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Samurai Champloo, Volume 7 (Episodes 24-26) |  | Actors: Kazuya Nakai, Ginpei Sato, Ayako Kawasumi, Steve Blum, Kirk Thornton
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy Used: $3.69
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Seller: The Smarter Deal
Rating:  reviews
Sales Rank: 53462
Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Subtitled), Dutch (Original Language), English (Original Language), Japanese (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 30 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
UPC: 013023230095
EAN: 0013023230095
ASIN: B000BGR0MO
Theatrical Release Date: January 11, 2005
Release Date: January 17, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Director Shinichiro Watanabe brings his picaresque adventure-comedy Samurai Champloo to its conclusion as Fuu, Mugen, and Jin reach Nagasaki. The final episodes showcase Watanabe's skill as a storyteller: earlier moments that seemed to be digressions turn out to hold more significance than viewers suspected. The mystery of the "samurai who smells of sunflowers" is revealed, although Americans may not understand the significance of his ties to the Shimabara Rebellion, an uprising of Christians and peasants in the 17th century. But Watanabe doesn't resort to Morris-the-explainer scenes: the revelations and back stories of the main characters are integrated into the narrative. Mugen and Jin battle foes in duels that recall the confrontation between Spike Spiegel and Vicious in Cowboy Bebop. Watanabe said, "I actually like to travel, but, now that I'm finished with his project, I feel like I do when I come to the end of a really long trip." Fans of Samurai Champloo can only hope that after a rest, he'll create new adventures for his outrageously mismatched trio. (Rated 16 and older: violence, violence against women, profanity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
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| Customer Reviews:
Watanabe's New Masterpiece January 30, 2006
Antonio D. Paolucci (Beaver Falls, PA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Samurai Champloo has become one of the greatest anime series ever with this final volume. It ranks well beside Cowboy Bebop, Watanabe's other masterpiece of anime, and in many ways surpasses it. Watanabe's series, though based in fuedal Japan, does not limit itself to those restrictions, instead taking a surrealistic view of history, which allows for both minor and huge discrepancies, and the larger the lie, the funnier the episode. Along with the comedy, the story centers around great action and even greater music.
But in this volume, drama dominates. All of the characters meet the conclusion of their own personal stories, while wrapping up their story as a group. Jin faces a man directly linked to his past as a swordsman; Mugen faces a family bent on revenge for Mugen's past life as a pirate; and Fuu finally meets the Sunflower Samurai. Though you may think I spoiled it, just watch and see, for none of these endings end exactly as you would expect.
Then, after all three of these linked episodes are finished, you are treated to a Reggae-style rap sung partly in English but mostly in Japanese. To me, this was the perfect ending theme to a series that relied heavily on its music.
So as not to spoil, I'll finish my review saying this. The end of Samurai Champloo is both exciting and a bit sad. It's a perfect conclusion to a perfect anime series, and sufficiently answers all the questions left behind in the previous volumes. If you have any anime sense, then you've already seen this anime and love it. If you don't, then hurry and get this so that you can say you were one of the first to see one of the best. This anime was definitely worth me collecting every separate volume, and I'd recommend the same for anyone else out there. Right now, I'm hoping Watanabe takes the same direction he did with Cowboy Bebop and makes the Samurai Champloo movie.
A great ending to a great series January 31, 2006
A&M Junkie (UK)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The finale of this brilliant show surpasses all expectations by having an exciting nail-biting ending. Although there are only 3 episodes on this disc, the episodes form a long feature length ending. Our heroes finally arrive at their long-awaited destination only to find unwelcome people from their pasts waiting for them. The show clearly answers all the questions it has raised during previous episodes and ties up loose ends. We find out about Jin's past and why he killed his Sensei. We also find out the reason behind the motivations of previous assassins. Does Fuu find her "samurai who smells of sunflowers?" - well that would be telling. However, be prepared for an emotional ending as it is never certain who will survive as Jin and Mugen finally meet their match. A great ending to a great series.
Unfortunately there is at this time no second season - only the 26 episodes already released. The mention of a second series is due to the move from Fuji TV to Broadcast Satellite Fuji in Japan. The move caused a three month stop gap in the airing of the programme, so the official designation of the First Season are episodes 1 to 17 and of the Second Season 18-26. This can be seen by the preview advertisement contained in the extras in the DVD Volume 5 for "Season Two." However, I am still praying that another second series will be made!
One of the best endings to a television series... January 21, 2006
Xander (San Antonio, TX USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
At long last, the seventh and final volume of Shinichiro Watanabe's follow-up to Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo is here.
It's been a long, exciting, and sometimes strange journey for Fuu, Jin, and Mugen -- and it all comes down to the climactic three-part finale. "Evanescent Encounter" is the culmination of everything the series has to offer.
The finale opens up with the three main characters having a surprisingly open and heart-felt chat by a fire. Secrets are revealed and some lingering questions are answered. This prelude really hits it home that the trip Watanabe-san has taken us on is coming to an end.
I don't want to divulge too much -- as there are plenty of shocks and surprises in this final volume -- but the action and drama in the last three epiosdes is arguably the best in the entire series. The final battles are animated so incredibly well and will keep many on the edge of their seats. And the lingering question of whether Fuu will finally meet the Sunflower Samurai is at last answered...
Shinichiro Watanabe has done an incredible job with Samurai Champloo. While it may not be the instant pop classic that Cowboy Bebop is, it is a great tale of three strangers setting out on a journey who come to discover a great bond and friendship. The last three episodes are everything the viewer has been waiting for and then some. I can honestly say, this is one of the best endings I've seen to any television series (animated or live-action).
So, what are you waiting for? Go pick up the final volume of Samurai Champloo now! You will not be disappointed.
Amazing April 19, 2006
pwnage
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A great ending to a great series, it left me craving more. Not olnly were the final revelations creatively developed the action itself was beautiful. Plus Mugen and Jin's final(for the time being) battle was great, leaving you starstruck and impressed by his ability to develope their relationship through battle. It was perfectly constructed to make you want to beg them to make another season or at least a movie.
SMELLS LIKE SUNFLOWER SPIRIT March 14, 2006
Sesho (Pasadena, TX USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Mugen, Jin, and Fuu are about to complete the last leg of their quest to find the "samurai who smells of sunflowers" on the backwater island of Ikitsuki Island. Of course, in Samurai Champloo, nothing is as easy as it sounds. The Shogunate has dispatched its most lethal assassin to kill all three of them before they meet up with Fuu's father. If they manage to survive the encounter with him, they also have to deal with a trio of brothers, one with a deadly chain link scythe, the other a deformed toad of a maniac, and the last a wheel-chair bound vegetable. The other question is whether Mugen, Fuu, and Jin even WANT to end their journeys together?
This is a nice wrap-up for this boundary pushing anime. I was not a big fan of the show based on watching the first volume, but I'm glad I stuck around for the rest of its run. Watanabe-san wanted it to be unconventional in the sense that the characters in the show do not change, as is the norm for most literary forms. It works. While the characters do not change, they do become wiser about what it is that they are missing in their lives. The production values in terms of animation in Volume 7 are simply stunning, and that's a good thing because these last three episodes are pretty much wall-to-wall fighting. The Japanese voice acting is excellent as usual and the English is pretty good too. I thought the ending could have been done a little better but it wasn't that big of a deal.
Extras are pretty skimpy: A BRIEF trailer for the Samurai Champloo videogame, Conceptual art, and some stills of the "bumpers" (the stills used when the show went to and back between commercial breaks).
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