Afro Samurai: Resurrection

Bigbone99

This review can also be found on my MAL Profile: Afro Samurai: Resurrection is set after the events of the original five episode anime. The premise is simple: the main character Afro is on a quest for revenge to take the life of the man who took his father's life for the number 1 headband which is rumored to give the owner godlike power. The movie is about what happens after you get your revenge, and the cycle of vengeance. A new character, Sio is one of the many people who was affected by Afro's vengeful path. She take's the remains of Afro's father in order to bring him back to life, all for the purpose of inflicting as much pain on him for her revenge, and takes the number one headband from him in order to motivate Afro to come to her. It's a lot of words for what is essentially a very simple plot, but this plot is pretty strong for its simplicity. Character motivations are clear, what needs to be done is clear, and it is also clear thematically. Because of the rather unique circumstances that led to the creation of the animated version of Afro Samurai, there's a lot of star power behind it. Samuel L. Jackson is the producer and all of his celebrity money and his love for anime (and hentai too!) shows in the final product. I want to start to start with the voice cast first of all. Many are apprehensive when it comes to English voice acting in anime and I want to put those fears aside. This movie was produced for the West first and foremost, so the script and dialogue fit naturally. The main character himself, Afro, is voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. There isn't much to say about this performance because it consists mostly of single words and grunts. That doesn't mean Afro is uninteresting. On the contrary, because he's so quiet, you really wonder whats going on in his head. Jackson really shines in his other role as Ninja Ninja, a wise cracking and fast talking companion for Afro. He acts like an inner voice for him, often questioning Afro's motivations and goading him on in some instances. Together they make a very entertaining duo. The other major celebrity role is Lucy Liu of Kill Bill and Charlie's Angels fame. She does a good role in the role of Sio, the antagonist of the film, bit the delivery of some of her lines falls flat. This could either be due to direction issues or issues in sound mixing (an issue I'll soon be getting to). Mark Hamill also has a role though its for a minor character. Lastly, there are some other big names in the anime English dub sphere: Yuri Lowenthal and Liam O'Brien. They do what they do best and provide some anime voices to anime characters. They don't really deviate too much from what they usually do but its an otherwise solid performance they bring. The other big celebrity name brought in for this project is RZA of Wu-Tang Clan fame. Those who are familiar with the Wu-Tang Clan would know that they have a love for anime, so RZA was a natural fit for the his love of anime, and for the fact that he has done the score for other films as well. What you'll expect is some authentic old school hip hop beats, complete with boom bap drums, soul samples and rapping (some of which is done by the man himself). The tracks themselves are very well done and are implemented appropriately within the movie. There are issues with the mixing and sound editing however. In some scenes, the music sounds quite muffled and not loud enough, or sometimes, the volume of the voice track is around the same as the music, making it a little hard to appreciate the music in the moment. In other instances, the music fades out in a pretty obvious way, taking you out of the moment. This isn't a deal breaker overall, since its only in a few moments, but it can detract from your enjoyment if one of the reasons you want to watch the movie. If you are that kind of person, you were probably going to, or have already listened to the soundtrack in album form. The animation and art are just as strong, if not stronger than the original. With the movie being action oriented, action scenes are going to be the major focus of the animation team. Scenes are still bloody, violent and intense a you would expect. Animation is also really detailed and polished in them thanks to the additional time and money that was poured into it. It's a showcase of what studio Gonzo can do at their best despite their reputation for being an inconsistent studio. Character designs are still great, blending together traditional Japanese clothing and design sensibilities with technology. The background art and settings are also quite varied for a two hour long movie. There are wastelands, some locations that feel like they would straight up fit into a western, but replace the saloons with more Japanese flavored houses. A location at the end of movie is particularly stunning because of the strong color choices, the strangeness of background elements like mountains and some overall "epic" imagery for that location; you can feel the brutal history of it. So I highly recommend this movie, especially if you've completed the anime. It may be style over substance for some, but I say to them, the style is the substance for this movie. A small side note: a sequel is teased at the end of this movie, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. The movie by itself is complete, so don't let that stinger ruin it for you.