I never wanted to watch it, but since I was really bored these few days I decided to give this show a try and I found I really like Samurai Champloo. I love the main characters: immoral and impulsive Mugen ( 無幻 )﹐ honourable and composed Jin ( 仁 ), flamboyant and cute Fuu ( 風 ). They are very unique, and fit together very well. Their names are all fitting... well if you know Chinese/Japanese that is. Mugen means no illusion (of the human nature, perhaps? Is that why he acts without thinking so much of consiquences?), Jin means kindness/righteous (and indeed he is a good and moral person), and Fuu means wind (she is a drifter from place to place like th wind, and her personality is very relaxing). While Mugen is immoral, lustful, kills without regrets, and fights for fun, he still cares for his companions (one can hardly count how many times he went to save Fuu's arse without any second thoughts). While Jin is honourable, responsible and calm, he is tactful and is not scared to fight (or kill) when the time comes. While Fuu is flamboyant, bold, weak in terms of fighting skills and therefore often become the maiden in distress, she is still resourceful very useful in their journey and impossible to hate (not the mention she has considerable power over Mugen -- he does listen to her to some extend). Honestly I think they are the most dynamic group I have ever seen in Anime.

Directed by the guy who directed Cowboy Bebop, this anime is almost sure to gain good reviews in America (not so much in Japan because this anime is animated in some innovative style that does not go so well there). Also because it is by that director, Samurai Champloo is constantly compared to Cowboy Bebop, and I would give my opinion here. I think like Bebop, Champloo is very episodic, and nicely animated. They are both animated in odd ways, and where as Bebop utilized jezz, Champloo uses hip-hop. I must admit I really don't like hip-hop, but since it fits the anime style I am incline to let this personal dislike pass.

Okay on to characters, I have to say I prefer Mugen (although I am sure I would hate him in real life) than Spike, he is just less depressed and don't dwell on the past so much. Sasuke from Naruto probably dwells on the past even more but being 12 has to be his excuse. Spike is cool but no matter when you see him he always manages to give you an impression that he is sad. As for the less main but still main characters in the show... I obviously like Jin more than Jet - Jin is just much more subtal, mysterious and pretty than the 30+ Jet in Bebop. I will not deny that I much prefer young characters than old ones because I can relate to them much better. In any case, I am human and I am superfical for looks to some degree. Oh as for Faye vs. Fuu, since I am not a guy and does not care for women with big breasts, I am more incline to say I like Fuu more. She is once again, much younger, and is closer to my age. Lastly, I will say I really love Ed in Bebop, he was really really cute and so was that dog, but since there are no counterparts for them in Champloo I can't say much.

As you can probably guessed by now, I think Bebop is over rated, sort of like Ghost in the Shell, but maybe that's just cause from what others said I expected so much that when I actually watched it I was truely disappointed.

So to summarize everything I will just say: Samurai Champloo rocks!

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