Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

bmoore07 I'm sure a lot of people were involved in making Afro Samurai but I cannot discuss this show without mentioning the Wu-Tang Clan. It was an iconic rap group that dominated the 1990s, a team of seven members who served different roles in making the Wu-Tang what it was. Inspectah Deck introduced a philosophical feel to each song with his introspective rhymes, Method Man was the most popular member of the group with his infectious charisma, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah brought their Mafioso ideas into the Wu, Ol' Dirty B*stard injected his eccentric style of silliness into each song, GZA was among the greatest lyricists of them all, and RZA was the Wu-Tang's leader/producer. These seven rappers (along with an army of Wu-Tang wannabes, including Killah Priest, Masta Killa, and Cappadonna) created many popular albums in the '90s, including three hip-hop classics (36 Chambers, Liquid Swords, and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx) before Ol' Dirty died in 2004. After Ol' Dirt McGirt passed away, the Wu-Tang weren't the same, spewing out a few good but ultimately forgettable albums. They needed a spark, something that would help them bring great music back to hip-hop and keep them relevant, and that spark turned out to be… Afro Samurai.This 5-episode anime was perfect for the Wu-Tang, combining rap and a love for martial arts into one, and this is why RZA, my favorite member of the bunch, created this show's soundtrack. Afro Samurai is about a swordsman who witnessed his father's murder as a young boy and his blood-filled journey to exact revenge on the gunman who killed his dad. Before I became a fan of the Wu-Tang, before I watched a lot of anime, I checked out Afro Samurai with my little brother a couple of years back on Netflix and saw everything except for the last episode. At the time, I thought it was an excellent anime that could be improved, rating it a 7 out of 10. A few weeks ago, I decided to re-watch Afro Samurai to see if I still hold the same opinion of this show that I had before.Some theme songs are colorful and extravagant while others are complex and emotional. "Brief" is the first word I would use to describe the Afro Samurai opening, along with "disappointing" and "visually unappealing". Now you're probably saying "Okay, well the theme song sucks. Anything good about this show?" Like I said before, RZA created this anime's soundtrack and, of course, it's amazing, perfectly complementing each scene with a grimy, edgy mood (There's this one song, Stone Mecca's "A Walk", on the soundtrack that's definitely worth listening to). The acting in Afro Samurai is simply fantastic mainly because a handful of great American-based actors and actresses were brought to the fold; Ron Perlman, known for his work in Titan A.E., was the voice of Justice, Afro Samurai's chief antagonist, while Kelly Hu, who appeared in X-Men 2, served as the voice of Okiku, the seductress/spy for an evil organization, and the famed Samuel L. Jackson starred as both Afro and Afro's companion Ninja Ninja (Even Steve Blum and Liam O'Brien, giants in the world of anime voice acting, hung around as a random swordsman or two). Oh yeah, and there's an African-American protagonist here (a first for anime titles) as well as a couple of other black characters too (Always a thumbs-up for me). These are all the positive traits that I could find here.Afro is the titular character of this anime, and he's one of those quiet types. He's a lonely swordsman marked by trauma and frustration whom the show portrays as a figure deserving sympathy, but Afro simply comes across as uninteresting. Through Afro's quest in ancient Japan with robots and rocket launchers, other characters are introduced. Justice is the pale-skinned gunslinger/philosopher with a decent amount of depth but not enough to be particularly memorable. Ninja Ninja is my favorite, Afro's much-more-talkative sidekick who wittily comments on what he observes and gives unwanted advice to our protagonist. Along with Justice, other villains are after Afro's head such as Afro Droid (the producers are real imaginative with their character names, aren't they?) and the Empty Seven (reminds me of a group of seven rap figures that I mentioned before), but the true standout of them all is Jinno. The embodiment of fury, he is a man confined to a bear-like robotic armor who wields two blood-stained swords and is determined to slay the swordsman he once called his friend. Sadly, not even Jinno could save Afro Samurai from itself."This cannot be the entire series." This was the first thought that crossed my mind upon completing Afro Samurai. The over- the-top fight scenes and general lack of characterization could be forgiven but the head-scratching ending about non-violence really frustrated me. Afro Samurai doesn't deserve to be labeled a series; it's a barely above-average 5-episode bloodfest of an OVA with plot holes aplenty that fails to be seen as a serious title. It's one of the classic examples of a "turn-your-brain-off" show, the kind that action fanatics enjoy without thinking about aspects that really solidifies and legitimizes a series. You could call Afro Samurai overrated but I'm disappointed because I expected something better from an anime associated with the Wu-Tang Clan.

roaringman This series is the best an action anime can get. It pulls off in a mini-series other animes can only dream of. I'm usually no fan of anime's for their poor attempt at stories and usually mountainful of fillers (Useless episodes that have nothing to do but to expand the series.), but Afro Samurai just cuts to the chase. It promises viewers with cutthroat action, blood, gore and violence. It has a unique cast of characters and its' hip hop influence is something of great interest. The story is straightforward, a samurai avenging his father's death by seeking out his killer. The animation is anything but lackluster, scenery drawn beautifully. This is the greatest Action Anime and probably the greatest anime in general.

bob the moo Seeking to avenge his father's death, the Afro Samurai sets out to kill the #1 fighter in all the land, a man called Justice. After earning himself the title of #2, which is required for him to be able to challenge Justice, Afro Samurai sets out on his journey to revenge. His road is a dangerous one as he must first find out the location of Justice from his foes – all of whom would seek to protect Justice and also win the title of #2 for themselves. His task is a lonely and dark one, but like it or not he has a companion in the constantly b1tching Ninja Ninja.Although it will not be to everyone's taste, Afro Samurai is a perfect example of something being pitched right at the target audience it is intended for. adult swim is the perfect home for it because it is very much targeted at young males who like their hip hop, Anime and traditions of feudal Japan. It mixes these in a great series of animations that some audiences will claim is very high on style at the expense of content. Now I appreciate that most reviews here are gushing in their praise of this series and not keen on anyone criticising it but, the thing is, those saying it lacks substance do have a point. Like I said before though, it is target audience stuff and for those into it, there will be plenty of content to support the style – those looking to be intellectually stimulated by the themes and ideals behind the characters will not get what they are looking for (but why were you looking here for those things). However for target audience the emotional core and the narrative twists will be more than enough to fill the running times of each episode and expand across the season.What the series delivers in spades though is the cool world of the samurai crossed with the violent and stylish world of Anime with a big dollop of urban culture thrown in there too. It is no surprise to find The Rza involved because again it brings it back to a product that knows what its audience. So those coming to it will be looking for certain things and it delivers it well visually. The Anime animation is slick and cool and moves with all the conventions you will be used to from the genre. The soundtrack compliments it really well because, as other things (eg Boondocks, Wu-Tang etc) have shown, the mix of ninja/samurai (yes, I know they are very different) cultures and modern hip hop seems to be an easy fit. Performance wise you gotta say that Jackson is perfect for the role and again shows that he )or his agent) can pick the roles that bring him heat from his base fans. He is really good in his dual roles and brings the dialogue alive. Of course he is well supported by a famous cast – even if they are not all given roles that are that big. Perlman has a great voice and uses it well, but while I think Hu is again a good example of targeting your audience's tastes, her voice is not her strongest feature. Generally though all voice work is good because they are matching the style of the series rather than giving performances per se.Overall then, not for everyone's tastes but in targeting its audience it is as ruthlessly efficient as Afro Samurai himself. Stylish, bloody, brooding and with an overall air of effortless cool, it is a fine series that I enjoyed. Put it this way, if you like the sound of it then you will almost certainly like it – it is that good at what it does.

emasterslake In a sci-fi feudal japan world there's 2 titles for the strongest, Number 2 & Number 1. When you're #2, you're only semi-strongest, when you're #1 you're on the top of success. One day a black boy experienced the sight of his dad(the original #1) being killed by Justice(a corpse gun slinger) who gained the title of #1. Several years later that same boy now holds the #2 title. And seeks for vengeance over his father's death by reclaiming the number 1 title.Afro Samurai is different from the other samurai anime in so many ways. Including the idea of having a black samurai instead of an Asian samurai as the main character. As well the use of hip hop for the background music. And it's one of the fewest anime to include this kind of theme.For a mini-series, it's already considered a cult anime to many Anime fans and non-anime fans alike. The dub for it is one of a kind with THE Samual L. Jackson as the voice of Afro Samurai and everyone's favorite Ninja Ninja. The action is very intense and gory at the same time. In other words it's not an anime for those who have weak stomaches.Besides that it does have an interesting plot to it. And feels more like watching a movie rather than watching TV episodes. It's available on DVD in both edit and uncut form(which is suppose to be longer and more violent than the TV viewing).