The “Afro Samurai” anime series is based on the manga series from 1998 with the same title, which is the brainchild of writer and creator Takashi Okazaki.  Back in May 2005, Spike TV announced that an “Afro Samurai” animated series was being developed by a team consisting of Takashi Okazaki, acclaimed actor and producer Samuel L. Jackson, Japanese anime studio Gonzo, and Japan's largest TV network, Fuji Television.  A tentative November 2006 premiere on Spike TV was planned for the 5-episode series, with a Japanese premiere on Fuji Television following shortly afterward.  The announcement made headlines across the entertainment world thanks in part to the news that Samuel L. Jackson was chosen as the voice of the main protagonist, Afro.    

After the initial announcement, news remained scarce, as production was underway.  In February 2006, Funimation announced the acquisition of the North American DVD rights for the series.  Funimation aimed for a spring 2007 release for the DVDs.  Though this was important news regarding the series, additional development news was not made until June 2006.  Hip-hop artist the RZA was set to score the soundtrack for the Gonzo series, thus completing the project’s desire for a blend of samurai style with a funky, hip-hop soundtrack.  The addition of the RZA to the project raised its profile even further.  Unfortunately, not long after this announcement, the premiere of the series on Spike TV was pushed back from November 2006 to January 4, 2007, and the Japanese premiere was pushed back even further to later in 2007.  However, thankfully, the wait is finally over as “Afro Samurai” premieres this Thursday night at 11 PM ET on Spike TV.  The folks at Funimation and Spike TV are so excited about the series that they even premiered the first episode online at midnight on New Year’s Eve. 

Being as I could not wait until Thursday night to see “Afro Samurai,” I took full advantage of the early premiere of the first episode on Spike TV’s website.  At around 3 AM ET on New Year’s Day, I grabbed myself a tasty cold beverage and huddled around my 27” HDTV monitor to catch the premiere of “Afro Samurai.”  I loaded up the website and licked my lips in anticipation as I selected the HD 480p Microsoft Media Player video option.  Then, my buzz was killed as I discovered that I need the newest version of Microsoft Media Player in order to play the file.  Therefore, I had to spend 15 minutes downloading and installing the latest version of Microsoft Media Player.  Then, to top it off, Windows XP required that I restart my PC in order for the changes to take effect (thank you, Microsoft).  So after I wasted that immense amount of time, I was finally able to watch “Afro Samurai.”  It did not take long for me to realize that the extra 15-minute wait was worth every single second!

The first episode hit me like a swift kick to the teeth!  It was raw, brutal, and action-packed!  It began with a brief prologue that sets up the story of the series and the motivation of the main protagonist, Afro.  Afro is a black samurai living in an alternate-reality, futuristic, feudal Japan .  Since witnessing the wrongful death of his father, Afro has spent his life preparing for the day when he could encounter his father’s killer again.  The story follows Afro on his mission of vengeance upon Justice, the number one warrior in the land and the murderer of his father.  Afro travels a solitary path encountering enemies, friends, and impossible challenges along the way.  But wait, this does not all happen in the first episode, this is merely the plot of the series.  After the prologue, the viewer was thrust into a world of wonderful, gritty locales and artistically raw characters.  Gonzo has produced one of the most beautifully animated series that I have seen in years.  Takashi Okazaki’s characters are designed with remarkable detail, but maintain a rugged feel that helps sets the tone of the series.  The picturesque locales are amazingly comprehensive and full, most notably the beautiful nighttime sky in the second fight scene.  I was in such absolute awe of this sky that I needed to pause the episode to allow myself the proper amount of time to take it all in.  The astonishing artistic work does not stop with the sky, it continues to be seen throughout the first episode.  The animation was a sheer delight to watch, and the first episode alone was filled with numerous moments that called for an emphatic “YES” shout from the audience.  The fight scenes were quick-paced, action-packed, and absolutely brutal.  I am talking about multiple beheadings, numerous dismemberments, and blood flowing freely from every weapon created orifice.  The violence in the fight scenes was utterly relentless, will definitely push the envelope as to what can be aired on basic cable.  This series definitely cannot air any earlier than its set 11 PM time slot.  Now, since I did watch the episode online, I do not know if Spike TV will tone down the violence, blood, and swearing for its television broadcast.  I guess we will just have to wait and see this Thursday night.  Nevertheless, I have a feeling that Spike TV chose the 11 PM time slot for the sole purpose of not being required to censor much of the series. 

While the art and animation help the series shine, “Afro Samurai” sparkles thanks to the wonderful voice acting.  The series has an “A” list cast of voice actors that help to bring depth to the characters.  The first major character to speak in the series is the main antagonist, Justice.  The classically trained actor, Ron Perlman, voices Justice.  Ron Perlman has done extensive voice acting in videogames, movies, and TV series.  Perlman voiced Clayface on both “Batman: The Animated Series” and “Justice League,” as well as the main antagonist, Slade, in the short-lived “Teen Titans” animated series.  So Perlman is no stranger to being a monstrous villain.  But Perlman also lands roles in live-action movies as well.  In fact, you may remember Ron Perlman most for his work in the movie “Hellboy.”  Perlman played Hellboy, himself.  Perlman helps to deliver the perfect voice to accompany the demonic image of Justice.  His delivery in the opening scene sets the perfect tone for the series.  The next major actor on the cast is none other than Samuel “Mothfuckin” Jackson.  If anyone is unfamiliar with Jackson’s work, I suggest you crawl out from under the rock you have been living under for past 15 years.  But perhaps you are only familiar with his work in live-action movies and are unaware of that Jackson has also done some voice acting.  In fact, recently Jackson has voiced major and minor characters in both full-length animated movies and TV series.  Jackson voiced Frozone in the animated Pixar movie “The Incredibles,” as well as the character Gin Rimmy on two episodes of the Adult Swim animated series “The Boondocks.”  Samuel L. Jackson was a major part of the development of the series, and was tabbed early in the development to be the voice of Afro.  Therefore, I expected a badass voice performance from Jackson to accompany the badass visual appearance of Afro.  However, what I did not expect was to discover that Jackson not only provides the voice for the main protagonist of the series, but also the sidekick, or in this case, Afro’s hype man, Ninja-Ninja.  Afro and Ninja-Ninja have completely opposite personalities.  The two appear to make up the two most common personalities of the various characters that Samuel L. Jackson has played throughout the year.  Afro is a man of little words, and mostly lets his sword do the talking, which is similar to the angry Samuel L. Jackson character.  While Ninja-Ninja instigates trouble by running his mouth too much, and has a bigger bark than his bite, which is similar to the wise-cracking, trash-talking Samuel L. Jackson character.  Jackson’s delivery for the characters is absolutely perfect, and it kept me wanting more of the interaction between Afro and Ninja-Ninja.  The final person receiving top billing on the voice cast is Kelly Hu.  Audiences will probably know Kelly Hu the most from her role as Deathstrike in the “X-Men 2” movie.  Hu has also done some voice work, though similarly to Jackson, most of her body of work comes from live-action movies.  She has voiced characters in videogames such as “Knights of the Old Republic II,” and performed a few guest voices on several episodes of the Adult Swim series “Robot Chicken.”  Therefore, “Afro Samurai” appears to be her most extensive voice-acting gig yet.  Hu voices the character Okiku, who was not introduced in the first episode.  So I cannot make any incites regarding her work just yet.  Regardless, it appears that “Afro Samurai” has an excellent collection of voice actors that will hopefully couple with the animation perfectly throughout the series.  

In order to achieve the development team’s desired style for the series, the music needed to properly blend with the animation and set the mood.  To accomplish this feat, the development team tabbed Robert Diggs, better known as the RZA.  The RZA is the de facto leader of the New York hip-hop group, the Wu-Tang Clan.  The RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan have always been huge fans of Japanese and Asian culture, especially samurai movies.  Thus, it would be expected that the RZA would put in a quality effort into the score for a samurai anime series.  After watching the first episode, it appears so far that the RZA has comprised an exceptional score for this series.  The score flows with the action in the first episode quite nicely.  The RZA provides a funky, hip-hop score that reinforces the current atmosphere of the story and setting.  The score even accomplishes what all good scores should, allowing the audience to be immersed into the story and setting.  I found myself enthralled by the first episode in part due to the funky score.  Of course, I cannot dictate this for the entire series since I have yet to watch all of it.  Nevertheless, it is off to a great start, and I am anxious to experience the rest.

The plan is to use the property to strike on many fronts in North America in the form of the manga series, anime series, live-action feature-length movie, and videogames.  The success of the manga and live-action movie could be dictated by the success of the anime series.  Though with Samuel L. Jackson starring in the movie, it shouldn’t have trouble drawing people to theatres.  If the remainder of the anime series is even remotely close to the awesomeness of the very first episode, I think it would be safe to say that Samuel L. Jackson, Takashi Okazaki, Gonzo, Fuji TV, and Spike TV have a hit franchise on their hands.  DO NOT MISS THIS SERIES!