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Year: 2007
Genre: Action, Adventure, Samurai
Episodes: 5
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
“Revenge is a confession of pain.” — Latin Proverb
What is revenge or vengeance in one’s eyes? Is it to get back at someone who did you wrong? Is it an ultimate motivator in proving oneself too many others? Does it dwell in the soul for many years until one day, a person sets their plan in motion to get revenge on others? Throughout history and time, revenge has been the cornerstone of many great tales. In the novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, the main character, wants revenge against those who threw him in prison. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet wants revenge for the death of his father. No matter what the reason, revenge was the theme and substance that drives a person to take things in their hands and do what they believe is right and honorable.
How would one go about getting this revenge? Would you destroy the person’s family? Would you take over the person’s life for your own? Would you destroy everything thing around you? How about you lived peacefully with your father and one day a man comes and kills him. The only way you can kill the person is to obtain an object that everyone else wants in the world. Would you be able to find the object and hold on to it to officially challenge the person who took everything from you?
Afro Samurai is a tale of a swordsman who must obtain a legendary headband. He is on a quest to get revenge against the man who killed his father for the prize of being a god. Will this man be able to obtain a headband to challenge a god?
Overview:
Afro Samurai follows the adventure of a samurai named Afro. In a futuristic Japan, that resembles the feudal era. There is a legend that the one who holds the Number 1 headband is the best swordsman in the entire world and will claim god-like powers. To possess the Number 1 headband is to challenge God himself and gain immortality. The only way to claim the headband is to challenge and defeat the current wearer in a fight to the death. Only the swordsman who has obtained the Number 2 headband can challenge the Number 1 headband. There is a price that comes with the Number 2 headband. Anyone (small or tall, old or young) may challenge for the right to wear the Number 2 headband at any time or place. There are no rules in how one may obtain the Number 2 headband.
Afro Samurai begins when the current wearer of the Number 2 headband, a man named Justice, arrives and challenges Rokutaro, Afro’s father, and current wearer of the Number 1 headband. Afro witnesses the fight between the two warriors until Rokutaro is ultimately killed by Justice. Justice claims the Number 1 headband as his own and claims that he will be a god. A young Afro vows revenge against Justice. Justice mocks Afro and tells him to seek him out when he is ready to face a god and has obtained the Number 2 headband.
Afro Samurai starts years later as Afro wears the Number 2 headband. He is on his quest to finally get the vengeance he so craves against the man who took everything from him along with challenging a god for the right of wearing the Number 1 headband. Afro must always be on guard as he is constantly attacked from all sides from his Number 2 headband.
Review:
Afro Samurai is a pretty good anime. It has its moments of being entertaining and engaging with great fight scenes. Some of the characters fall flat, and the storyline has a bunch of holes in it, but it is an anime that is worth watching. Plus, it’s only five episodes long. You can honestly finish the whole series in a day and have time to spare.
The story of Afro Samurai is pretty good. The whole idea about revenge has been played several times over, but this anime pulls it off with the time and style. It looks like it takes place in feudal Japan, where people walk around with swords. Yet, the place is technologically advance with having cell phones, guns, and androids. Quite the setup. Where the story does a great job is introducing the concept of becoming a god through the use of headbands. The idea of who holds the Number 1 headband can become a god is a fascinating concept, but even better is the introduction of the Number 2 headband.
The only person who can challenge the Number 1 headband wearer is the one who wears the Number 2 headband. Yet anyone can challenge the Number 2 headband wearer no matter the place, time, or area. A free for all for the headband. It’s a nice concept, but questions do arise as to where the headbands came from? Are there a number three, four, or five headbands, and what are the rules for them? Also, what happens to the number 2 headband if the person is defeated or not? How does it actually get back into the hands of the people? Now the actual story is pretty good. It starts off with a young Afro who sees his father pretty much get decapitated by the primary villain name Justice. After that, the story progresses on how Afro trained as a swordsman until gaining the number 2 headband. Yet when Afro finally gets the headband until he challenges Justice, years seem to go by. What was he doing all that time?
The characters of this anime are up and down. With it being such a quick anime, you never really get to know or develop anything for the characters beside Afro. The main character Afro is a quite induvial. You learn about his trials through flashbacks on his quest for his vengeance. He is actually a pretty boring character. What makes up for his quiet and boring attitude is his friend Ninja Ninja. I don’t know what Ninja Ninja is. Is he an imaginary friend after everyone Afro likes are killed? Is he a real person? You have no idea because he seems to get killed and then not. Even with him being on camera for a short time, the character that steals the anime is Justice. Justice is the best as he is this philosophical gunslinger. His views are that violence must rule and that the headband shows anyone is the one true god. One of the strangest but best characters is Jinnosuke. Jinnosuke is a swordsman wearing a cybernetic teddy bear helmet. Out of all the terrifying things in the world, dude has a teddy bear helmet in honor of his time as children in the dojo he grew up in. He also wields twin katanas. He blames Afro for what happens and always has tears flowing from his eyes. He is on a mission to destroy Afro. Other characters also somewhat drive the anime like The Empty Seven, who are brothers and want the headband.
The animation in this anime is definitely a highlight. The fight scenes are the best. Whether it’s the blood that is being spelled or the locations, each is beautifully drawn. Whether it’s on the edge of a cliff where a battle happens between the dojo students and people after the number 2 headband or fighting on a mountain top with the white snow flowing from the sky. The final fight scene between Justice and Afro is something to look at. The color scheme of the scene making it seem like the abyss and a fiery hell is really good.
Overall, Afro Samurai is an okay anime that is lackluster in a few areas. The fight scenes are great, and the storyline is pretty good. With those positives, it is still missing many key areas. The storyline is good but could spend a little bit more time explaining things. Maybe add at least 2 more episodes. The characters are okay, but with a short series, they have to pick and choose what the best route is. If you’re looking for a quick anime to watch, this is the one for you and worth your time.
