MANILA, Philippines - Samurai Champloo which premieres tomorrow, Jan. 27 and airs Wednesday nights at 8 across Asia on Animax, spins samurai swordfights and slapstick comedy in Japan during the Edo period, with today’s hip-hop culture. Rap, breakdance, turntablism, slang, graffiti and hip-hop music along with many other intriguing anachronisms make up the animé series’ signature incongruous, irreverent yet silky smooth style.
Look out for fun, interesting references to modern hip-hop culture featured throughout the 26-episode period animé series. “Gangsta”-like characters spot rings, earrings and piercings of contemporary designs, as well as period garb with clan emblems resembling brand logos of today’s most popular streetwear. Mugen, Jin and Fuu even get dragged into a game of baseball – and baseball was actually invented an entire century later — in a fight for honor against a group of hostile Americans who land on Japanese shores.
As if he traveled back in time to Japan in the Edo period, Mugen stands out with an all-action fighting style that combines breakdance spins and flips with punches, kicks and swordplay; a modern, baggy, hip-hop-style pair of bermuda shorts, and a reckless attitude. Mugen’s nemesis Jin is a cold, aloof, calculated and highly-trained swordsman.