Review of Afro Samurai

Introduction

Voiced by Samuel L. Jackson - an actor who isn`t generally known for his afro wearing, unless you count Jules from Pulp Fiction - Afro Samurai finally makes it onto DVD in the UK. Screened over here during the Adult Swim sessions on Bravo, it`s it originated from a Japanese Manga comic, and reportedly cost over one million dollars per episode. It`s a great eastern/western mix that has been gifted a second series (even if the title of this box-set doesn`t suggest it).

As a young boy, Afro sees his father killed in front of his eyes in a ritualistic fight to the death. The boy grows into a badass young man who, despite the advice from his friends and teacher, can not rest until he rights the wrong done to him. Afro`s fighting skills are honed as he secretly searches for the legendary Number 2 headband - the holder of this headband is the only worldly being able to hurt the Number 1, who just so happens to be his father`s killer. After he takes on the mantle of Number 2, he travels a warrior`s solitary path in his search for revenge, fighting off a myriad of enemies all intent owning the legendary Number 2 headband for their own chance to challenge to be Number 1. As well as enemies, occasionally allies also come along the way including Ninja Ninja (also voiced by Jackson), and the stoic warrior strives to keep his focus (and his dignity) while Ninja Ninja jabbers away (much to the audience`s annoyance).

The DVD itself set is presented in a nice sturdy cardboard case, emblazoned with the beautiful artwork from the show. It`s very minimal, which I quite like, and comes with some printed cards and a booklet (which is always a nice little bonus). The covers on the DVDs are also reversible, coming in either white or a nice tint of red. Don`t be deceived by the jokey title and the fact that it`s an animation; this is very much an adult `toon and should be noted that it carries an 18 certificate.

Following the cartoon, expect to see a Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 game in 2008, as well as a 300 page comic book and a soundtrack CD. Further to that, rumours have it that there`s a live action film currently in pre-production, so this definitely won`t be the last you see of the character.

Video

Presented in 16:9, the picture looks as good as you would expect it to. Afro Samurai has been put together with great care, and it really shows. The quality is as sharp as you would expect on DVD, and looks even better with a little bit of upscaling.

Audio

With music by The RZA (who if you didn`t know, worked with Tarantino on the Kill Bill soundtrack, as well as a host of other films), Afro Samurai also features the added bonus of both Ron Perlman and Kelly Hu who lend their voices to the characters.

The mix is great, and you can really appreciate the stabs and slashes of the swords during the frantic action scenes. The music wasn`t quite as memorable as I would have liked, but it really lended a cool flow to the overall proceedings. To be truthful, I was paying more attention to the visuals, which isn`t such a bad thing.

Features

Before I`d actually scoured through all of the extras on the DVD, I`d stated that "Gonzo and GDH have also gone to town with the extras, dishing up over 45 minutes of documentary material". That may be true in some respects, but don`t be fooled into thinking you`re going to get a detailed breakdown of the show and all that goes with it. Apart from the 25 minute feature on Disk 2, most of the other stuff is for completists only. In fact, I felt quite let down by the supplemental material, considering it gets a disk all of its own.

The `making of` is the best feature on the disk, although it doesn`t go into detail on the techniques of animating the cartoon. Instead, it`s lots of "how we got the band together" and mutual backslapping. It`s still worth watching, but don`t expect to feel like a page on Wikipedia afterwards, because the facts just aren`t there Jack.

There`s trailers, teasers and all the other stuff that probably isn`t really that interesting to anybody. I guess it`s nicer to have it than not, but would you really want to see the TV spot for The Rza`s soundtrack CD? Thought not.

Conclusion

Afro Samurai is chock full of startling, stylish kick-ass animation. With its bold colours, and fantastic use of shadows, the frenetic action and close-up character expression is exaggerated in a way that allows for minute detail. The cameras move with the kind of freedom that a live action film could only dream of, capturing the manic action that epitomises Gonzo`s animation style.

Afro Samurai is a modern day story, set in an old style world. The only way I know it has a modern day setting is due to the mobile phone carrying ninja masters, else I could have been easily mistaken. It melds westerns and martial arts, with a large dose of anime styling`s and trademarks. I mean, where else would you see a teddy-bear head wearing samurai, with part robot functions and even odder facial quirk?

I have to admit, that it`s been a good while since I`ve watched any anime, but my memories of it are of its often stunning looks, but sometimes crude animations. I was still intrigued by this title initially though, with the title sounding like the type of bizarre mix that could just bring in a greater audience than Japanimation usually does. And from the offset it definitely felt heavily westernized, but not so much so that it loses its oriental roots. However by the end of the series - particularly in the last two episodes - it hits such a level of bizarreness that it completely loses its real world setting. It`s almost as if the creators had decided that it wasn`t offbeat enough, but hadn`t considered that the international audience it would attract might find it a little overwhelming and alienating. It`s an unfortunate departure in an otherwise excellent cartoon.

Sadly it`s perhaps not quite as cool as it could (and should) have been, especially when you consider the almost mute character of Afro. Based on the `man with no name` character that would usually be associated with westerns (which this very much is riffing on), he`s just not likeable enough. The story also borders on repetition at points, rescued mostly by its flashbacks to Afro as a boy. It`s during these mostly sepia tinged moments that the story really begins to emerge.

The voicework is exactly as you`d expect from the contributing cast, and for the type of `toon that it is. Mr. Jackson voices two of the main characters, which almost instantly gives one of the big twists in the story away. I won`t spoil it for you, but you`ll see it coming from as early as in the first of the five episodes. I was also slightly irritated to see the children voiced by adults - a bugbear of mine that I can`t escape. Ron Perlman also voices one of the major characters, although you`d do well to know which one; his accent a bizarre choice when you consider he is one of the `stars` of the piece.

It`s a mostly humourless tale, with Afro`s annoying sidekick Ninja Ninja there to try and counter-balance this. However he comes across as an annoyance, and could have easily have been chopped - even considering his `importance` to the overall character arc of Afro. The violence is never shied away from, but never becomes so graphic that it offends. With that in mind, I would expect the line was fine between it being a 15 and 18, but nonetheless this should be watched only by adults.

It`s difficult to know who to recommend it to, but if you`re intrigued then it`s almost definitely worth watching for that matter alone, because you might just fall in love with it. There`s no escaping just how stunning it looks, and even if it does tail off towards the end it still makes a mighty fine job of getting there in the first place. For all it`s downfalls, and please take note that they are few and far between, Afro Samurai emerges victorious from battle; a strong but battle scarred warrior, that still carries a few tricks up his long flowing sleeves.