Any time I see Samuel L. Jackson's name attached to a show or movie I immediately take notice. Imagine my surprise when he showed up as a voice actor for an anime. Needless to say that his voice acting fit the role perfectly. In my opinion anime dubs are not of the same quality as their Japanese counterparts. Afro Samurai breaks away from this trend, and although I would be far from calling this a masterpiece, the dialogues are consistently competent, and fit the character's very well. The plot follows Afro Samurai on his journey to become the number 1 samurai in the land. There is no deep story line or intricate plot. Instead the show relies on the entertainment value of its solid animation and over the top action scenes. Since this was obviously the direction the show wanted to go from the beginning I can't really fault them for it, however, the thinly developed characters are pretty hard to relate to or empathize with. But with so much action and violence, there is little room for character development anyways. As well, many ideas and concepts are only briefly touched upon with little to no explanation. It is debatable whether or not lengthening the series would have strengthened these aspects, but for me the show's short run was fitting. Where Afro Samurai really shines is with the strong production values, and the soundtrack keeps up with the lightning fast pacing. This anime is geared towards action fans so if you don't like this genre you probably won't like this title. As well, this is a very graphic show so younger viewers should probably steer clear. Despite it flaws Afro Samurai is an entertaining watch that won't leave you bored.
6/10
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