is a Japanese '' seinen'' ''

dōjinshi , also Romanization of Japanese, romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of exi ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

Takashi Okazaki. It was originally serialized irregularly in the

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

''dōjinshi''

manga magazine are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics an ...

'' Nou Nou Hau'' from November 1998 to September 2002. Inspired by Okazaki's love of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

, it follows the life of Afro Samurai, whose father and the owner of the No. 1 headband, was killed by a gunslinger and the owner of the No. 2 headband. Afro sets on a journey for revenge. The ''Afro Samurai'' ''dōjinshi'' was adapted into an

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

by Gonzo in 2007, along with the

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

sequel '' Afro Samurai: Resurrection'' in 2009, both of which starred Samuel L. Jackson as the title character. The anime received two

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nominations for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation and Outstanding Animated Program, which it won. After the release of the anime series, Okazaki remade the original ''Afro Samurai'' ''dōjinshi'' into a two-volume manga.

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

and Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the title and published it under their new ''Tor/Seven Seas'' imprint for a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

exclusive release. In addition to the miniseries, ''Afro Samurai'' has been adapted into two

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

. For the television series and film, two soundtracks by RZA of

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

and a profile book were released in Japan.

Plot

In a

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

yet futuristic

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, it is said that the one wearing the Number 1 headband is the greatest warrior in the world and shall possess

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

-like powers. Some believe it grants immortality while others believe they received headbands from the gods themselves. The only way to obtain the Number 1 headband is to challenge and defeat the current wearer in combat. However, only the wearer of the Number 2 headband can challenge the Number 1 whereas anyone can challenge the Number 2. The Number 2 headband's current owner, the outlaw Justice, fights and kills Rokutaro in front of his young son Afro and owner of the Number 1 headband. Afro vows revenge against Justice who tells him to seek him out when he is "ready to duel a god." Years later, Afro wears the Number 2 headband. He kills a group of assassins,

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

s, and

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

sent by the Empty Seven Clan, for whom they seek the headband. Recalling his tragic past, Afro goes to Mount Shumi to face Jinno, his childhood friend and fellow samurai, who blames him for killing their master (who had the Number 2 headband). He defeats Jinno and tracks down Justice, who explains that there are other headbands in existence, ranging to an unspecified higher number. Claiming that he intends to use his power as the Number 1 to bring peace to all mankind, Justice reveals that he killed all headband bearers and decorated his safe house with corpses. Afro kills Justice and takes the Number 1 headband. Afro settles in as the new Number 1 while Jinno, now claiming all headbands from Justice, returns to take revenge. In '' Afro Samurai: Resurrection'', Jinno and his sister Sio, steal Rokutaro's body and the Number 1 headband. After killing Shichigoro and taking the Number 2 headband, Afro confronts the resurrected Rokutaro, who kills the siblings. Afro defeats Rokutaro, gives the Number 2 headband to Shichigoro's son Kotaro, and peacefully continues wearing the Number 1. Elsewhere, a unknown man meets the revived Justice.

Production

Okazaki started drawing

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

characters on items like

Kleenex Kleenex is a brand name primarily known for their line of facial tissues. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue, ''Kleenex'' is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark applied to products made in 78 countries. The ...

boxes when he was a teenager, inspired by his fondness for

and

. He also drew ideas from American media and their depiction of Japanese culture. He started combining elements of

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

into his work, eventually developing the design for Afro. Okazaki began writing the original ''

'', then called ''Afro Samurai!'', when he and his friends started independently publishing the art magazine '' Nou Nou Hau''. The preparatory "issue 0" of ''Nou Nou Hau'' was released in November 1998 with ''Afro Samurai'' artwork featured on the cover. Takashi Okazaki wrote the entire manga in the English direction, with elements from English and Japanese comics. He also used Afro Samurai for a cat food advertisement in the last pages of his manga book. In addition to the anime production, Okazaki re-made the ''dōjinshi'', with an increased display of artistic skill. At the Japan Society from March 13 to June 14, 2009, original ''Afro Samurai'' ''dōjinshi'' artwork (as used on issue 0 of ''Nou Nou Hau'') was showcased at the ''KRAZY!: The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games'' exhibition.

Media

Manga

The series was originally published in the self-funded '' Nou Nou Hau'' ''

'' magazine. First appearing in issue 0, the ''dōjinshi'' version was first published from September 1999 to October 2000. After the release of the anime version, Okazaki recreated the original ''dōjinshi''. Although the recreation of the original manga was created in Japan, it was first published in the United States by Seven Seas Entertainment and

in two ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes. As a special supplement, thumb-nail sized clips of the original ''dōjinshi'' were shown at the end of the first volume. The English release of the manga was Tor Books and Seven Seas' first joint publication under the newly formed ''Tor/Seven Seas'' imprint. The manga was also released in Italy through Panini Comics' manga publishing division Planet Manga, on April 9, 2009. The manga was released in one volume in Japan on December 18, 2009. The limited edition came with all the issues of the original dōjinshi included in a separate volume. A director's cut of the manga was set to be released on July 26, 2022 with Titan Comics taking over the publishing under their new "Titan Manga" imprint. However, it was delayed to December 13, 2022.

Anime

One of Okazaki's friends decided to make action figures based on characters, which were released in small amounts. After they were created, a producer from the anime studio, Gonzo, happened to find them and thought about creating an animated miniseries based on the manga. It took three years to develop, and during that time the studio created a trailer, which happened to catch the attention of Samuel L. Jackson. It was announced that the series would be a five-episode "creative collaboration", between Jackson, Okazaki and Gonzo, and

member RZA served as a music composer. Each episode of the anime cost $1 million. In 2006, it was announced that

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

(later Crunchyroll, LLC) acquired the rights to the anime series which would premiere on Spike, later that year, and that Jackson would voice Afro. ''Afro Samurai'' debuted on January 4, 2007. The series premiered worldwide on Spike's website, where they streamed the first episode online. On May 3, 2007, the series premiered on Japanese television, in English with Japanese subtitles, and for the first time completely uncut. On May 11, 2007, Funimation released the first ''Afro Samurai'' DVDs at Anime Central, at their own booth, the regular ''Afro Samurai: TV Version'' and the uncut ''Afro Samurai: Director's Cut''. Both DVDs were released to the public on May 22, 2007. On September 4, 2007, all five episodes of ''Afro Samurai'' were released on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. To promote this, Funimation released eight custom designed iPods by Takashi Okazaki. In 2008, Funimation released the ''Afro Samurai'' anime series onto Xbox Live in high definition format and also debuted on

Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

in that year. The series was shown at the German Film Festival in Germany.

Films

In an ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' interview in 2007, Okazaki confirmed there would be a sequel to the anime series, and that it would air on Spike. In 2008, the sequel was announced to be a

, '' Afro Samurai: Resurrection'', with

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...

and Mark Hamill joining the cast. Hip hop artist The RZA returned to provide the soundtrack of the film. ''Afro Samurai: Resurrection'' debuted on Spike on January 25, 2009. On July 16, 2009, ''Afro Samurai: Resurrection'' was nominated for an

in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for programming one hour or more)" category in the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards and the

Creative Arts Emmy Awards The Creative Arts Emmys are a class of Emmy Awards presented in recognition of technical and other similar achievements in American television programming. They are commonly awarded to behind-the-scenes personnel such as production designers, ...

. At the Emmy awards, ''Afro Samurai: Resurrection'' lost to ''Destination Imagination'', a television film based on '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends''. The art director of ''Afro Samurai: Resurrection'', Shigemi Ikeda, won an Emmy for his work on ''Resurrection'', which is the first ever awarded for work on a Japanese-animated production. ''Afro Samurai: Resurrection'' was the first Japanese anime to be nominated for and win an Emmy. Late 2009 also saw the release of ''Afro Samurai'': Complete Murder Sessions on Blu-ray and DVD. A 4-disc collection of both Afro Samurai Director's Cut and Afro Samurai: Resurrection, together in one complete boxset. Announced at the 2006

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

, a

live action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games o ...

version of the series is said to be in the making. On July 21, 2011, Gonzo K.K. announced that Indomina Group had obtained the rights to produce the film, with Samuel L. Jackson, Jasbinder Singh Mann (Indomina Group Vice Chairman and CEO), Shin Ishikawa (Gonzo Studios) as producers; Eli Selden of Anonymous Content as executive producer. Production, however, stalled when Indomina Group suspended North American operations and shut its US office.

Video games

In 2005, Gonzo had awarded Namco Bandai Games exclusive rights to publish two ''Afro Samurai''

, as announced that year. The debut trailer of the first game was released at the company's Editor's Day presentation. ''Afro Samurai'' was released for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

and

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

on January 27, 2009. A sequel, titled '' Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma,'' was released for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

on September 22, 2015. The game was developed by Redacted Studios and published by Versus Evil. An

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

version was planned to be released on October 9, 2015; however, after the negative reception of the game, it was never released. The game was eventually delisted in November 2015, due to the negative reception.

Soundtracks

member RZA produced the soundtrack for both the ''Afro Samurai'' TV series and the TV movie sequel ''Afro Samurai: Resurrection''. The first soundtrack for the anime series, '' The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai: The Soundtrack'' was released on January 30, 2007, by Koch Records (now known as E1 Music). The second soundtrack for the TV movie, '' The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai: Resurrection: The Soundtrack,'' was also released by Koch Records on January 27, 2009.

Voice cast

* Samuel L. Jackson - Afro Samurai, Ninja Ninja * Mark Hamill - Bin, Oden Shop Master *

- Sio * Kelly Hu - Okiku / Otsuru *

Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in th ...

- Justice * Jeff Bennett - Hachiro, Foo * Steve Blum - Assassin * S. Scott Bullock - Dharman * Terrence C. Carson - Sword Master, Brother 4 * Grey DeLisle - Oyuki, Woman * John DiMaggio - Brother 2, Giant, Patron #2, Ivanov * Greg Eagles - Rokutaro, Brother 6 * John Kassir - Shosun * Phil LaMarr - Teenage Afro Samurai, Brother 1, Brother 3, Brother 5, Kuro * Yuri Lowenthal - Jinno/Kuma * Jason Marsden - Sasuke * Liam O'Brien - Kihachi, Patron #4 * Crystal Scales - Young Afro Samurai * Dwight Schultz - Assassin, Patron #1, Ronin *

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The Powerpuff Girls'', '' The Fair ...

- Otsuru, Jiro * Fred Tatasciore - Juzo, Patron #5, Shuzo * James Arnold Taylor - Yashichi * Dave Wittenberg - Assassin, Patron #3, Punk, Matasaburo

Crew

* Samuel L. Jackson - Executive producer * Jamie Simone - Casting and voice director

Reception

The manga series has received generally positive reviews from critics. Scott Green, writer of the ''Anime AICN'' segment of

Ain't It Cool News Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book proj ...

said that the manga "is a work of design" and that it "utilizes the medium to which it is applied as a platform rather than as an ends unto itself." Scott notes that Okazaki does not have a "head for manga as a storytelling form" and that the "manga labors to show off Okazaki's design."

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

reviewer, Carlo Santos stated about the anime that "like most typical action-adventures, the story starts out slow and only picks up toward the middle and end when the blades really start flying" and that "''Afro Samurai'' is hardly a complex story" and that it only has "a handful of characters and a straightforward beat-the-next-guy plotline". Carlo Santos also noted that "the original Afro Samurai manga is pretty lousy" and that Takashi Okazaki often gets lost in "incomprehensible scribbles" and "style over substance." Volume 2 of ''Afro Samurai'' also charted 147 on ComiPress' "Top 250 Manga Volumes" of February 2009. The

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

of the anime series charted #16 on VideoScan's Blu-ray charts. In January 2009, ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' ranked the series 90th on a list of the top 100 animated series, saying that the over-the-top violence and quirky story and characters made the show enjoyable.

China ban

On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture listed ''Afro Samurai'' among 38 anime and manga titles banned in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Notes

References

External links

*
Official ''Afro Samurai: Resurrection'' website

Official Gomanga page
* *
Afro Samurai: Resurrection
at

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{Gonzo 1999 manga 2000s American black cartoons Action anime and manga Anime and manga about revenge Anime series based on manga Censored television series Doujinshi Fuji Television original programming Gonzo (company) Manga Entertainment Post-apocalyptic anime and manga Samurai in anime and manga Seinen manga Seven Seas Entertainment titles Television censorship in China Titan Books titles Works banned in China *