Anime Not really sure what to make of it.
The term "faffing about" comes to mind when I think of this series. It's got a premise, a ronin and a vagrant with a sword escort a girl in search of "samurai who smells of sunflowers", a description that is so incredibly vague that I'm surprised it wasn't a more significant plot point. But Jin and Mugen seem to take the description in stride, and continue their search across Japan. At least in theory. To my memory (which is admittedly not stellar, so it's entirely possible that I'm wrong), most of the episodes had the search for the mystery samurai as a mere setting device. It's a reason they're where they are, but it's not terribly significant compared to playing baseball against ninjas. Or something. I don't know.
I couldn't for the life of me tell you what half the episodes were about. Even while watching it, towards the end I completely lost track of what was going on. Something to do with Christians. A bunch of people attack Mugen because...reasons...and Jin fights some guy he met before. Or possibly knew already. Or possibly knows about because he's famous?
And who or what is "Samurai Champloo"? Was that ever explained? I couldn't say.
The fights were interesting enough. Mugen's fighting style is one of the notable things about the series. Though Mugen himself isn't a terribly distinct character.
Also Mugen's sandals look really weird on what could otherwise pass as modern attire.
8/10. I'd recommend it. Maybe you'll get more out of it than me.
Anime A Show that Says You Can You Can Be More Than What Are Now
A former pirate, a ronin, and a mouthy waitress meet in a restaurant. While this initially sounds like Cowboy Bebop's historical counterpart of a collection of misfits going on adventures, you'll find Samurai Champoo is much more about the present, as opposed to the past. Samurai Champloo is about growth, growth of experience, growth of the spirit, and growth of empathy to those around you.
One detail that is noticeable about Samurai Champloo is that each character is utterly lost in their lives. Mugen and Jin start up a rivalry within the first episode with an intent to kill, not because they hate each other, but because its a direction, a goal, and possibly an end to lives they've felt are devoid meaning. They honor an agreement to help the third charcter, Fuu, not because they truly feel obligated her, but because it gives them a purpose and possibly a direction that if they follow long enough, they might find themselves.
So how does a person find meaning when a person lives a life of nothing, but regret? By experiencing different paths of life and sharing those experiences with others. The main characters among other things fish, enter an eating contest, get involved in a territorial dispute between word gangsters, and accompany a traveling musician across the country side. In their individual subplots, Mugen learns to read, Jin finds love, and Fuu finds the self-confidence to speak for herself as well as confront her companions. Samurai Champloo has a plot that gradually surfaces through the series of episodes, but it really serves to challenge the characters' developments, contrasting who they were with how they've grown throughout the show.
Just as the growing pains of the main characters are the meat of the show, the growing pains of the individuals they meet and the country itself as it struggles through the Meji Era's chaos serve as the foil to which the trio both contend and cooperate. It is through these characters interactions that they see different sides of themselves, hidden truths and inner demons. The audience experiences the Meji era as an era of advancement and culture, as well as corruption and slavery.
Samurai Champloo presents the ugly fears of being lost and confused, with the idealism of being to move beyond such fears, by summoning the courage to take a step on a new path. Its about experiencing the world and finding yourself through those experiences. Like Fuu, at the end of the series, I didn't want the journey to be over. But the series ended with a positive note. The characters travelling together had improved their lives for the better, and they would continue to remember each other's friendship as they walked along new paths.