AP3X here back with one badass motherfucker……AFRO SAMURAI.
This week we take a look at Afro Samurai’s newest adventure Afro Samurai Resurrection from Funimation. We start off with Afro stomping the living shit out of some dudes, which harkens to the first scenes of the previous Afro Samurai arc. Pretty brutal stuff here. Although this is one of those starts in the middle of the story scenes. We then go to the actual beginning of the story. It picks up sometime after Afro has beaten Justice and then Kuma the second time. He’s in a monastery carving little statues of everyone he’s killed and whatnot. It appears he’s been doing this awhile as there are a lot of statues. Then all of sudden Kuma and some sexy bitch Sio come and kick Afro’s ass, possibly because, presumably Afro has let his skills dull in the meantime, and take the number one headband (Even though neither has the number 2 headband). Sio takes Afro’s father’s jawbone and threatens to resurrect him, so she can torture him, unless Afro can stop her. ….Yeah…… I know Afro Samurai ain’t exactly Shakespeare, but damn I think they could do better than this.
So now that Afro’s Father’s spirit or resurrected body or whatever is in danger (??!!) Afro goes on a quest to get the number 2 headband back so he can challenge the number 1 (Sio). Ninja Ninja “the imaginary friend” returns as Afro gets his fighting spirit (aka murder anything in his path with no conscience) back. Which leads me further reinforces my belief that Ninja Ninja is not just an imaginary friend, but Afro’s conscience. We encounter the remaining Brothers of the Empty Seven Clan who tell Afro where the number 2 headband can be found. Afro pretty much becomes the Afro of old along the way slaying anyone who gets in his way. Armed with renewed purpose, fighting spirit, and a direction Afro sets out to kill the number 1 to free his father from resurrection and torture.
The Good:
-In the spirit of the first Afro Samurai this one follows in the same footsteps. We have all the guilty pleasures of the first one. There’s sex, blood, swordplay, more blood, hot chicks, gore etc.etc. This isn’t animation for kids, that’s damn clear from the start. I like this move. Anime has become more mainstream in the U.S., but it’s still relegated mostly to fans who find there anime in specialty shops and the internet. Spike and Funimation is making a move at making this stuff more accessible and more acceptable to red blooded American adults. The facts that this show showcases so much blood, guts, tits, and ass illustrates the point “Animation isn’t just for kids”.
- -The animation in this film is great. That said it’s a bit of a step down form the first one.
- -The action is top notch as is becoming the standard for Afro Samurai. Honestly an Afro Samurai who doesn’t kick ass just isn’t Afro Samurai.
- -The scene where there is a couple screwing in an alley is just cool. It comes out of nowhere and you’re just like ….nice….
- -Kuma is just awesome. I mean a Teddy Bear headed killing machine is just visually very cool. It’s creepy AND badass.
The Bad:
-The final battle was a disappointment. They didn’t show the ending to the last battle. Like the first Afro Samurai, the final battle which you expect to be the best is actually the worst.
The Ugly:
-The writing is just straight up terrible in this installment. Like I said, I know this is Afro Samurai. I know story is basically second to everything else, but come on. Sio, who we never meet in the first Afro Samurai, all of a sudden pops up out of nowhere and wants revenge on Afro. Oh and she is Kuma’s sister??!!! What??!! What did she just find out now about Afro?? Where was she when Kuma and her sister were actually trying to kill Afro in the first installment? Where was she when Kuma comes back the second time to kill Afro?? Why isn’t Afro happy someone is going to resurrect his father. I mean his father getting killed was the entire reason he went on this killing spree to get revenge on the guy that killed dear old dad. You’d think he’d be like,” Ok bitch I’m going to kill you for trying to torture my dad, but go ahead and resurrect him. That’ll be cool. I love my dear old dad so much, I became a mass murderer just to avenge him.” Then you think, if Sio is Kuma’s brother, why the fuck isn’t she using that tech on Kuma to make him wholly human again? Bitch. If you stop for a microsecond to think about it you might just shit yourself and vomit at the same time, and the fuck of it all is that you’re forced to. The pacing forces you stop and actually think about the ludicrousness of the plot. I mean they have “character” sections and whatnot that go into backstory, like if we’re still watching we give a shit about any of that. I mean seriously no one gives a fuck about Sio’s back story 5 seconds after it is explained. Coming back at any point to show her pain or anguish or another backstory or something is just making it more painful. Either she undresses or shuts the fuck up, cause at this point you’re watching for the fanservice and action, not the “deep” plot or character. I’ll give you another example. The three assistants or whatever. You never find out jack shit about them. They were in a picture once and they were there with Sio and Jinno. That’s all you ever know about them. Were they killed by Afro too?? Who knows?? At this point the story is too fucked up for you to care.
The Verdict:
The story has major issues. Overall I was a bit letdown with this installment. I loved the first installment, especially the uncut version, and I’d really like to see the uncut version of this one to get a better picture. It wasn't terrible or hard to watch, and that was largely due to the graphic nature of the show, making it a guilty pleasure to watch. It wasn’t good either though. I’m going straight down the middle with this one. 2.5 Of 5.
