Samurai Champloo 15

[moonwise]

Nice change of pace from 13 and 14 - definitely some funny antics from Jin and Mugen were in order after the Mugen!Angst. Which is far less pretty than Vash!Angst, but Mugen doesn't have much of a problem with killing people.

Highlight of the ep: Jin tries to catch a fish.

One of the things I'm really liking about this series is that it laughs at itself. Jin isn't Mr. Super-Serious Zen Samurai all the time (like when he catches a fish.) Mugen's a vicious stray dog, but not all the time. Sometimes he's just an idiot, and a womanizing idiot at that. Very, very distracted at the thought of nekkid ladies.

It's also highly amusing to see that Mugen and Jin have reached this gentleman's agreement of "ok, we're going to kill one another, but that means no one else gets to do it instead of me, so I'll save your ass for now. And while we're at it, let's ditch Fuu and go to the brothel."

In the brothel (what is it with this series and brothels anyway?):

Mugen wants teh sexx0r.

Jin wants a backrub.

BWAH.

Oh, and Mugen X Yatsuha OTP.

(Anyone else want in on the fansubs? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?)

Comments

[fireceremony.livejournal.com]

:)) Ah, I can understand why. He is a bastard (the same way John Constantine is a bastard). But I really like unrepentant characters, including bastards.

Did you notice what Fuu said about Jin and Mugen in the flashback ep; that externally they're different with different outlooks and behaviors, but that she suspected that deep inside, they were the same. :) I thought that was a cool observation. Jin's not a bastard, but I see the same desire for personal freedom in him as with Mugen.

Anyway, just wanted to rant about the characters. :) I think they're both fantastic. Mugen got a great moment at the end of ep 14.

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

I'm usually pretty good with unrepentant bastards, but it's nice to see just one redeeming feature in them. Kind of hard to find in Mugen.

Agree with you on the Jin and Mugen thing. They'd both be quick to deny any similarities at all, but they're definitely there.

[fireceremony.livejournal.com]

What are your other fave anime?

(If you don't mind me asking :) )

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

Besides the over-riding Trigun obsession? *g* Stuff like Bebop, X, Evangelion, Mirage of Blaze, Fruits Basket, Yami. The usual suspects, really. There's a secondary list of fun, which includes Saiyuki, DNAngel (though the manga's much better), Chrno Crusade, Gundam Wing. Naruto I'm just getting into, which is an intimidating prospect since I'm about 80 eps behind!

I'm currently watching Gilgamesh (somewhat behind the times there), which is really intriguing. At this point, it could either turn out great or degenerate into an incomprehensible mess. And I've just been *completely* bowled over by the Pet Shop of Horros manga, but I haven't seen the OVAs. I'm working on that.

I know I'll have forgotten some important ones, I always do....

Do you have any more obscure ones to recommend?

[fireceremony.livejournal.com]

I've heard a lot about Gilgamesh but not seen it yet (since I don't download as of yet) but it sounds very interesting. What I've heard of it I can understand the doubts you have about it. Sometimes complex anime get too over the top.

The Pet Shop Of Horrors is just one of the best written manga I've seen, great short stories with a twist. :) Just like the old Twilight Zone episodes. The OVAs really short, just 4 eps IIRC. I think all of the eps in it are covered by the two first books, cirka.

Obscure ones, oh wow... good old Bubblegum Crisis was fun, had some interesting female characters in some fun mecha suit action.

The much more recent Kino's Journey is in short story format and has a quiet and melancholy atmosphere, kind of like Haibane Renmei.

Talking about which, have you seen Niea Under Seven? It's a fun everyday anime about a regular girl who shares room with a hyperactive Ed (from Cowboy Bebop) like alien. :) Really cute and funny.

Champloo is my current favorite along with Gungrave, but that's b/c I got hooked on the Gungrave Overdose game.

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

Gungrave is most definitely on my list. Gilgamesh takes a little while to get into, but as the plot spins out, it becomes all about motivations and manipulations. Only 3 more eps to go, and I'm wondering if it's going to be one of those animes that refuses to answer its own questions, Evangelion-style. Hope not.

Yeah, I gather the PSoH OVAs only cover early stuff, but they seem to say more about who/what D is than the manga gets into if I've heard right?

Niea Under Seven I haven't even heard of. I'll look it up.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Niea Under 7 is cute and silly, and there's no plot to speak of. It's one of Yoshitoshi ABe's earlier works, timewise after Lain and before Haibane Renmei and Texhnolyze.

Gungrave seems to be to be a renter, or else a Hong Kong bootleg - it's almost impossible not to play "Spot the Trigun, though fireceremony says it gets less Trigunny later in the series. Geneon gave out the first ep at Otakon this year. Nice animation, though.

I just read that the VA for Brandon Heat of Gungrave is going to be Jin in the dub of Champloo. Might be worth another listen...

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

I'm not having much luck finding Niea Under 7 downloadable. It seems to have got some pretty mixed reviews. I probably won't hand over my money on spec.

Yeah, some of the character designs for Naito's other work look a bit familiar, don't they? *g* But then that's true for practically every mangaka too.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Niea_7 was not my style - too silly. It's sort of ABe's cult classic, either you love it or you don't. It's an older series and wasn't that popular, so it's not surprising that you can't find it.

Gungrave... what got me was that there was a miniskirted, short-haired supporting female character who looked like her destiny was going to be entwined with Grave's somehow. If you colored her hair in black, I swear it was Meryl. But, to be fair, the first pass isn't always the best representation of the series as a whole.

[fireceremony.livejournal.com]

I can't remember whether they reveal more about D's past in the OAV than they do in the manga. I don't think they do. They hint a lot that he's been around for generations and that he claims his grandfather owns the store and that this in reality is himself.