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While Cowboy Bebop often leads conversations about the top anime in history, its artistic counterpart, the iconic series, merits comparable praise. The impact of this period masterpiece remains relevant today, most recently in Sony's premier Ghost franchise.

Expanded References

This latest the new sequel, the sequel to the 2020 PlayStation 5 exclusive, enriches its tribute to samurai cinema with the inclusion of the classic film mode. This setting offers grayscale imagery, film grain, and retro audio effects. Additional modes include the intense director mode, which sharpens the camera and intensifies blood and mud; and Shinichirō Watanabe Mode, featuring a relaxed urban music shaped by the filmmaker's guidance.

For those curious about the second one, Watanabe is the mastermind who created the jazz-soaked the space opera and the urban-music-inspired the Edo-era adventure, among other prominent anime.

The Blend of Eras

Watanabe’s classic 2004 anime Samurai Champloo blends Edo-period Japan with modern music culture and contemporary attitudes. It follows the unexpected group of Mugen, a reckless and spontaneous fighter; the calm ronin, a stoic and principled masterless samurai; and the brave waitress, a determined waitress who hires them on her quest to find “the warrior with a floral scent.”

While the musical backdrop is ultimately his creation, much of Champloo’s music was inspired by renowned musician Nujabes, who died in 2010 at the age of 36. Nujabes earns his tribute alongside Watanabe when it comes to the sound the anime is renowned for and pays homage to in Ghost of Yotei.

Style Mixing

Much of what made Samurai Champloo shine on the late-night block was its perfect fusion of urban music and Eastern traditions. That fusion has been a staple in hip-hop culture since the classic album in 1993, which itself stems from an entire generation being raised on Kung Fu movies featuring Bruce Lee and the iconic actor.

For many, Adult Swim and Samurai Champloo served as an gateway to underground music, with artists like the beatmaker, Shing02, and Flying Lotus, the last one of whom went on to compose for the Netflix anime Yasuke.

Stylized Storytelling

Artistic and meaningful, Champloo’s intro sequence introduces the leads through symbolic creatures in the visuals — the wild one moves confidently like a chicken, while Jin moves with the serene, elegant posture of a colorful fish. Although Champloo’s central characters are the star of the series, its secondary characters are where the real soul of the anime lies.

There’s pickpocket the young character, who has a lonely story of endurance in one chapter, and another character named Yamane, whose encounters with the wild swordsman change him profoundly that he ends up in his writings years later. In the eleventh episode, “the episode title,” Jin becomes enamored with a married woman forced into sex work named the female character and helps her escape from a brothel.

A Cohesive Journey

At initial view, the full season appears to tell a fragmented story of the group's travels to finding the elusive figure, but as the series progresses, happenings from past chapters begin to interconnect to form a unified story. Every interaction our protagonists undergo along the way has an impact on both the characters and the overall narrative.

Era References

The series also draws from historical happenings (the same era as Yotei), filtered through Watanabe’s imaginative take. Incidents like the feudal conflict and locations such as the Hakone Checkpoint (which Yamane protects) are woven into the story.

In the beginning, woodblock printer the historical figure is featured and momentarily focuses on the female lead as his muse. After she turns him down, his work eventually falls into the hands of the famous painter, who, in the series' creative version, is inspired to create his iconic floral artworks.

Continuing Legacy

All of these components tie closely into the anime's music, giving this period drama the kind of distinct identity that other works have long sought to achieve. Series like the urban samurai series (featuring Wu-Tang’s RZA), the hip-hop anime, and the Netflix original all sought to capture its blend of style and sound, but with mixed results.

Ghost of Yotei has the chance to continue from where Samurai Champloo ended, triggering a fresh surge of influence much like the anime once did. If you’re starting Yotei, it’s valuable watching the series, because without it, there’d be no “Watanabe mode,” no wave of beat-driven series, and no continuing impact of the producer, from which the influence originates.