Afro Samurai: Resurrection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Afro Samurai: Resurrection Blu-ray Movie Review

Afro Samurai: Resurrection is an action-packed follow up to the original series. Created by Takashi Okazaki, Afro Samurai: Resurrection offers more excitement with the anime that aired on the Fuji Television Network and WOWOW in Japan. Broadcast on Cartoon Network in North America, Afro Samurai: Resurrection features animation produced by GONZO (Chrono Crusade, Brave Story). The sequel is executive produced by Arthur Smith (Afro Samurai), Eric Garcia (Batman Ninja), Leo Chu (Afro Samurai), Samuel L. Jackson (Afro Samurai), and Shinichirō Ishikawa (Black Cat, Desert Punk). Afro Samurai: Resurrection features the lead voice of Samuel L. Jackson.

The Afro Samurai has returned. The events of the first journey have led to a new mission. Now that the Afro Samurai’s father’s body is stolen from the gravesite, Afro Samurai has more foes to take on and battle. Afro Samurai once again wields his mighty sword.

The journey of the samurai is never over. Encountering new threats, the Afro Samurai takes on a dangerous group of killers and their own sadistic leader. Can Afro Samurai defeat his enemies and retrieve the body of his beloved father – to return to the grave?  

The voice work by Samuel L. Jackson as Afro and Ninja Ninja is well-done. Jackson is such an immense talent and the anime was so fortunate to have someone so creative involved with the production. A superb actor and voice-actor, too. There is a lot of passion that comes across in the voice acting by Jackson.

The character designs by Hiroya Iijima (Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit, The Witch and the Beast) are well done. Iijima is a gifted character designer. The designs work well for the entire cast. Everyone in the cast has a moment to shine. The designs adding style to the production in spades.

The animation is top-notch and one of the great highlights of Afro Samurai: Resurrection. Afro Samurai: Resurrection features top-notch art direction by Shigemi Ikeda (Afro Samurai, Basilisk). Afro Samurai: Resurrection also showcases chief animation direction by Hiroya Iijima (Afro Samurai, Basilisk) and Fuminori Kizaki (Blue Gender, Lupin III: Island of Assassins). The first-rate effort is praise worthy. A fantastic and highly stylized visual landscape.

The music by RZA (Afro Samurai) is enjoyable in spades. RZA made an incredible soundtrack and one that adds so much entertainment to the entire production. RZA creates something special – that is capable of ebbing and flowing between hip hop and electronic. The style works in spades.

Written by Fuminori Kizaki, Takashi Okazaki, and Yasuyuki Mutō (The Galaxy Railways, Tokyo Revengers), Afro Samurai: Resurrection is well-scripted. The writing style is sophisticated and entertaining. The attention to detail in the scripting is fantastic and even with little dialogue the storytelling is engaging.

Storyboarded and directed by Fuminori Kizaki (Afro Samurai, Basilisk), Afro Samurai: Resurrection is an incredible achievement by the filmmaker. A superb follow up to the original anime and a must-see for fans. The filmmaking is highly stylized and fantastic fun. The energetic action filmmaking is first-rate throughout. Afro Samurai: Resurrection is a gem.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Afro Samurai: Resurrection is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. An incredible high-definition transfer. Colors are robust and look superbly reproduced on the release. Animation clarity is robust and engaging. The line art and background animation are superb and reproduced well. The transfer is sharp and impressive for its visual merits. Crunchyroll offers an impressive encoding.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented with lossless audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. The lossless audio preserves the sound design by Sound Box (Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood). Impressive clarity and immersion to the soundstage. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. Surrounds are actively engaged on the soundtrack. The presentation capably provides depth to the audio mix. The music by RZA is beautifully reproduced on the release.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Afro Samurai: The Game (HD, 11:41)

Enter the RZA (HD, 6:20)

Afro In-Depth (HD, 6:37)

Afro Samurai: East Meets West, Part 1 (HD, 19:14)

Afro Samurai: East Meets West, Part 2 (HD, 25:03)

Afro Samurai at San Diego Comic-Con 2008 (HD, 8:10)

Part A Video Commentary (HD, 29:00)

Afro Samurai: Resurrection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Afro Samurai: Resurrection is an entertaining action-adventure with creative stylistic flourishes in spades. The filmmaking is top-notch and manages to make a huge impression overall. The Blu-ray release provides an excellent high-definition transfer, lossless audio, and a nice selection of bonus features. A well-rounded release. Highly recommended.