“I said that it is a story about a minority culture”: Samurai Champloo Focusing on ‘Hip-Hop’ Culture Was Deliberate for a Reason That Will Make You Watch it Differently

Director Shinichirō Watanabe is mostly known for his classic anime series Cowboy Bebop, and fans might not know this, but Watanabe has also created the underrated Samurai Champloo. The story follows the adventures of tea waitress Fuu, drifter fugitive Mugen, and Ronin Jin as they go on a search for a samurai who smells like flowers. Advertisement Samurai Champloo | Studio Manglobe The 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005 and explored multiple themes and settings, like the Edo period, which focused on the Samurais, the struggles of minorities, and the portrayal of death. However, the main focus of the story was the combination of samurai and hip-hop, which held a special place in the music of the series. The scriptwriter of Samurai Champloo, Dai Sato, once revealed the reason behind the special focus of the series on hip-hop culture and how it helped in the overall success of the series. The incorporation of hip-hop into a series from the Edo period made the series more compelling to the audience, which followed the previous work of Watanabe. Advertisement Dai Sato Explains the Diversity of Minorities in Samurai Champloo In 2009, Sato gave an interview to Mechadamia, where he...