This was an easier question when I first watched it. I first came across Samurai Champloo on a random July 4th. My childhood home was in the small town of Cape Charles–essentially, it was one large square. There was a beach within walking distance and every July 4th, they would do the fireworks display on the beach and it was a cool time. On this night, I got back home and did what I normally would: turn on the TV. I loved Cartoon Network and one of things I loved about it was it’s late night animation block called Toonami. It’s where I fell in love with a bunch of anime. On this particular night, I ran across this scene:
The scene was short but what I remember was this beautiful music playing: Mystline by Nujabes. I remembered the animation, the quick sword confrontation and it’s very subdued ending. It stuck with me and I knew from that day, I had to watch this anime. So the simple answer is the animation, particularly the fight scenes were well done. The characters were funny and likeable and the story was fun to follow even though it wasn’t necessarily always in the forefront of every episode.
But once I grew older and after countless rewatches, my answer changed. I still liked the characters but I liked how they also navigated their flaws. They each had a very poor hand dealt to them, differently of course, and each had to come to grips on what exactly they were looking for in life. They shouldn’t have worked. Three random strangers, tied together because a young girl made the two men promise not to harm each other before she finds a random guy she didn’t know much about? What is that?
But if left alone, these three would have likely met a grisly end. They didn’t realize it right away, but they all needed each other desperately. In the end, did it really matter where they were going? To an extent but the more important portion was the journey. The shared experiences, the learning from each other, the ability to grow closer in tough times. It’s a great example of how people can enter our lives–found family–and impact us, even when we least expected.
So when I got the urge to write another collection, it was really a no brainer what the subject would be. Champloo combines all these things with a backdrop of Japan elements and history, through sounds of hip hop. I wanted to pay homage to such an inspiration to my writing style but also show respect to the adage that life really isn’t about the destination: it’s about the journey.
Infinite releases 6/19/26!
B.A.
Braxton Books 