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While the classic series often tops discussions about the best anime of all time, its spiritual sibling, Samurai Champloo, deserves comparable acclaim. The influence of this samurai saga continues to echo today, most recently in Sony's major Ghost franchise.

Expanded References

This latest Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to the 2020 PlayStation 5 title, enhances its homage to samurai cinema with the addition of the classic film mode. This feature offers grayscale imagery, vintage film look, and retro audio effects. New options include the intense director mode, which sharpens the camera and intensifies blood and mud; and Shinichirō Watanabe Mode, featuring a relaxed urban music influenced by the creator's direction.

For those interested about the Watanabe mode, Watanabe is the mastermind who created the jazz-soaked Cowboy Bebop and the urban-music-inspired the Edo-era adventure, among other celebrated anime.

The Blend of Eras

Watanabe’s 2004 series the groundbreaking series combines historical Japan with hip-hop culture and current perspectives. It tells the story of the unexpected group of Mugen, a wild and unpredictable fighter; Jin, a stoic and principled wandering warrior; and Fuu, a determined young woman who enlists them on her journey to find “the samurai who smells of sunflowers.”

While the audio landscape is primarily his work, much of Champloo’s music was inspired by Japanese hip-hop producer the late artist, who died in 2010 at the age of 36. Nujabes deserves his tribute next to Watanabe when it comes to the music the anime is renowned for and references in the new game.

Artistic Blending

Much of what made the series stand out on the cable schedule was its perfect fusion of hip-hop and Japanese heritage. That mix has been a mainstay in the music scene since Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in 1993, which itself was inspired by an group of youth maturing on action cinema featuring Bruce Lee and Sonny Chiba.

For many, Adult Swim and Samurai Champloo served as an gateway to chill beats, with producers like Nujabes, Shing02, and Flying Lotus, the last one of whom went on to compose for the Netflix anime the historical series.

Visual Flair

Visually rich, Champloo’s opening introduces the main characters through symbolic creatures in the background — Mugen struts like a chicken, while Jin moves with the serene, elegant posture of a carp. Although Champloo’s main trio are the highlight of the series, its secondary characters are where the deep emotion of the anime resides.

There’s pickpocket the young character, who has a tragic tale of endurance in one chapter, and another character named the guard, whose encounters with the wild swordsman affect him so deeply that he ends up in his memoirs years later. In the later chapter, “the episode title,” the ronin develops feelings with a married woman trafficked named the female character and helps her escape from a establishment.

An Interwoven Tale

At initial view, the 26-episode series appears to tell a episodic adventure of the characters' quest to meeting the Sunflower Samurai, but as Samurai Champloo progresses, happenings from past chapters begin to weave together to form a connected plot. Every experience our main characters experience along the way has an influence on both them and the overall narrative.

Historical Roots

The series also draws from feudal Japanese events (the same era as the game), seen through Watanabe’s imaginative take. Occurrences like the 1637 Shimabara Rebellion and places such as the security station (which Yamane watches over) are integrated into the story.

Early on, ukiyo-e artist Hishikawa Moronobu is featured and temporarily obsesses on the female lead as his muse. After she rejects him, his work later ends up with the hands of the Dutch artist, who, in Champloo’s fictional history, is inspired to create his iconic floral artworks.

Enduring Impact

All of these components tie directly into Champloo’s score, giving this samurai story the kind of singular style that other works have long tried to achieve. Shows like Afro Samurai (featuring Wu-Tang’s RZA), the hip-hop anime, and the Netflix original all sought to capture its blend of style and sound, but with diminishing returns.

Ghost of Yotei has the opportunity to pick up where Samurai Champloo concluded, igniting a new wave of inspiration much like the anime once did. If you’re playing the game, it’s worth watching the series, because without it, there’d be no “the special setting,” no surge of hip-hop-infused anime, and no lasting legacy of Nujabes, from which the inspiration originates.