Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Afro Samurai: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

An excellent fusion of blaxploitation and samurai action looks great in high definition.

Reviewed by Lindsay Mayer August 26, 2008

At first, something would appear so sensational and all-around silly about a concept like Afro Samurai. A black samurai warrior, bent on revenge. Sporting a huge afro and a Jimi Hendrix face, this master fighter is accompanied by a hip hop score and smokes rolled cigarettes that look an awful lot like joints. On the surface, it would be enough to drive some away due to its supposedly lurid and outrageous premise. But the series really is an entertaining experience should one give it the chance.

Originating as a pet project by Takashi "Bob" Okazaki, a quiet artist who, among other things, loved U.S. soul culture of the 1970's, as well as samurai films and their themes of honor and vengeance. He created the Afro Samurai, a character fusing these interests into one mysterious warrior. Creating a manga based on this unique personality, the opportunity to adapt it to film eventually came about. Animation director Fuminori Kizaki took charge of visual development, designing Afro with more workable, yet still highly stylied, proportions. The production company GONZO then produced the series for an English audience first, which is highly unusual in animé.

Still, the results are spectacular. Afro Samurai tells the story of a black samurai (Samuel L. Jackson) who is on a brutal path to revenge against the man who killed his father. Afro's cherished parent, one Rokutaro, was the esteemed Number 1 warrior in all of Japan. It was an elevated status close to a deity; no one to challenge the Number 1 to fight, except of course the Number 2. When Afro was a child, the second best warrior - a mutated hull of a man by the name of Justice (Ron Perlman) - challenged Rokutaro to a duel for the Number 1 warrior's headband. Justice inexplicably won the match, beheading Afro's father and stripping him of the elite headband.

This leads a traumatized Afro to begin on a long path of revenge, training under a swordmaster and martial arts instructor his entire youth in order to claim the Number 2 warrior spot, thereby ensuring access to the unchallenged Justice. Leaving dead loved ones and many dead challengers in his wake, the warrior climbs the lonely road to vengeance. His only companion is a garrulous "comic relief" by the name of Ninja Ninja - also voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. In fact, Jackson does most of his vocal performance as Ninja Ninja, being that Afro is the "strong silent type." Traveling an odd land akin to feudal Japan, but with cybernetic technology, cell phones, and RPG weaponry, the samurai slices his way to the ultimate challenge - facing Justice again.

There is much to like about Afro Samurai. Though bloody and chock full of colorful expletives (thanks to the lovable-but-coarse Ninja Ninja), the series features excellent writing and superb voice acting. Much of which can be owed to Mr. Jackson, whose enthusiasm for the project shines through in his dialogue. The pushed character designs and stylized animation make it a gorgeous series to view, as well. A great story with unusually good execution, Afro Samurai is not one to miss.

Afro Samurai: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Encoded in AVC and averaging about 20 Mbps, Afro Samurai looks quite impressive on Blu-ray. Much of the film's color palette is purposely monochromatic and starkly shaded. The singular color varies from scene to scene, being some hue of blue in one and sepia in the next. Contrasting or vibrant colors are few and far between in this series, affecting a muddled darkness that serves the mood and character of the protagonist well. One of the more emphasized colors is, of course, red, and the brilliance of the heavy blood spatter adds to the stylized look and feel of Afro Samurai. All of it captured beautifully on Blu, with excellent shadow detail and clean lines on the designs of the hand-drawn characters.

The most noticeable flaw in presentation was the occasional color banding, especially of warm tones like fire or illuminated flesh. If a color was too singular in tone and lingered on the screen too long, it was bound to be noticed. A small amount of edge enhancement was spotted here and there, but it was far from prominent. Over all, as a series with such angular art and generous amounts of detail, Afro Samurai does not disappoint on Blu-ray.

Afro Samurai: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Providing two English options on its BD, Afro Samurai comes with a killer Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix, in addition to a Dolby Digital 2.0 track. So much of a martial art film is "made" by its sound - the epic battles are always enhanced by clashing metal, the thud of flesh, and the screams of the injured. Having to create everything from scratch in its animated world - even the sound - the foley effects are superb in this series. The TrueHD track ensures the shing of unsheathed blades and the rush of wind flying past running opponents is heard in every crisp detail. Afro Samurai uses a well-balanced soundscape, with plenty of ambiance and moving characters filling the rear channels. The LFE is put to great use during several of the battle sequences.

In addition, music and dialogue are well mixed into the action. The score and the original songs, thought not muted, never overwhelm the spoken word nor the sequences themselves. The dialogue is mostly kept to the center channel, but it is clear and easy to follow, which is a good thing, as no subtitles are included in the package. This is an excellent aural presentation that does more than enough to serve in telling the story of one vengeful black samurai warrior.

Afro Samurai: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Afro Samurai comes supplied with a fair amount of extra features. By no means exhaustive, the material gives an overview of the story's origins and development. Not having a cohesive story to begin from, the series is a collaborative work, essentially from a bunch of guys who wanted to make something cool.

In the Booth – Voice Talent of Afro Samurai, presented in standard definition MPEG-4 with Dolby Stereo sound, is a 15 minute featurette that combines cast interviews and some exposition on the story's origins. Everyone, from the producer to Big Star Samuel L. Jackson, stumbled upon the project serendipitously. Sharing their production and recording experience are Jackson himself, along with Ron Perlman and Kelly Hu.

The RZA Music Production Tour is a five minute feature in standard definition AVC and Dolby Stereo. Lead Wu-Tang Clan leader Robert Diggs, a.k.a. RZA, discusses his interpretive musical themes for each of the major characters. Afro's father Rokutaro represents soul, which was killed off by rock, the main motif of the villain Justice. Afro himself is laced with a hip hop influence. RZA's composition for the series in general is quite inspired, being equal parts subtle and catchy.

Character Profiles is a 24 minute featurette with commentary by co-producer Eric Calderon. Shown windowboxed, in standard definition MPEG-2 with Dolby Stereo sound, Calderon leads the viewer through a rundown of the film's major and secondary characters, totaling seven parts in all. Part I covers Afro Samurai, and the aspects of his design, as well as his behavior as a character. Part II covers his chatty comrade, Ninja Ninja. Initially based on the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice books, Ninja Ninja's mischievous personality stemmed from this influence. Part III is the villain Justice, who shows a more Western influence in his "cowboy" attire and six shooters. Part IV collectively profiles the Empty 7, who have a bit of Evangelical flair in their preaching, as well as "pimp" like stature when it comes to women. Part V is about Okiku, whose voice direction had three general modes – the cool tone of a healer, cold and calculating for her employers, and childlike to reveal her true fragility. Part VI gives some detail on Kuma, the former Ginnosuke. His design, with its odd teddy bear helmet, was intended to be a combination of cute, deadly, and insane. Part VII, and the last, covers the Swordmaster, though little of him is actually discussed aside from story points.

Finally, Trailers for other FUNimation releases are included in standard definition. Desert Punk, Burst Angel, Samurai 7, Speed Grapher, Basilisk, Trinity Blood, Hana, and Origin are windowboxed, the lone exception being Claymore, shown is anamorphic 1.78:1.

Afro Samurai: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Nothing personal... just revenge." Afro's opening line sums up the series quite succinctly. A fairly straightforward story with a singularly focused man at its center, Afro Samurai is about revenge, yes, but it also depicts the tragic consequences of its driven protagonist. Luckily he has a wisecracking sidekick to tag along with him throughout the duration of the journey. The Blu-ray Disc sounds excellent, and though the video is not perfect, it still does a superb job of capturing every detail in Afro's dim, dusty world. Featuring great voice acting and lushly stylized animation, Afro Samurai gets a high recommendation for anyone not flustered by a good bit of blood spatter - beyond which there is a great story waiting to be told!