Yatsuha’s speedy friend Hamakichu is apprehended by evil ninjas as he tries to make off with their counterfeit gold pieces. Before getting caught and dealt with, gangsta syle, Hamakichu manages to toss the goods into the river, where they are later found by Jin. Jin has now earned 2 of the 4 major cash pots that have appeared so far (Momo and that beetle took one each). After using the money to stuff Fuu up to Marshmallow Man proportions, Jin and Mugen run with the gold to the red light district to get their pimp juice flowing. Mugen trumps Jin in a Kakashi-Gai kinda way, and gets first dibs on the disguised Yatsuha. While Jin gets his game on with the leftovers, Mugen agrees to help Yatsuha break up the counterfeiting ring in exchange for future pleasurable favors. Because she likes him so much, Yatsuha spares Mugen’s balls on the final blow, and just hits on him the head before defaulting on her I.O.U.
There was not too much plot development or even character development, but I would consider this episode a success based on the awesome action, and hilarious funny scenes that kept popping up. Because the Samurai Champloo plot is rather simplistic, I am confident that the story can be resolved in very few episodes. This is the opposite of Bee Train series that cram in as many mysteries and plot twists (and great overly dramatic music pieces and shoujo-ai undercurrents) as possible in 26 episodes. Thankfully, Champloo only really has (at most) 5 points of plot interest:
- Who is the sunflower samurai?
- Jin/Mugen/Fuu’s past
- How will the journey end?
With a rather simple plot, there is plenty of room for everything else that Champloo brings to the table and, as David points out, “this [lack of plot development] is wholly compensated by the sheer polish that this title exudes.” Anyway, Yatsuha rox the sox, we find out that Momo-chan is a boy, Jin satisfies a whole harem of women, Fuu goes Willy Wonka blueberry on us, and there are even ninjas. Really, what more could you ask for? Ok, besides hot mecha action…
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Hehe, the caption on the second picture had me in tears
It’s interesting that you point out the contrast between Madlax’s heavy plot development and Champloo’s lack of continuity. Come to think of it, most of the top shows of this season all have a strong storyline (i.e. Full Metal Alchemist, Otogizoushi, Samurai 7), so, IMHO, I think it’s nice to see a stylish production that concentrates on episodic action instead of wasting energy on an underlying plot
And, oh, I totally agree that hot mecha action would be a bonus *laughs*
how do you know Momo-chan is a boy?
I am judging from Momo-chan’s reaction to Fuu’s rant and questioning.
I think it was somewhat weird or at least inconsequent that Jin and Mugen go to a brothel considering the previous episodes which involved brothels. Also, Fuu’s complaint is surprising. Did she expect a ménage à trois?
By the way, the synthie played during the fight in the cellar which sounds like taken from some 80s ninja movie was pretty cool. In general, the background music is pretty decent in contrast to the cheap OP and the mediocre ED. It’s just more calm than anything in a BeeTrain anime and honestly the soundtrack often doesn’t match the mood/scene in BeeTree animes especially as they do not use instrumental only music
which easily causes distraction instead of support for a scene. It’s obvious that BeeTree uses the music this way to boost the OST sellings – which is OK but methodically sub-optimal.