Episode #1 of Afro Samurai is now online at http://www.spiketv.com/mods/afro/player/index.jhtml . The regular 5-episode series starts on Spike TV on Jan. 4 at 11:00 PM.

Heheheheheheh...

It looks like a terrible series, but the visuals are just too stunning not to watch. Plus...Samuel L. Jackson. In. An. Anime.

IT'S CRAZY!

Alright, I'm watching it now. Visuals are amazing as I'd expect. It's almost like Ninja Scroll except with a black guy. But there's futuristic technology, and an old guy watching everything. That's wayyy Ninja Scroll.

Oh, and blood...lots and lots of blood.

EDIT-
This series is ridiculous.

Watched it. Looks like I'll be recording all of it. Basically Ninja Scroll action + Samurai Champloo art + movie-sized budget - good story = Afro Samurai.

The kind of mini-series with art so good you don't care if the story is elementary school wish fulfillment dredge, because it's completely secondary. The style points are high, but it's basically Champloo + (budget x10), so nothing new there.

How the heck did leper gunslinger cut off afro daddy's head??? Secret weapon?

'We're sorry, but this special online viewing of "Afro Samurai" is only available to residents of the US and Canada.'

>=( Hope nice YouTube-users will do their work soon.

mlai
Watched it. Looks like I'll be recording all of it. Basically Ninja Scroll action + Samurai Champloo art + movie-sized budget - good story = Afro Samurai.

That's pretty much an accurate statement.

mlai
Watched it. Looks like I'll be recording all of it. Basically Ninja Scroll action + Samurai Champloo art + movie-sized budget - good story = Afro Samurai.

The kind of mini-series with art so good you don't care if the story is elementary school wish fulfillment dredge, because it's completely secondary. The style points are high, but it's basically Champloo + (budget x10), so nothing new there.

How the heck did leper gunslinger cut off afro daddy's head??? Secret weapon?

I was trying to wrap my head around how an afro samurai was even possible but your little equation helped enlighten me. Thank you. :)

BTW, I'm guessing it's not even a parody or anything like Samurai Jack. Just completely serious? I was hoping for some satirical elements since the title itself gives that impression to me.

kainee
I was trying to wrap my head around how an afro samurai was even possible but your little equation helped enlighten me. Thank you. :)

BTW, I'm guessing it's not even a parody or anything like Samurai Jack. Just completely serious? I was hoping for some satirical elements since the title itself gives that impression to me.

1. Afro samurai = "Post-apocalyptic world where mystical martial arts and relics of high technology mix together, and where pseudo-Japanese-feudal-culture is predominant worldwide." That's how black samurais and evil evangelical mystics are possible. That's the explanation, but it's more an excuse than an explanation. There is no effort to make this world believable.

2. It takes itself seriously, like how a 12-yr-old boy would take his own superhero story seriously.

3. Afro Samurai isn't the only guy with a big afro (if you can even call it an afro). His sidekick has the exact same hairstyle. I don't know why they'd want to undercut their own main character's uniqueness in that fashion, but there it is.

It's a terrible show, but the colors and fight scenes and animation are A+.

You gotta give props to Samuel L. Jackson though. Not many actors have the guts to just do a project because the name caught their fancy.

It just had to have the stereotypical over-talking black character who has to remark at every single thing that happens to them.

"Ah shit! The sun came up! God damn!"

"Ah shit! The grass is green! Sombitch!"

"Ah shit! A muthafunkin' cyborg is trying to kill us! Jeezus!

"Holy baby-raping mother of God! I breath in oxygen! I didn't know that!"

Normally that would be really racist, but that's basically what Ron Pearlman's character does here.

Saw the first episode. Indeed it isn't brilliant, but I still loves the fighting scenes! And the opening theme!

I'm also curious about the soundtrack that's going to be released. You can here some stuff on the official site and the first track is just great! You can also find it here:
Cameo Afro

No, I believe Ron Perlman is the VA for the albino leper gunslinger, not the white-haired black ninja sidekick. Unless he VA's both? If so, he's a talented VA.

Recently finished watching eps. 3. Progress in the plot doesn't make it any less trite, it seems. We have the current fad of Chinese-Black Connection between Afro and this Asian chick, who dies so Afro can conveniently sow some oats then forget that annoying subplot. Yay. We have the time-honored "duel with evil cyborg version of main character," oh the joy! The Empty Seven falls easily and without fanfare, even though there's only 5 of them... weird? Maybe the last 2 are off having fun with that tanned sex slave hottie who's always lounging around? That's what I'd do rather than die obligatory deaths to a main character in a story with no hint of plot development.

But the quality of the action doesn't let up. Record and keep this series purely for action scenes ref, when you need inspiration for completely over the top sequences.

This should've just been done as a single 2 hour feature. It seems like an old video game. The main fighter goes up different levels battling various enemies to reach the main boss, this case at the top of a mountain. Funny how in the scene where he catches onto the cyborg as it rockets away, then end up going into the sky past the summit, and then back down exactly on the mountain where they left off. If Afro had just jumped off at the top, he would've saved himself at least another episode and a half of walking up the mountain and listening to Mr. "Holy shit! I'm a bipedal homosapien! I did not know that!".