Afro's Animation Was Cool But What About The Story?
There's no doubt that Afro Samurai has a cool and simple concept and a very bloody style. In this future world of feudal Japan nothing seems to matter but two headbands that represent the two best fighters. To get to the number one fighter you must go through the number two and to get to the number two you must go trough everyone else. This way of life that nobody should have to live especially a child who has nothing but the headbands and revenge on his mind. As a child Afro saw his father who was the number one fighter at the time get massacred by a man named Justice. After the fight is over Justice takes the number one headband off of the head of Afro's father, which was not too far away from his body. Justice tells Afro something similar to what Uma Thurman said to Vivica A. Fox's daughter in Kill Bill, that if he wanted revenge he would fight him when he came for him.
Afro took those words very seriously and took a few things of his fathers including his very cool...
Style over substance applies here
Recently I got into the show Samurai Champloo, done by the man responsible for the much-praised Cowboy Bebop. That show oozes style and panache while still maintaining a compelling atmosphere and likable characters. Afro Samurai on the other hand just tries way too hard to be cool and its emphasis on that "coolness" completely robs it of anything else it wants to have when presenting this old-yet-anachronistic world. Meaning this is a show where there was more time spent on its visuals than anything else and you can very much see that is the case although the more testosterone-driven people might disagree with me.
Comprised of 5 episodes, Samuel L. Jackson plays Afro who has a boy saw his father killed right in front of him by the evil Justice. Justice wants the #1 headband which says that he is the best fighter ever. Afro, growing up and full of dreams of revenge, has the #2 headband which means only he can take on the number one. Only thing is whoever is number 2 has to...
Like chocolate and peanut butter.
Come on, how could you go wrong? Afro. Samurai. Samuel L Jackson. If this isn't a recipe for awesome, I don't know what is. If the notion doesn't immediately strike you that this is the coolest concept ever, move along; there's nothing for you to see here. But if you're a fan of animated carnage and you think that Sam Jackson is the king of cool, then this series is well worth it.
The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world (don't they all?) and follows Afro's pursuit of the "#1 Headband" which is said to grant god-like power to the one who possesses it. Just so happens that the guy who currently possesses it killed our main man's father right in front of him at an early age, hence Afro's quest for vengeance. The trick is that nobody can challenge the owner of the "#1 Headband" unless he possesses the "#2 Headband". Needless to say, the owner of #2 is beset on all sides by every bloodthirsty yahoo who lusts for the power of the #1. That's where the endless...
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