Ukiyoe (2 episodes, 2004)
Takako Ito	....	color key (2 episodes, 2004)
Kiyomi Yamazaki	....	color key (2 episodes, 2004)

Series Sound Department
Pat Rodman	....	adr engineer / dialogue editor (26 episodes, 2004-2005)
Mark A. Rozett	....	sound re-recording engineer (26 episodes, 2004-2005)
Deb Munini	....	sound editor / dialogue editor (21 episodes, 2004-2005)
Kevin Patzelt	....	sound editor (10 episodes, 2004-2005)
Shigeru Fujibayashi	....	sound recording assistant (8 episodes, 2004)
Tsutomu Kashiwakura	....	recording director (8 episodes, 2004)
Shizuo Kurahashi	....	sound effects (8 episodes, 2004)
Toshiaki Oota	....	sound production: Boderline / sound production: Border Line (8 episodes, 2004)
Yukari Tobase	....	sound recording assistant (8 episodes, 2004)
Makoto Uchida	....	sound recordist (8 episodes, 2004)
Masashi Yabuhara	....	sound mix engineer (8 episodes, 2004)
Fujio Yamada	....	sound recordist (8 episodes, 2004)
Naoto Yamada	....	sound effects assistant: Sound Box (6 episodes, 2004)
Sean Foye	....	dialogue editor (5 episodes, 2004)
Naoto Yamaya	....	sound effects assistant: Sound Box (2 episodes, 2004)

Series Special Effects by
Toshio Hasegawa	....	digital special effects: Marix (2 episodes, 2004)

Series Visual Effects by
Mari Gomyo	....	compositor: Asahi Production (8 episodes, 2004)
Kanta Kamei	....	visual effects (8 episodes, 2004)
Shuichi Kusamori	....	compositor: ending credits (8 episodes, 2004)
Fumihiko Morohashi	....	compositor: Asahi Production (8 episodes, 2004)
Minoe Ohkubo	....	compositor: Asahi Production (8 episodes, 2004)
Suguru Oidaira	....	compositor: Asahi Production (8 episodes, 2004)
Kenji Takahashi	....	compositor: Asahi Production (8 episodes, 2004)
Kazuki Watanabe	....	compositor: Asahi Production (8 episodes, 2004)
Kayoko Takaya	....	compositor: Asahi Production (7 episodes, 2004)
Toshio Hasegawa	....	digital special effects: Marix (6 episodes, 2004)
Shinya Ueda	....	compositor: Asahi Production (6 episodes, 2004)
Yuki Hama	....	compositor: Asahi Production (5 episodes, 2004)
Taeko Nihei	....	compositor: Asahi Production (5 episodes, 2004)
Yui Tanaka	....	compositor: Asahi Production (5 episodes, 2004)
Naoyuki Wada	....	compositor: Asahi Production (5 episodes, 2004)
Toshihiro Sasaki	....	compositor: Asahi Production (2 episodes, 2004)
Akiko Suio	....	compositor: Asahi Production (2 episodes, 2004)

Series Animation Department
Yoshimitsu Yamashita	....	animation director / key animator (26 episodes, 2004-2005)
Takeshi Koike	....	animator: opening credits / key animator (8 episodes, 2004)
Shuichi Kusamori	....	background artist: ending credits (8 episodes, 2004)
Shuko Murase	....	animator: ending credits (8 episodes, 2004)
Ayari Wake	....	background artist: green (8 episodes, 2004)
Michie Watanabe	....	background artist: green (8 episodes, 2004)
Emi Hirano	....	key animator / secondary key animator / ... (7 episodes, 2004)
Miyoko Kohama	....	background artist: green (7 episodes, 2004)
Eri Nakamura	....	background artist: green (7 episodes, 2004)
Yukari Yasuda	....	background artist: green (7 episodes, 2004)
Chie Ohkubo	....	background artist: green (6 episodes, 2004)
Sonomi Sugimura	....	inbetween animator / inbetween animator: Studio Gimlet / ... (6 episodes, 2004)
Hideto Komori	....	key animator (5 episodes, 2004)
Madoka Ozawa	....	inbetween animator / in-between animation checker / ... (5 episodes, 2004)
Takuya Suzuki	....	key animator / animation director / ... (5 episodes, 2004)
Tatsuya Suzuki	....	key animator / animation director / ... (5 episodes, 2004)
Takashi Igari	....	key animator (4 episodes, 2004)
Hiromi Masuda	....	key animator / key animator: Ad Cosmo / ... (4 episodes, 2004)
Nariyuki Ogi	....	background artist: green (4 episodes, 2004)
Tetsuya Wakano	....	key animator: Studio One Pack / key animator (4 episodes, 2004)
Kazuhisa Asai	....	background artist: green (3 episodes, 2004)
Hayato Hashiguchi	....	in-between animation checker / in-between animation checker: Emuai (3 episodes, 2004)
Ayako Ishihara	....	key animator: Studio One Pack (3 episodes, 2004)
Kenji Kobayashi	....	background artist: green (3 episodes, 2004)
Yuichi Kuboki	....	digital paint artist / digital paint artist: Tripple A (3 episodes, 2004)
Kenji Nishikawa	....	key animator / key animator: Ad Cosmo (3 episodes, 2004)
Shinji Takeuchi	....	animation director / key animator (3 episodes, 2004)
Taizo Yoshida	....	key animator / key animator: Ad Cosmo / ... (3 episodes, 2004)
Misao Abe	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Asako Aoki	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Takahiro Arai	....	inbetween animator: Studio Gimlet / key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Yuki Chika	....	key animator: Studio Moo (2 episodes, 2004)
Yûko Dangi	....	key animator: Studio Moo (2 episodes, 2004)
Yuka Dazai	....	digital paint artist: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Yoshinori Deno	....	inbetween animator: Emuai (2 episodes, 2004)
Hitomi Fujii	....	in-between animation checker: Emuai (2 episodes, 2004)
Ayumi Fujishita	....	inbetween animator: Emuai (2 episodes, 2004)
Takayuki Gotan	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Keita Hagio	....	key animator: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Koji Hamaoka	....	digital paint artist: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Dai Hariki	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Takayoshi Hashimoto	....	key animator: Studio Moo (2 episodes, 2004)
Kaori Higashida	....	background artist: green (2 episodes, 2004)
Hiroaki Ikeda	....	key animator: Studio One Pack (2 episodes, 2004)
Dai Imaoka	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Yumiko Ishii	....	key animator / key animator: Studio One Pack (2 episodes, 2004)
Akira Ito	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Hirotsugu Ito	....	inbetween animator: Emuai (2 episodes, 2004)
Mitsuko Kanamori	....	digital paint artist: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Ayako Karatani	....	key animator: Studio Moo (2 episodes, 2004)
Hitomi Kashihara	....	digital paint artist: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Rika Kato	....	key animator: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Hitoshi Katsura	....	inbetween animator: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Masakazu Kawazoe	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Katsunori Kikuchi	....	inbetween animator: Emuai (2 episodes, 2004)
Katsuya Kikuchi	....	key animator / key animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Kunihiko Kimura	....	key animator: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Ikuko Kitagawa	....	digital paint artist: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Shuuichi Kodama	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Megumi Koishikawa	....	digital paint artist: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Eiji Komatsu	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Atsushi Kosakai	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Manami Masuda	....	background artist: green (2 episodes, 2004)
Daisuke Mataga	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Susumu Matsunaga	....	in-between animation checker: Ad Cosmo / inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Kumiko Mizoguchi	....	digital paint artist: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Hiromi Morikawa	....	background artist: green (2 episodes, 2004)
Hisao Muramatsu	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Chikako Nakamura	....	digital paint artist: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Kazuya Nakamura	....	inbetween animator: Emuai (2 episodes, 2004)
Yoshifumi Nakamura	....	key animator: Studio One Pack (2 episodes, 2004)
Kazuto Nakazawa	....	animation director / key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Takahiro Nawa	....	in-between animation checker (2 episodes, 2004)
Motonori Nishibe	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Ayumi Nishigami	....	digital paint artist: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Hidemi Nishikage	....	digital paint artist: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Yohei Nishiwaki	....	digital paint artist: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Shingo Oda	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Yuki Okada	....	digital paint artist: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Hiromi Okazaki	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Mayu Saito	....	digital paint artist (2 episodes, 2004)
Yusuke Saito	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Youhei Sasaki	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Tomoya Sato	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Yusuke Sato	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Yuji Shimada	....	background artist: green (2 episodes, 2004)
Takako Shimizu	....	animation director / key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Mio Shinbo	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Kanta Suzuki	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Tsutomu Takahashi	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Yoshiyuki Takayanagi	....	in-between animation checker / inbetween animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Yuji Takeda	....	digital paint artist: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Satoshi Tanaka	....	key animator (2 episodes, 2004)
Yuki Terano	....	key animator / key animator: Studio One Pack (2 episodes, 2004)
Yuka Terasaki	....	digital paint artist: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Kentaro Tokiwa	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Akira Toya	....	inbetween animator: Emuai (2 episodes, 2004)
Eriko Uchiyama	....	inbetween animator: Emuai (2 episodes, 2004)
Mika Ueda	....	inbetween animator: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Masahito Wada	....	inbetween animator: Ad Cosmo (2 episodes, 2004)
Hiroyo Yamamoto	....	key animator: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Masakazu Yamazaki	....	key animator: Studio One Pack (2 episodes, 2004)
Aya Yoshii	....	digital paint artist: Studio Gimlet (2 episodes, 2004)
Masaaki Yuasa	....	key animator (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Daisuke Imai	....	assistant editor (8 episodes, 2004)
Tomoki Nagasaka	....	assistant editor (8 episodes, 2004)

Series Music Department
Toshishige Matsui	....	music production support: Clockwise (8 episodes, 2004)
Takamitsu Sato	....	music production support: Weed (8 episodes, 2004)
Masakazu Takeuchi	....	music production support: Libyus Music (8 episodes, 2004)

Series Other crew
David Fleming	....	subtitles: English language version / translation: English language version (8 episodes, 2004)
Hiroshi Kudo	....	production desk (8 episodes, 2004)
Takako Masaoka	....	public relations: Fuji Television / public relations: Fuji Televison (8 episodes, 2004)
Junichi Matsumoto	....	literature support (8 episodes, 2004)
Yoshimi Nakajima	....	production support: Bigshot (8 episodes, 2004)
Stephanie Takemoto	....	production assistant: English language version (8 episodes, 2004)
Shousei Ito	....	advertisement: Victor Entertainment (7 episodes, 2004)
Masanori Sugawara	....	advertisement: Victor Entertainment (6 episodes, 2004)
Kristal Harwood	....	production assistant: English language version (4 episodes, 2004)
Megumi Kunisada	....	production assistant: English language version (4 episodes, 2004)
Yoshihiro Watanabe	....	production assistant: English language version (4 episodes, 2004)
Ryosuke Inagaki	....	production assistant (2 episodes, 2004)
Yoshihiko Tominaga	....	production assistant (2 episodes, 2004)

Production Companies

• Fuji TV
• Fuji
• Manglobe
• Shimoigusa Champloos

Distributors

• Victor Entertainment (2004) (Japan) (TV)
• Adult Swim (2005) (USA) (TV)
• AXN (????) (Spain) (TV)
• Cuatro (2006) (Spain) (TV)

Special Effects

• Asahi Production (visual effects)

Runtime:

Japan:23 min | Japan:30 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | Dutch | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | USA:TV-MA | Argentina:18

Company:

Fuji TV

Trivia:

The series was only allowed to be aired past 12:00 am in Japan for the network deemed it too graphic for prime time television.

Quotes:

Jin: You're the lowest of the low.
Mugen: What'd you say?
Jin: Your stance leaves you wide open, and your moves are totally inefficient. All in all, your fighting style is a mess.
Mugen: You son of a...
Jin: I swear, you are the most undisciplined fighter I've ever known...
Mugen: Shut your damn mouth!
Jin: ...and the only one I wasn't able to kill.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#35.7)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Shiki No Uta

Hip-hop stir-fry samurai 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 similarities with Bebop end at the fact that the series has 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 story lines are from one another.

As the title card of the first episode of Samurai Champloo says, "Just shut up and watch."