Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo
	Key art depicting (left to right) Jin, Mugen, and Fuu
サムライチャンプルー; (Samurai Chanpurū)
Genre	Adventure; Historical; Samurai;
Created by	Manglobe
Manga
Written by	Masaru Gotsubo
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	AUS: Madman Entertainment; NA: Tokyopop;
Magazine	Monthly Shōnen Ace
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	January 26, 2004 – September 25, 2004
Volumes	2
Anime television series
Directed by	Shinichirō Watanabe
Produced by	Takatoshi Hamano; Takashi Kochiyama; Tetsuro Satomi;
Written by	Shinji Obara
Music by	Tsutchie; Fat Jon; Nujabes; Force of Nature;
Studio	Manglobe
Licensed by	Crunchyroll; SEA: Odex; UK: MVM Films;
Original network	Fuji TV
English network	AU: SBS TV; CA: Razer (Kamikaze); IN: Animax; SEA: Animax Asia; UK: Viceland; US: Funimation Channel, Adult Swim (Toonami); ZA: Animax;
Original run	May 20, 2004 – March 19, 2005
Episodes	26

Samurai Champloo (Japanese: サムライチャンプルー, Hepburn: Samurai Chanpurū) is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete airing on Fuji Network System. It was licensed for North American broadcast on Adult Swim, and for commercial release first by Geneon Entertainment and later by Crunchyroll. It was also licensed for English releases in the United Kingdom by MVM Films, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. A manga adaptation was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Ace during 2004, later released in North America by Tokyopop the following year.

The series is set in a fictionalized version of Edo period Japan, blending traditional elements with anachronistic cultural references, including hip hop. The series follows the exploits of tea waitress Fuu, vagrant outlaw Mugen, and ronin Jin. Fuu saves Mugen and Jin from execution, then forces the pair to aid in her quest to find a samurai who smells of sunflowers. Structured similar to a road movie, the series focuses on tolerance and acceptance of minorities contrasted against its setting, with a central theme being the portrayal and acceptance of death.

Director Shinichirō Watanabe began planning for the series in 1999, creating the characters and premise during his work on Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and The Animatrix, and began pre-production in 2002. The staff included character designer and animation director Kazuto Nakazawa and writers Shinji Obara and Yukihiko Tsutsumi of Office Crescendo. The music was composed by hip hop artists Shinji "Tsutchie" Tsuchida of Shakkazombie, Fat Jon, Nujabes and Force of Nature. The production was unstructured, with the scenario going through multiple revisions, and Watanabe bringing in multiple guest creators to ensure a high animation quality. Reception of the series has been positive, with praise focusing on its animation and music, and proved a commercial success in the West.

^ Cite error: The named reference MadmanChamploo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference ANNretro was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference SFWreview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Otaku-USA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[MadmanChamploo-1] Cite error: The named reference MadmanChamploo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[ANNretro-2] Cite error: The named reference ANNretro was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[SFWreview-3] Cite error: The named reference SFWreview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Otaku-USA-4] Cite error: The named reference Otaku-USA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[a]