Samurai Champloo Vol. 3 2004 Geneon Entertainment Official US Website Buy It Now Official Japanese Website

The drama and serious nature of . . . . wait, that's not this anime. Samurai Champloo is neither dramatic nor is it serious, but it's a heck of a lot of fun. Although the UMD release of the series may be a little short on episodes, two per disc, they've ended up being good episodes every time. The journey of Jin, Mugen, and Fuu is only just getting started, and if you think that they manage to keep themselves out of trouble this time . . . . I guess you've never seen Samurai Champloo.

Even though Jin and Mugen tried to escape Fuu and her constant nagging in the previous volume, they've found themselves back in her company. It's not exactly what they were hoping for, but it seem that for now at least, they are going to help her find this samurai that smells like sunflowers. They aren't having much luck with accomplishing that goal, but if they were getting points for causing problems, they would be scoring rather high this time.

Both episodes on this volume are self-contained stories, not some two-part epic like in the previous volume. First, we find the gang trying to earn a little bit of money so they can catch a boat to continue their journey. The small village they have stopped in has recently experienced a number of disappearances all involving young girls and police are on the case. Fuu finds a man who wants to paint her portrait, and he is involved with the abductions, though not intentionally. The owners of a local book lender are selling girls to Europeans, and it seems that Fuu might be next. She's probably not going to get much help from Jin and Mugen however. Mugen has been busy chasing some of the local yakuza down while Jin is busy playing games with high stakes; either he'll win a healthy sum of money or his life will belong to the local book lender.

Edo is the next stop on the list, and again they need money. This time they have entered an eating contest and the only thing they could use to cover the fee are their swords. All three end up losing, but the winner decides that they can have them back if they will play tour guide. The problem is that the hulking man isn't Japanese at all, and since he's a foreigner, the police are trying to locate him. This leads to a tangle with the law before everything is set right in what turns out to be one of the gayest episodes of Samurai Champloo yet. You'll see what I mean by that.

There still aren't any additional features included on the UMD, at least not for Samurai Champloo, though I have run across other Geneon releases that do have things aside from previews. However, I did take some time to enjoy the opening theme from Saiyuki Reload, a series that I really would like to see get released on UMD at some point, but only time will tell if that is meant to be.

Samurai Champloo transfers well onto UMD, and even with a mere two episodes, it's going to be one of the most entertaining hours you'll spend with your PSP aside from playing games. I am glad to see that Geneon is taking their UMD releases seriously and not just releasing one volume to give you a taste and then disregarding the series. If you're looking to have some anime on the go and something slick and stylish to watch, Samurai Champloo is the perfect thing.

Episode 5 - Artistic Anarchy

With no money, the gang needs to find a way to get boat fair. Fuu has been propositioned to pose for a painting, but there's something else going on that she doesn't know about. Mugen is busy chasing down yakuza and Jin . . . . well, it seems he's not doing much of anything.

Episode 6 - Stranger Searching

Jin and Mugen put their swords on the line to enter an eating contest, which they lose. The man who has won however agrees to give them the weapons back if they will be his tour guide through Edo. Mugen agrees to do it, though the problem is that he doesn't' know Edo either, and the mystery man is being sought by authorities.

-mike-