Compared to fifteen years ago, anime fandom in South Africa has come a long way. Back then it was a whole different ballgame. The Internet was in its infancy at the time, and downloading quasi-legal fansubs was unheard of. No, we had to rely on a handful of distributors to keep us in a steady supply, and one of the biggest was Manga Video, a company that brought us some particularly memorable anime which are now considered classics in the Western world. However, Manga Video wasn’t interested in bringing us TV series, and if we did get a series, it was usually a three to six part OAV at best. What we did get were a lot anime feature films, and anime distributor Madman has collected three films released by Manga Video which typified that early era into the Anime Classics collection.

Ghost in the Shell

This is the first Ghost in the Shell film based on the first Ghost in the Shell manga, back when the original creator, Masamune Shirow, still seemed to have some involvement in it. This stunningly-animated, politics-heavy sci-fi thriller converted many non-believers into anime fans with its jaw-dropping blend of CG and traditional animation. The action scenes are gripping and exciting to watch, but to be honest, the film gets bogged down a bit by the long political discussions and artsy sections which feature the kind of music that sounds like someone is skinning a live cat. Still, it’s an undeniable classic and an important film in anime history.

Akira

We ran a review of the Blu-ray version of this anime a while back in which we mentioned why it is one of the greatest anime films of all time, so we’ll just give you the basics here. Apart from being arguably the finest achievement in animation as far as anime goes, it’s also a great distilled adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s sci-fi manga of the same name. If dystopian futures, gang wars between juvenile biker punks, and body-exploding psychic powers sound good to you, then give it a watch – you won’t regret it.

Ninja Scroll

I remember how my friend and I used to shock our classmates by playing this anime in the school media centre back in high school. None of them knew about anime, much less what it could contain, and Ninja Scroll features some incredibly explicit sex scenes in addition to no-holds-barred violence. Apart from that, it’s actually a complex, thrilling tale involving ninja with supernatural powers, government spies, and a payload of gold from a secret mine. A good watch for anyone looking for a samurai action film with a decent story.

Anyone who is familiar with Shinichirou Watanabe’s directorial style probably always expects something unusual. One of his favourite quirks is the way he likes to take two far-removed themes or ideas and mix them together. Cowboy Bebop, for instance, with its odd mix of jazz and science fiction, had a very unique flavour, and the same is true of Samurai Champloo.

You don’t get anything more seemingly-unrelated than Feudal Japan and hip-hop culture, but Watanabe somehow manages to mix the two in a way that not only works, but brings out the highly contrasting culture of each. The soundtrack is an odd blend of traditional Japanese music and hip-hop, and it’s actually surprisingly coherent, and even catchy. He also somehow manages to make afro-toting samurais, rapping peasants, and Yakuza with chunky gold chains and gold teeth seem perfectly reasonable in the world he has created. Even the word “champloo” is a westernised spelling of the Japanese word “chanpuru”, which apparently means a mish-mash of different things.

Mugen is the abrasive and selfish one of the crew

The story set in this bizarre hybrid world revolves around three characters, Jin, Mugen, and Fuu. Jin and Mugen are both highly-skilled samurai, but their approach to swordsmanship differs wildly. Jin is very formal and conventional while Mugen uses just about anything he can in his battles, including Capoeira-like acrobatics and metal-plated geta (wooden sandals). The two of them are arrested for accidentally causing the death of a prefect’s son while engaged in a battle to the death with each other, but are released from captivity by a teenage girl named Fuu. Fuu has only one condition: they aren’t allowed to kill each other until they’ve helped her find the person she’s looking for, a samurai who smells like sunflowers. They grudgingly agree to this and end up following Fuu on a journey which leads them through all kinds of wild encounters, including becoming involved in a money counterfeiting racket and getting high after setting a field of marijuana ablaze.

Mugen and Jin might be allies because of Fuu, but they'd dearly love to kill each other

Unlike some other samurai-based anime, the fight scenes in Samurai Champloo aren’t drawn-out, talky affairs. Instead, they’re balls-out action right from the start, and they’re incredibly well animated by anime standards. It takes skilled animators to draw attention to the differences in Jin and Mugens fighting styles visually without having to explain it, and that’s exactly what you’ll find here. Samurai Champloo’s story strolls along at a languid pace, and it often seems like the characters have forgotten their ultimate objective as they become sidetracked during their other adventures. In general, the tone is pretty light-hearted despite the violence, and there’s plenty of good humour in there, but it can be pretty dark and serious on occasions, too. It never feels like it’s dragging on, though, and the events of the moment are always entertaining.

Samurai Champloo isn’t quite old enough to be labelled a classic or old-school anime, but it’s definitely one of the better anime of the last six years, and something anyone whose intake consists mainly of stuff like Bleach and Naruto should consider watching.