Hee hee… those samurai all got totally high!
You know, I thought those Tengu creeps were growing cannabis leaves. I rationalized it away, though. “Hey, maybe that’s just another Japanese plant that I’ve never heard of before.” Shame on me for not trusting my gut.
I‘m continually impressed by how tight the writing on this show is. There are only so many ways of phrasing it. All these plot threads are woven together so neatly - - border patrol intrigue, weed-growing ninja revolutionaries, anachronistic references to Jimi Hendrix and health nuts, and then Mugen doing his thing the way only he can. It’s startling.
Suffice it to say, this series is proving to be a lot more polished than BEBOP. Yes, I'll be so bold.
And hey, who’d have figured that SAMURAI CHAMPLOO would be such an effective (pseudo) historical teaching aid? Once more, I’m intrigued to find out more about the featured subjects. First, the Tengu warrior cult (because they ass-kickers in theater masks have got to have more of a story behind them.) Then, the aforementioned border patrol intrigue.
See, much has already been said about how interchangeable all the details of samurai and cowboy stories are. I don’t know if there’ much to add to dialog aside from observing that maybe it all comes down to how both societies were facing an odd intersection of standardized law enforcement and organized crime while there was still a fair amount of wild countryside within their borders.
I wasn’t expecting to have such thoughts when I was first watching these killers fight-dancing to bomb ass beats in that first episode, let me tell you.
Actually, why don’t you lunatics do me another favor? I know there are plenty of you who’ve already gone the extra mile in learning about Japanese history and culture. What’s the deal with the Tengu? Don’t make me go to Wikipedia. Getting the answer from you guys would so preferable.
Watch this episode, "Beatbox Bandits” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
