Pop Culture Reviews

Distributor: Madman Released: 2006 Genre: Anime/action/martial arts Credits: Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Hu, Ron Perlman, Lucy Liu Rating: R16

Afro Samurai and Afro Samurai Resurrection on blu-ray were kindly supplied by Madman distribution for review.

Anime fans are a loyal bunch. And whilst not all anime is ‘good’ anime, the success of one animated show from another can depend solely on the voice actors alone. That’s where Afro Samurai has depth in spades with Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Hu and Ron Perlman lending their voices to the cast of Afro Samurai. The anime is based on the manga written by Takashi Okazaki.

If you’re a fan of action or martial arts anime, you’re bound to enjoy Afro Samurai. It’s full of all the great things that make anime so enjoyable – it’s got action, drama and some very cool characters to boot. Samuel L. Jackson voices the main character ‘Afro’ which the story is based on and does a fantastic job.

Afro Samurai’s story is well-written and paced beautifully in the animated version which can often go astray when translating from book to screen. The animation work in both Afro Samurai and Afro Samurai Resurrection is very similar to that shown in other anime such as ‘Samurai Champloo’ which aims to create a sort of modern day ‘fusion’ with characteristics of feudal Japan. This creates a refreshingly unique setting for the adventure to unfold and gives personality to the character of Afro Samurai. One of the problems that seems to plague so many animated creations these days is lack of originality which Afro Samurai does well to eradicate.

The music from rap/hip hop artist ‘The RZA’ (Wu Tang Clan) features prominently throughout the movie and was written specifically for Afro Samurai.

Blu-ray brings a clarity to the screen that is fantastic for animated movies. Fans of Afro Samurai or Samuel L. Jackson would be doing themselves an injustice if they missed out on these blu-ray releases.

Check out the trailer here:

You can buy Afro Samurai and Afro Samurai Resurrection from Madman NZ