Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series has received an exclusive limited-edition only available to the Crunchyroll web store. The collector’s edition release is a must-own for series fans and features collectable packaging no fan of Samurai Champloo will be able to resist. From the director of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo is a Japanese anime masterpiece that should be considered essential for anime fans.

For more information on Samurai Champloo, please refer to the review linked to below:

Samurai Champloo Blu-ray Steelbook Review

Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Samurai Champloo is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series has received an upconverted from standard-definition presentation. Despite the upconversion process, Samurai Champloo still looks quite good on the format all-things-considered. The video quality isn't going to look as crisp or detailed as a native high-definition presentation provided to a modern anime, nor as good as a produced-on-film classic from the 90s or earlier. Yet the anime still retains a lot of nice visual finesse with the upscaling process.

Crunchyroll provides a master that still retains some of the inherent aesthetic of the production – the film grain aesthetic – and the style helps the animation to shine. Prior to the last Blu-ray release of the series (which received a bit of an overhaul), the first edition was subpar compared to this edition and the most recent release available of the series. The first edition featured egregious DNR (digital noise reduction), removing film grain and the aesthetic provided to the anime (even though digital animation ensured it was added in post), while the newer releases provide better resolution and detail for the upconversion (as is provided with this release).

Though a dream of mine would be to see a native high-definition presentation of Samurai Champloo (had Samurai Champloo been produced in the 90s or earlier and the original animation been transferred to higher-resolution 35mm film), it isn't possible for an overhaul, and thus fans are left with the best available elements.

For more information, please refer to the following review of Samurai Champloo:

Samurai Champloo Blu-ray Steelbook Review

Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (with English subtitles). The audio quality on the release is quite good and capably handles reproducing the eclectic music soundtrack and score selections. The music for Samurai Champloo is essential to the series and the hip-hop and electronic selections by a range of acclaimed DJs made Samurai Champloo an even more unique anime – with the lossless encoding capably highlighting the soundtrack.

For more information about the audio, please refer to the following review of Samurai Champloo:

Samurai Champloo Blu-ray Steelbook Review

Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The limited-edition collector's release of Samurai Champloo is one of the best editions released by Crunchyroll to date. The physical packaging design is a thing of beauty and something fans will be thrilled to own. The limited edition comes with a rigid art-box and it is one of the best ever from Crunchyroll.

The art-box for Samurai Champloo is not only extremely durable and well-made but it has a nice texture – something matte while also feeling almost woven – like the art-box has a uniquely wonderful production texture unlike any other release to date by Crunchyroll. I hope there may be other Crunchyroll limited editions using a similar texture / production quality in future pressings.

The aesthetic makes the set feel a lot higher-end and premium in hand and it looks great for showcasing the package art-work, too. The package design is also great and highlights a superb piece of art on both the front and back of the rigid art-box. Inside of the art-box, the release includes a slipcovered copy of the Blu-ray complete series.

The slipcover fits snugly inside the case and is perfectly sized to the outer-box without being too snug or loose – a great combination for package design (between the slip-box and the slip-cover). The quality of slipcover is also higher than most of the releases from Crunchyroll. Some Crunchyroll standard edition slipcovers can be a bit flimsy feeling – the slipcover provided with this edition feels better printed and more durable in hand. The slipcover features unique key art with a beautiful design that highlights the cast of characters on the front and a vinyl record aesthetic on the back of the slipcover.

I also appreciated the inner-case slipcover having reverse titles on the spine of the slipcover – one side displays the English title logo of Samurai Champloo while the other side of the slipcover features the Japanese version. The titles (one in English/one in Japanese) look nice and this is something Crunchyroll should consider doing on other Blu-ray releases in the future.

The case underneath the slipcover features even more additional key art so there are three key pieces of art-work on the release – between the outer slip-box, the inner slip-cover, and the main case under the slipcover. The artwork selection is top-notch across the board and the main case cover has a beautiful wrap-around cover art.

Inside of the Blu-ray case, the release includes a selection of six art-cards with artwork for Samurai Champloo. The art cards are of a higher print quality than usual with high card-stock quality and a textured feeling to the art cards. The art cards feel premium in hand. The selection of art cards is fantastic, too – each art card highlighting some fantastic artwork used for Samurai Champloo.

The discs for the limited edition have new artwork, too – each disc has nice art. If there is any small qualm or reservation, it's that the inner-artwork on the reverse side of the cover-sleeve is hard to see without pulling the cover out of the blue-case (and a clear case would have been a cherry on top of an already fantastic package design).

All around, the package design is exquisite. Samurai Champloo – Limited Edition is a thing of beauty. I am so glad to have this beautiful release in my collection. The Crunchyroll limited edition will go right beside my beautiful high-gloss steelbook (a premium steelbook release only available in the United Kingdom by distributor MVM).

For more information on supplements, please refer to the following review of Samurai Champloo:

Samurai Champloo Blu-ray Steelbook Review

Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Samurai Champloo is one of the best anime series ever made. It is a masterpiece of Japanese animation and an essential series for anime fans. From director Shin'ichirô Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop), Samurai Champloo is a brilliant samurai-epic and one with eclectic DJ music – some of the best soundtracks produced for any anime series (and on constant rotation for me when the anime first debuted). The Crunchyroll exclusive limited-edition box-set features gorgeous packaging and collectable art-cards. An incredible release. Highly recommended.