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While the classic series often dominates debates about the greatest anime of all time, its close relative, the iconic series, deserves comparable acclaim. The impact of this period masterpiece remains relevant today, most recently in Sony's flagship Ghost franchise.

A Deeper Homage

This latest Ghost of Yotei, the sequel to the original PlayStation 5 exclusive, deepens its tribute to Japanese period dramas with the inclusion of Kurosawa Mode. This option offers black-and-white visuals, film grain, and old-school sound. Fresh features include the intense director mode, which enhances visual clarity and heightens violence and filth; and Shinichirō Watanabe Mode, featuring a lo-fi hip-hop score influenced by the filmmaker's guidance.

For those curious about the latter, Watanabe is the creative force who created the jazz-heavy the space opera and the hip-hop-driven Samurai Champloo, among other prominent anime.

Fusing Past and Present

Watanabe’s 2004 series the groundbreaking series merges historical Japan with modern music culture and current perspectives. It chronicles the unlikely trio of the wild swordsman, a untamed and erratic warrior; the calm ronin, a reserved and formal masterless samurai; and Fuu, a courageous young woman who hires them on her quest to find “the samurai who smells of sunflowers.”

While the audio landscape is ultimately his design, much of the series' music was influenced by renowned musician Nujabes, who tragically left us in 2010 at the age of 36. Nujabes deserves his recognition together with Watanabe when it comes to the music the anime is renowned for and pays homage to in Ghost of Yotei.

Cultural Fusion

Much of what made Samurai Champloo shine on the late-night block was its smooth integration of urban music and Eastern traditions. That combination has been a mainstay in urban art since Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in 1993, which itself stems from an whole cohort growing up on martial arts films featuring the martial arts legend and Sonny Chiba.

For many, Adult Swim and Samurai Champloo served as an introduction to chill beats, with producers like the beatmaker, Shing02, and the electronic artist, the latter of whom went on to create music for the Netflix anime Yasuke.

Artistic Narration

Artistic and meaningful, Champloo’s intro sequence introduces the main characters through kindred animals in the background — Mugen walks proudly like a chicken, while the disciplined one moves with the composed, fluid style of a colorful fish. Although the show's central characters are the star of the series, its supporting cast are where the deep emotion of the anime lies.

There’s thief the young character, who has a heartbreaking background of survival in episode 7, and another character named Yamane, whose exchanges with Mugen change him profoundly that Yamane ends up in his diaries years later. In the specific installment, “Gamblers and Gallantry,” the ronin falls in love with a married woman forced into sex work named Shino and helps her escape from a establishment.

A Unified Narrative

At initial view, the full season appears to tell a episodic adventure of the trio’s journey to meeting the elusive figure, but as Samurai Champloo unfolds, events from previous episodes begin to interconnect to form a unified story. Every encounter our protagonists face along the way has an impact on both the characters and the main plot.

Period Influences

The series also incorporates Edo-period history (the same setting as the game), interpreted by Watanabe’s creative revisions. Events like the feudal conflict and locations such as the mountain outpost (which the character guards) are embedded in the story.

At the start, traditional painter the historical figure shows up and momentarily focuses on Fuu as his muse. After she turns him down, his work ultimately reaches the hands of Vincent van Gogh, who, in Champloo’s creative version, is inspired to create his famous sunflower paintings.

Lasting Influence

All of these components tie intimately into Champloo’s music, giving this samurai story the kind of unique character that other projects have long sought to emulate. Shows like the urban samurai series (featuring Wu-Tang’s RZA), the hip-hop anime, and the Netflix original all sought to capture its fusion of music and visuals, but with varying success.

Ghost of Yotei has the opportunity to pick up where Samurai Champloo ended, triggering a new wave of impact much like the anime once did. If you’re diving into the game, it’s worth exploring the series, because without it, there’d be no “Watanabe mode,” no surge of urban-music-inspired shows, and no continuing impact of Nujabes, from which the influence comes.