Samurai Champloo Vol. 2 2004 Geneon Entertainment Official US Website Buy It Now Official Japanese Website

Finding anime on UMD is something of a rarity at this early stage in the life of the PSP, but it isn't unlike the early days of DVD when not only was anime scarce, but so was finding DVD's to even rent in your local video store. Geneon however has already been doing a very good job at getting their product into the hands of gamers ready to take a break for a while, and it's not just older titles that are getting released, but some of their new acquisitions. I found that after watching the first volume of Samurai Champloo that maybe my thoughts that it was a series I would be interested in was premature. Even though most of the anime UMD's have only included two episodes, the second volume of Samurai Champloo has plenty of action as well as hi-jinks.

Jin and Mugen have their hands full with Fuu. She's been going on and on about having them help her find the samurai who smells like sunflowers and she's forbidden them from fighting one another. They may not get along, but when opportunity arises, they are going to take it. Their journey takes an abrupt change however when they literally reach a fork in the road and decided to make a run for it, both going in opposite directions, and poor Fuu is left alone.

By taking two different paths, you'd think this would be the end, but it's far from it. Jin and Mugen end up in the same town and working for rivaling yakuza groups. It becomes a rather interesting situation since you have one, the Kawara, who are a bit more peaceful and tend not to resort to violence unless necessary, the perfect fit for Jin. Mugen on the other hand becomes a part of the Nagatomi gang. These upstarts recently came to town and are causing plenty of trouble.

Where these two go, you know that Fuui is going to follow, even if it's by accident. She ends up in the same town, but also is part of a ploy to bring new girls to the local brothel. After she accidentally breaks a vase, the "victim" takes her to the brothel to work off the debt, and she finds both Mugen and Jin in town. The situation becomes explosive. The son of the Kawara yakuza kills a man who is eying his sister. She's recently been thrown in to work at the brothel as well to work off her father's gambling debt. This ends up becoming more complicated when a simple dice game puts the sons freedom on the line as well as the Kawara's territory.

There are some rather flashy fights in these episodes. At times, they result in being simple shows of power, and Jin loves to do that sort of thing as does Mugen, though in a much different way, and other times you have outright "to the death" battles. The fact that the fights can be brief and eye catching works very well for the series, and instead of just giving fans a bloodbath in every episode, the world of Samurai Champloo is shown as well.

There aren't any additional features on the DVD aside from previews for other Geneon releases, but this still isn't too surprising. I've often felt that the first generation of UMD's is something like the first wave of DVD's that were released. Not only are companies trying to determine how well they are selling and if they should continue to support the media, but exactly how to use the storage space to its full capacity. There are UMD's that contain special features they tend to be in the minority.

I'm a bit distressed that I missed reviewing Samurai Champloo on DVD, but playing catch up on UMD isn't a bad thing at all. Forget about stiff and serious period piece anime series, Samurai Champloo makes history look cool . . . . even though the depiction may not be accurate. There are a lot of UMD's that you could be watching, but why would you when you could be watching this?

Episode 3 - Hellhounds for Hire (Part 1)

Mugen and Jin find a way to leave Fuu behind, but their separation won't last for long. Both of them end up being hired on by rivaling yakuza while Fuu is set up and thrown into a brothel to work off a debt. And Mugne and Jin find themselves clashing steel once more.

Episode 4 - Hellhounds for Hire (Part 2)

Jin has seen that the leader of the Nagatomi gang doesn't want him for his skill so much as his presence and decides it's better if they parted ways. The son of the Kawara group meanwhile kills a man and now the fate of both gangs lies in the simple roll of the dice.

-mike-