Afro Samurai (voiced by Academy Award® nominated Samuel L. Jackson) is an epic tale of a black samurai's hunt for Justice (voiced by Ron Perlman: Hellboy Alien Resurrection ) who murdered his father. With music score by The RZA ( Kill Bill Wu Tang Clan) Afro Samurai blends traditional Japanese culture, funky technology and hip hop to create a brutally fresh entertainment experience.
RZA Music Production Tour In the BoothDescription of Afro Samurai: Season One - Director's Cut [Blu-ray]:
The violent five-part adventure Afro Samurai marks both the increasing confluence of American and Japanese pop culture and the shift in Japanese depictions of African-Americans. The popularity of hip-hop in Japan has led to more positive images of blacks, including Takashi Okazaki's original manga. The "Director's Cut" contains an additional 15 minutes of footage, and is even gorier than the broadcast version on Spike TV. As a boy, Afro Samurai saw his father beheaded by the maniacal Justice. The murderer sought an ancient headband that marks the wearer as the #1 warrior in the world. As an adult, Afro seeks only revenge, cutting down anyone who blocks his path to Justice. Afro Samurai depicts a oddly anachronistic world that infuses cell phones, cigarette lighters, and cyber technology into traditional Japanese culture. The elongated character designs recall Peter Chung's Aeon Flux, and much of the series is rendered in moody grays, accented by gobbets of scarlet blood. Afro is such a taciturn figure, most of the dialogue goes to his motor-mouth comrade Ninja Ninja. This big budget production features an eclectic score by Wu-Tang Clan co-founder RZA and an A-list vocal cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman. But for all its elaborate production values and over-the-top fights, Afro Samurai suffers from a weakness at its core: Afro is so monosyllabic and cold-blooded, he's not very interesting. His inevitable duel-to-the-death with Justice lacks the emotional punch of Spike's face-off against Vicious in Cowboy Bebop or Kenshin's one-on-one with Shishio in Rurouni Kenshin. This extremely violent series is not for the faint of stomach. (Rated TV MA, suitable for ages 17 and older: graphic violence, profanity, sexual activity, grotesque imagery, nudity, risqué humor, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
More from Studio Gonzo
Origin: Spirits of the Past | 
Trinity Blood | 
Solty Rei |
Stills from Afro Samurai (click for larger image)
More Samuel L. Jackson
Snakes on a Plane | 
Shaft | 
Pulp Fiction |
More Stills (click for larger image)
Afro Samurai: Season One - Director's Cut [Blu-ray] Reviews:
A unique and enteraining work 
2009-09-18 - I'm really not into the animated action flick. I just have never been interested in action that's in a cartoon, as since it's a cartoon, of course they can do amazing action, be it slicing a bullet with a sword or falling down a cavern only to land safely. Given its reputation as a action cartoon, I wasn't too excited to see Afro Samurai, but I did, and am glad I did. First, I loved the multiple homages to classic kung fu movies. The basic premise of the son avenging the father, the quite son who learns how to be a great kung fu master with his samurai, any fight after fight. Where it really surprising me was the blending of so many different styles. While the movie definitely is meant to be a old school samurai film, it clearly is very modern, and in some cases, futuristic. There are cell phones, robots, guns and rockets. Yet the towns and buildings are so old school they seems out of the 12th century. The best part is the blending was very natural, and didn't feel like they were trying to blend too many things, but just doing what was needed and interesting in the story.
Speaking of the story, it was surprisingly complex for such a basic premise. A story of son avenging his father is the basic story. However, the movie finds many ways of adding interesting side stories and depth to make the story feel more real, and far more interesting. I liked how it was done, and where it went. As the animation, like I said, its not really my thing, but I did enjoy the way it worked. The fighting wasn't particulalry interesting to me, but I did like how it was done. The abundance of blood, the way flashbacks were intermingled with fights, and the way the background seemed relevant to the story were all very good.
Needless to say, I was very impressed with Afro Samurai, and it is not something of which I am usually a fan. I suggest if you're looking for some entertainment and something different you should give this a try.
Just sick! 
2009-09-16 - I'm not a fan of anima, I only really like Appleseed, (especially Exmachina) honstly anima kinda stupid to me, going all the way back to the orignal Speed Racer, its like everyones on METH! But I caught this on Spike once, then again, then agian and I was HOOKED! This guy is so f--king cool, Sam's doing his thing, the soundtrck is killer, bloods everywhere, ridiculous enemies, I mean whats not to like. So how could this get better, THE DIRCTORS CUT, Afro gets to tag some As-!
Samurai!!!!!!!!! With beats from the RZA!!!!!!!!!!!!
2009-07-06 - This movie is crazy; it sucks you in from beginning to end! We couldn't stop watching it!!!! Not only is the story-line intellectually stimulating, but the RZA produced music "makes the movie"!!!
A recycled samurai champloo 
2009-06-25 - Right off the bat I was disappointed in this because when I buy a dvd collection that says "SEASON ONE" i expect a season, not 5 episodes! (thats false advertising!) I did not realize this until the last episode and it was by far one of the most over-rated animes ever.
Visually speaking this is great work. the characters appearance and their mannerisms were unique. I especialy liked samuel jackson's contribution as ninja ninja and I like that it opened animes to a crowd of people that may not like anime. This gets it the two stars I gae but thats all i can say good about it.
The plot was, for lack of a better word, bad. The story was rushed, every fight scene had a well animated more or two but the rest of the fight would be a "been there, done that" kind of fight. The only unique battle I can recall was the fight against afrobot, it was entertaining, but not that good. Afro was a totally uninteresting character who was not likeable, I actually thought Justice was the good guy by the end of the anime because Afro was so bland and cliche (a jimi hendrix lookin guy with an afro smoking a joint. . . wooow original) And why did they make such a big deal about the soundtrack? Not that monumental, definatley thought Rza would contribute more to a major anime soundtrack than those bootleg mixtape level beats.
All in all this was, as the title says, a recycled Samurai Champloo. This was another "been there, done that" moment for me becuase Samurai Champloo already conquered the Hip-Hop/Samurai Anime idea and did so in epic proportions. If you are a fan of anime then you will treat this like a mediocre painting, you'll look at it, say thats nice, and never want to look at it again.
P.S. I couldnt even sell it to FYE for 1/2 of wat i paid 4 it!
An entertaining, violent, and a different kind of anime.
2009-06-10 - What do you get when you combine bloody action, feudal Japan, modern technology, anime, hip-hop, and a big actor? Why, none other than Afro Samurai, which is not your average anime. Starring Samuel L Jackson as the voice of Afro and Ninja Ninja and featuring music from people such as RZA from Wu-Tang Clan, it adds fresh skin to old bones, and maybe more.
The plot to this anime is pretty simple, actually. It takes place in a sort of modern feudal Japan, where things like cell-phones and cyborgs are placed together in an archaic setting. There are two headbands, Number One and Number Two, which represent the two strongest warriors. If you have the Number One, you have the powers of a god. Rokutaro wields the number one, but is killed in front of his own son's, Afro's, eyes by a gruesome-looking gunslinger named Justice. Now, as an adult and wielding the number two, Afro is seeking revenge as his past is unraveled. Also following him is Ninja Ninja, a profanity-laced man who is Afro's rock, in a way.
Anyway, the anime itself, while lacking in the plot department, is beautiful to watch and has some pretty epic and bloody fighting in it, as well as a good pace and some intriguing characters. The voice acting is great as well; I mean, what anime has a well-known actor voicing the main character? It's pretty much unlike anything you've watched before.
So if you're looking for something to watch, you should check this out.
