Television gets a heck of a lot cooler with tonight’s premiere of Afro Samurai on cable outlet Spike TV. Based on a forthcoming Manga created by Takashi Okazaki, the bloody, five-part anime series starring the voice of Samuel L. Jackson kicks off at 11 p.m. and is a must see for fans of Japanese animation and the films of Akira Kurosawa, Sergio Leone and Quentin Tarantino.
Masterfully blending Eastern and Western sensibilities, Afro Samurai follows the adventures of a lone swordsman who roams a futuristic but feudal world in search of a gunslinger named Justice (Ron Perlman), who killed his father in a duel years ago. While the mostly silent antihero doesn’t give Jackson many lines, the actor makes up for it by also providing the voice of Ninja Ninja, a loud-mouthed sidekick of sorts who tags along on Afro’s adventures.
Okazaki tells that while he didn’t have Jackson in mind from the beginning, he’s thrilled that he got involved in the project. ‘Since I love the role he played in the film Jackie Brown, I sort of vaguely dreamt about how cool it would be to have Ninja Ninja talk the way Samuel L. Jackson does in that film. So when they actually broke the news that he would be doing the voice, I simply could not believe it.’
In addition to being a hunter, Afro finds himself hunted for his headband, one of several special pieces of cloth imbued with special powers. The headband makes Afro nearly invincible, so enemies come at him with armies of soldiers, rocket launchers and anything else that can give them an edge over this fierce warrior. The beautifully staged action sequences are dished out in generous helpings and are nicely punctuated by eclectic hip-hop music by recording artist RZA, who composed iconic music for Tarantino’s Kill Bill films.
Afro Samurai is produced by Japanese animation studio Gonzo, in association/partnership with GHK K.K. and FUNimation Ent. which is servicing the merchandising, licensing and home video distribution for the series. Working with a sizeable budget of about $1 million per half-hour episode, Gonzo is able to go all-out with the animation and avoid a lot of the corner cutting found in more minimalist anime.
The series looks great and offers plenty of action, but the real test will be whether or not it can deliver a compelling story and build characters that viewers care about over the five-episode arc. I, for one, will be tuning in regularly to see how it pans out. Read more about the making of Afro Samurai in the February issue of Animation Magazine.
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