Samurai Champloo, ep. 12-21

[oyceter]

Spoilers for eps. 12-21

Eeeeeeeeeee! So much love for this show!

I really love how they mix the anachronisms and the supreme realism, along with crazy plot and, of course, Mugen and Jin and Fuu.

I actually didn't mind episode 12 so much, largely because I was forewarned that it was the Obligatory Recap Episode, I had read edonohana's very funny The Very Secret Diary of Fuu and was completely amused to find that Fuu actually did have a diary! And that Jin and Mugen sneaked peeks at it! Also, I love Fuu. Love for Fuu was very helpful when I was being bored by the recaps.

And then... Mugen episodes! I now love Mugen as well! Although, I didn't actually like him all that much by the end of his double-episode, though the sequence with the Okinawan song and Mugen's memories was absolutely stunning. I totally see why rachelmanija was going on about Mugen and water and birds now, though it seems like all the characters have something to do with water as well. And oh, I loved the end, with Mugen deciding not to kill the girl.

I also adored Fuu splashing around in the ocean.

I nearly died laughing at Jin attempting to catch fish, especially after he started leaping around in the water. That was actually the episode I started loving Mugen! I mean... the fact that he kept going after Yatsuha, despite being beat up by her multiple times! And he kept being distracted by the naked woman thing! And got kicked in the nuts!

Maybe I am twelve. But Samurai Champloo amuses me immensely. Also, I want cool ninja girl to come back, because she was cool and kicked Mugen in the nuts.

And... then they split up! I wailed. Muchly. Jin and Mugen aren't supposed to leave Fuu! Of course, she manages to go over a cliff in their absence, while Jin gets assaulted by someone from his past and Mugen sort of does his own Mugen thing. Thankfully, they of course get back together, though Jin and Mugen do it in a "we don't admit to feeling anything" way. Still. Watching Fuu's face change when she realized she were still going with her was great.

The graffiti episode totally amused me as well, particularly Mugen reading out all the no's and then writing things on everyone's belongings. Hee!! (omg am so twelve apologies). And I loved that one of the graffiti bits was "4679" in Japanese, which, if you read out the pronunciation for the numbers, becomes "yoroshiku"! Cell phone slang, how I love it! Actually, I think it started out as pager slang (much as "143" is supposed to be "I love you" b/c of the number of letters/word). Previously, I only knew 0840 was "ohayou."

The secret Christian episode was ok, and I cringed and laughed at priest guy's accent. I am also totally amused by the fake nose. And! They had the stepping on Christian icons! I love this show so much! I suppose it's not random historical detail if you grew up with Japanese history, but I still like that they include random things like that in there. I don't know what it is, but the show actually feels so historically authentic (of course, I may just be making things up because am not Edo period expert).

And then... secret assassin lady!

Mugen should really never, ever, ever hit on any woman again. Ever. It never ends well.

I wailed when Jin went off with her, at Fuu's crying, at Fuu not wanting the journey to end. I don't know what happened, but I've grown quite attached to the three, and suddenly, I'm at episode 21, and I don't want the series to end either.

Since I haven't seen rachelmanija or kate_nepveu with giant screaming warnings about the end, I am hoping that it won't completely break my heart and stomp on it.

Speaking of which, the visual style of the show really reminds me of Bebop, as do some of the themes and imagery. Will maybe post on this later.

Comments

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

The next two episodes that come before the three-part finale are really strange and out-of-canon, by the way. One of them was a Halloween episode that was re-scheduled and confused everyone very much by airing on Valentine's Day. There is no explanation for the other one.

I love the cell phone slang! I never heard of it!

The ninja FBI agent does not return, alas. And yes, the Christian stuff is all very authentic as far as I know.

The three have now split up and returned several times, haven't they? Significant Shot at the Crossroads!

I didn't want it to end either.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Well, you came up with explanations that worked, so you can pontificate at leisure after she's seen them. XD

[oyceter]

Ooh, ok, thanks! I think now that I have been forewarned, they won't be quite as bad or weirdly placed. Unless, of course, they are.

I love the cell phone slang too! We have some for Chinese as well, but I don't know if my friends just made it up or if it's Taiwan-specific. "881" is for "bye-bye" (pronounced "ba-ba-i").

I loved the significant shots at the crossroads, though it made me so sad!

[kate_nepveu]

edonohana's fic redeems the existence of that episode for me, though I shan't watch it again.

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

I also loved Mugen falling for the naked woman thing over and over. Plus, I was amused by Jin complaining about his back.

I cringed and laughed at priest guy's accent

I think it is very impressive that he pulled off that accent. Do you think you could pull off Chinese with a heavy American accent? (I totally could, because my spoken Chinese sucks. But I find it ironic that when my brother took intensive Chinese one summer, I had trouble understanding him because of his American accent. I guess my passive fluency relies on good pronunciation.)

[oyceter]

I could, but that's because my Chinese already has a heavy American accent!

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know: What about the reverse? English with a Chinese accent?

[oyceter]

Sometimes, yes. It's really funny, because I find that when I spell things out in English to my mom, I adopt this fake Chinese-English accent.