Afro Samurai is the story of a Black samurai in a futuristic yet feudal Japan who is on a mission to avenge the wrongful death of his father. Afro is a warrior who travels a solitary path encountering a myriad of enemies, friends, and challenges beyond imagination.http://www.afrosamurai.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro_SamuraiComic-Con 2006: Afro SamuraiJuly 22, 2006 - Coming at the end of fall on Spike TV, is Okazaki Takahashi's Afro Samurai. If you have been on the Television site recently you noticed that we have been displaying exclusive character biographies, along with artwork by Okazaki. These characters are just one of the many parts that go into making a television program at the scale that Afro Samurai is being made. The panel at Comic-Con today helped us find out more about what makes this show so great.
To kick start things off, we were shown the trailer for the show. If you are a fan of anime, even in the slightest bit, you should be rabid with anticipation for the uncensored action. Looking similar to Ninja Scroll, Afro's art style looks to be inspired by other animated programs like Trigun and The Boondocks, but believe us when we say that none of these shows have anything on what you see in this trailer. The general flow of the clip went from samurai/old west stand-offs with smoking, to hacking/slashing with blood. I would give away the rest of the trailer, but it has come to my attention that we will be showing the trailer on our site on Monday. So sit and salivate, while meditating on a line uttered by Ninja Ninja (Samuel L. Jackson - who also voices the lead role of Afro Samurai) "G**damn, mother f***er!"
Another major bit of news that was shed, was that Afro Samurai plans on expanding and crossing new lines. Originally starting as a mini-series for Spike TV, Afro will then work its way onto DVD with new uncensored content - we are promised buckets of blood, sex and nudity in the additional 3 minutes to each episode on the DVD home release. When questioned later if he was just going to leave it as a five episode miniseries, Okazaki responded saying that Afro Samurai has a massive timeline, and the current story is only a sliver on that line. But they aren't stopping with television, as next year they are planning on releasing a 300 page graphic novel with art from Okazaki, and a videogame being published by Namco tentatively slated for October of next year for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. In addition to all of this, there are also plans for a live action version of Afro Samurai in the form of a major motion picture, starring the voice of Afro Samurai: Samuel L. Jackson (I wonder who they will have play Ninja Ninja since Jackson voices his character as well?). With all this cross promotion, it seems that Afro is around to stay - they will be around for 1000 years if Okazaki has anything to say about it.
Another major part of the panel was the music for the show. When deciding who would be best for the program, Okazaki decided to go with the artist who helped with such films as Kill Bill and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA. Surprisingly articulate, and very versed on the art of music, RZA had the audience eating up everything he said - making you totally forget that Samuel L. Jackson was at another panel on the other side of the convention center. When asked to describe the sound that he was going for with Afro Samurai, RZA explained that soul music was taken over by rock and roll, and rock and roll was taken over by hip hop, and he wanted to get the feel of all three meshing together within the show. If the trailer shown was any indication, the tone and feel of the music is dead-on for the look of Afro. Later on RZA was questioned as to whether he had plans for an Afro Samurai Soundtrack, he responded by saying that there is definitely a recording in the works, to which he would like to get some big names to help out - throwing out Big Daddy Kane as one of the names in the mix.
From the looks of it, this panel, if nothing, showed that Spike TV is dedicated to making the show work. With approximately one million dollars vested per episode, it is clear to see what all the fuss is about. With a strong voice-acting cast, perfect music, a creator who has been dreaming of the world of Afro Samurai for about a decade, and the studios backing them up, Afro is shaping up to be one of the must see shows for any fan of television - anime or not.
http://tv.ign.com/articles/720/720468p1.htmlHoly shit!
Afro Samurai is gonna be the coolest thing ever! Seriously it has
Samuel L. Jackson playing
a samurai and
RZA is producing the soundtrack. I can't wait!
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