If you don’t know me very well then you might be surprised to learn that I’m an avid anime buff.  And with anime gaining popularity in the U.S. (with people who wouldn’t normally watch it) I’ve compiled a list of the Top 10 Must-See Anime Series for those of you looking to pop your anime cherry.  Now while there are alot more (and better) ones out there, I decided to stick with the more popular and completed ones that you can actually buy in this country without having to look that hard.

3. Cowboy Bebop/Samurai Champloo

 

 

 

 

What Wikipedia Says:

Cowboy Bebop

In the year 2071 AD, the crew of the spaceship Bebop travel the solar system trying to apprehend bounties. Nation-states have collapsed, and various races and peoples live throughout the solar system. In the slang of the era, “Cowboys” are bounty hunters. Most episodes revolve around a specific bounty, but the show often shares its focus with the pasts of each of the four main characters and of more general past events, which are revealed and brought together as the series progresses.

Cowboy Bebop (?????????, Kaub?i Bibappu^?) is a Japanese animated television series. Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and written by Keiko Nobumoto, Cowboy Bebop was produced by Sunrise. Consisting of 26 episodes, the series follows the adventures of a group of bounty hunters traveling on their spaceship, the Bebop, in the year 2071.

Cowboy Bebop was a commercial success both in Japan and international markets, notably in the United States. After this reception, Sony Pictures released a feature film, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door to theaters worldwide and followed up with an international DVD release. Two manga adaptations were serialized in Kadokawa Shoten‘s Asuka Fantasy DX.

Cowboy Bebop has been strongly influenced by American music, especially the jazz movements of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and the early rock era of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Many of its action sequences, from space battles to hand-to-hand martial arts combat, are set and timed to music. Following the musical theme, episodes are called Sessions, and titles are often borrowed from album or song names (such as Sympathy for the Devil or My Funny Valentine), or make use of a genre name (“Mushroom Samba”) indicating a given episode’s musical theme.

Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo is about the journey of a girl named Fuu and her two bodyguards / traveling companions, Mugen and Jin, as they travel across Edo era Japan in search, at the girl’s behest, of a particular samurai who smells of sunflowers.

Samurai Champloo (??????????, Samurai Chanpur?^?) is a Japanese animated television series consisting of twenty-six episodes. It was broadcast in Japan from May 20, 2004 through March 19, 2005 on the television network, Fuji TV. Samurai Champloo was created and directed by Shinichir? Watanabe, whose previous television show, Cowboy Bebop, earned him renown in the anime and Japanese television communities.^[1] The show was produced by studio Manglobe.

The word, champloo, comes from the Okinawan word “chanpur?” (as in g?y? chanpur?, the Okinawan stir-fry dish containing bitter melon).^[2] Chanpur?, alone, simply means “to mix” or “to hash.” Therefore, the title, Samurai Champloo, may be translated to “Samurai Remix” or “Samurai Mashup.”^[3]

The series is a cross-genre work of media, blending the action and samurai genres with elements of non-slapstick comedy. It is also a period piece, taking place during Japan’s Edo period. The series is interwoven with revisionist historical facts and anachronistic elements of mise-en-scene, dialogue and soundtrack. The series’ most frequent anachronism is its use of elements of hip hop culture, particularly rap and the music it has influenced, break dancing, turntablism, hip hop slang, and graffiti. The show also contains anachronistic elements from the punk subculture and modernism, but less prominently.

Like many anime television series, the story of Samurai Champloo is finite in length, and the final episode depicts the end of the narrative without allusion to a successive season.

 

Why they made the list:

Since I couldn’t decide between these two great series I decided like most brothers and sisters, they would have to share the #3 spot like a bunk-bed.  Both of these excellent series were created by the same group of people.  Both have amazing soundtracks depending on your flavor of genre.  Both are buddy series in which there isn’t a “main” character but a group of them with stores that play well off each other.  Now while on paper these series seem pretty identical, once you start watching them, you will realize that they are two very different beasts.

The worlds they live in for instance are vastly different from each other.  Cowboy Bebop takes place in the future where space travel is commonplace.  On the flip side, Samurai Champloo takes place in feudal (back in the day) Japan where people still use swords more than guns.

The character focus is also different.  In Champloo neither one of the three main characters take the spotlight.  In Bebop the camera tends to stay on Spike.  That’s not to say that all the characters in both series aren’t thoroughly explored.  Action and emotion aren’t in short supply with these two and the characters have enemies smart enough to keep things interesting.

The animation is top-notch and fluid enough to keep up with the crazy fights that take place.  From a comical standpoint they aren’t afraid to make fun of themselves.  For instance, there is an episode of Champloo where Mugen and the gang end up in a hilarious game of baseball with some American sailors. (Who speak English with an unintentional Japanese accent)  Do yourself a favor and watch these two super series ASAP!  Because I dare you to listen to the soundtracks and try not to watch the shows.

OCBENJI One Line Review:

Cowboy Bebop

“Watch the mushroom episode and try not to tell me that this isn’t one of the best shows you’ve ever seen, anime or otherwise.”

Samurai Champloo

“A samurai with spectacles, a breakdancing swordfighter, and a girl with a squirrel in her bra are looking for a samurai who smells of sunflowers, yea its like that.”