The Ones Forced to be Free

What does it mean to be “born in the wrong era?” At a mismatch with the world, not allowed the pleasures of average life, is this a kind of forced freedom?

Samurai Champloo is a 2006 anime from Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of Cowboy Bebop. Samurai Champloo shares many similarities with Bebop, both following a found family of misfits, or outcasts, in a genre-breaking adventure. This time, it’s Mugen, Jin, and Fuu, an outlaw, a ronin, and a girl looking for her father, who come together. Mugen fights wild, Jin with total discipline, and Fuu not at all, yet despite these major differences, all three are outcasts from society. In fact, the themes of Samurai Champloo are all about what being an outcast means, as the anime analyzes and explains the concept. Are they simply individuals in a one size fits all world? Are they justified in acting out? And what does it mean to be born in the “wrong era?” The three main characters' interactions with each other explain the concept, creating an analysis of what it means to be an outcast; the forced freedom of those who can’t simply conform. That’s what this video essay will address as well.

An anime video essay explaining and analyzing Samurai Champloo

0:00 Intro
3:24 Mugen
9:02 Jin
13:05 Fuu
16:50 Disallowed
20:56 Control
28:01 Fact
33:50 Journey
41:30 Outro

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