#Manglobe

[elitist-anime-superbowl]

#ergo proxy #monogatari #shuukou murase #manglobe #akiyuki shinbo #SHAFT #not tagging all the gataris sorry #anime elitism superbowl #round one

[quantumleper]

samurai champloo  /  サムライチャンプルー (2004-2005)

a classic

dir. by shinichirō watanabe

#samurai champloo #shinichiro watanabe #hip hop #wu tang #nujabes #shing02 #seven samurai #kurosawa #ghost of tsushima #ruroni kenshin #samurai jack #cartoon network #Adult Swim #japanese hip hop #japan #edo period #battlecry #manglobe #steven blum #kari wahlgren #kirk thornton #harakiri #cowboy bebop #mugen #jin #fuu #ronin #straw hat #shogunate #ryukyu

[lazulilu]

Iggy and Re-L Mayer in a NewType Magazine article about Ergo Proxy (2006, Manglobe)

#anime #design #newtype #newtype magazine #manglobe #shukou murase #ergo proxy #re l mayer

[they-have-the-same-va]

Celty Sturulson from Durarara shares a voice actress with Fuu from Samurai Champloo.

Voiced by Kari Wahlgren

(requested by @andrewmoocow, part 2)

#same voice actor #voice acting #durarara #samurai champloo #brain's base #aniplex #manglobe #crunchyroll #🇺🇸

[drilanime]

@spunkyball

#Samurai Champloo #Mugen #Jin #Submission #Manglobe #Dril #DrilAnime

[stasisxo]

GANGSTA. (2015)

#gangsta #gangsta anime #gangsta manga #funimation #manglobe #2015

[crimsonbitch5]

Manglobe really made anime for the female gaze and I appreciate it every day

#manglobe #anime and manga #samurai champloo #michiko e hatchin #gangsta #the perfect balance of fight scenes and actually well developed characters

[holtanabuzz]

All this buzz about Cyberpunk Edgerunners got me reminiscing about another favorite cyberpunk anime from back in the day-- real ones recognize the cult classic that is Ergo Proxy.

#ergo proxy #cyberpunk #anime #Fanart #2000s anime #manglobe #digital art

[fictional-brides]

Ayumi Takahara from The World God Only Knows (Episode 12)

#anime #manglobe

[watchsamuraiflamenco]

with funimation going down in april, and no plans to transfer several titles in their catalogue to CR due to license issues, there will soon be no legal way to stream Samurai Flamenco with english subs in North America. Your ONLY options are piracy, or purchasing the European blu-rays and getting a region B blu-ray device.

#this fucking sucks. i wish they would just release it in north america but its probably hard to get the rights for it #since manglobe no longer exists

[rcainebuild]

I totally get why it might not be everyone’s bag, but I’m rewatching Ergo Proxy and admiring how unapologetically fucking weird it is.

Like if somebody said “this is a jumbled mess” I’d be like “yeah, fair!” But like… I love listening to funeral doom and slow contemplative shit. I love just kinda muddling thru a piece of art that obstinately refuses to be transparent w/ me.

Give me sludge and a sieve, and I will have a field day.

#also it’s Manglobe (rip) #the atmosphere alone is worth the ticket #ergo proxy #rowan rambles #oh and the opening fucking kicks

[raziraphale]

it's hard to joke about samurai flamenco (my beloved) bc while I'm not a person who cares about spoilers, I realize I'm in the minority here and a lot of people think the best way to experience the show is to go in completely blind. but like... guys... I cannot stress this enough [spoiler spoiler spoiler oh my god spoiler] but that boy went to the moon and met god, the literal universe itself. he was even gay. if you even care.

#will be completely honest when i first watched the show #i think in 2015 ? after it had finished airing but not that much after #i completely bounced off it at episode 7 and i was like... this will probably be the dumbest thing i've even watched but i don't know #if it's a good dumb or a bad dumb yet #so i literally looked up what happened #and i was immediately like OOHHHH so that's what it's doing that's amazing #and binged the rest #still deeply stupid but god it was entertaining #i am still obsessed #rip manglobe sorry you went bankrupt but it samflam contributed to that i'm sorry it was worth it #reilly.txt #samurai flamenco

[gamerdog1]

Samurai Champloo Review

What the hell even is a 'champloo' anyways? Ever since one fateful Passover seder, where my older cousin told me about this series, I've wondered about it. Its certainly not English, and though a quick Google search could give me my answer, the mystery of it all kept this show on my radar for nearly a decade. Its not often that a show with a title as puzzling as this get popular, especially enough for my slacker cousin to recommend it to me. With a recommendation like that, though, I knew there was something special about it.

Samurai Champloo is a strange breed. Created in 2004 by Masaru Gotsubo, and animated by defunct studio Manglobe, the series follows a trio of miscreants on a journey to find a mysterious samurai. Along the way, they dodge the law, fight assassins, and discover how hard it is to be a minority in a changing world.

Champloo's biggest draw is it's style. The series features a modern-style Edo that keeps the historical dress and architecture, but adds a contemporary kick everywhere else. The opening alone sets the tone perfectly: sharply colored characters, juxtaposed onto paper-like backgrounds, moving to a hip-hop flow. Its stylish, like an old-school music video, and draws you in in seconds with its funky beat and striking visuals. Its the perfect opening, and things only get cooler from there.

The Edo of this anime features a mix of traditional Japanese and modern North American styles, presented in a way that sets it apart from the rest. Its a show where you might find a samurai sword fight set to record scratches, or characters wistfully embarking on a journey while hip-hop music plays in the background. Early episodes use these scratches in the soundtrack as editing cues, cross-cutting between actions at the sound to create a wholly unique experience. It can't be overstated how much the musical styles of this anime make the viewing experience shine.

On top of that, much of the content of the show's episodes takes pages from a more modern handbook. One episode has the main trio caught up in the world of graffiti, as two brothers compete to see who can 'tag' the most dangerous places. Another has them play against American traders in a overly-violent game of baseball. All the while, characters talk with modern slang, ditching formalities and keeping with the tone the soundtrack sets. All this combined creates a historical anime that feels surprisingly contemporary, despite the obvious.

Over the course of the show's 26 episodes, we follow a main trio of characters as they journey to find a mysterious samurai who smells of sunflowers. The trip is long, and each episode usually features the gang stopping somewhere and getting involved in a stranger's problems, usually learning some moral or getting a lead on their quest afterwards. Its not often for series as mature as these to be episodic, given how seriously they take their plots, but here, it works well.

Every episode feels like another step along their journey, whether it be an eating contest in a big city, or hunting down a pick-pocket who stole their wallets. The series also does an excellent job at making the journey feel long, often referring back to the places the characters have been so far to keep track of it. You could actually track the trio's journey with a real life map if you wanted, since all the places they visit are historical, and probably still exist. Maybe someone out there has even tried their journey in real life...?

An anime is only as interesting as its main characters, and this one certainly has an interesting cast. The series stars three characters, who together, always find a way to screw things up in the most hilarious ways. First, there's Fuu, a young woman who meets the other two characters when they burn her workplace down, and enlists them to help find the samurai who smells of sunflowers. The show pulls no punches with her, often having her be the butt of the joke just as much as her companions. She's loud, whiny, naïve, and often eats the most out of all of them. Yet, she's usually the one that stops fights, is the voice of reason in all this show's chaos, and shows kindness to everyone she meets, even someone who tried to kill her. Though the other characters might play her off as another nagging woman, Fuu's right more often than not, and is a valuable member of the team.

Next is Jin, a ronin with a cool attitude. He's the level-headed one of the trio, often keeping to himself instead of jumping into arguments like the others. His cold exterior hides some pretty deep traumas, which were exciting to learn more about as the story developed. Characters like him are often stereotyped as unfeeling swordsmen, yet beneath all the sullen glances and reclusive body language, he grows to care about his companions more than any sense of pride.

Lastly, there's Mugen, the wild vagrant. His reckless fighting style, love for battle, and unquenchable pride endeared him to me pretty quickly, making him an easy choice as favorite. Compared to Jin and Fuu, Mugen is an old-school tough guy, a shonen protagonist aged up a decade and thrown backwards a couple hundred years. Like Jin, he initially is quite guarded, but learns to express himself little by little, eventually revealing his tragic backstory. Though, to be fair, most of his self expression comes in the form of violence or threats, but I'm not here to judge him.

Together, these three form a simple comedy trio, and get into trouble at every turn on their journey as they learn to tolerate each other. From start to finish, the trio struggle to get along peacefully, but that's what makes their dynamic worth watching. Mugen and Jin's mutual hatred, balanced out by Fuu's persistence, is what keeps them going. Depending on what episode it is, they take turns being the 'straight man', keeping the dynamic fresh and free of stale tropes.

At the heart of this anime, though, is its theme of identity in a changing world. Throughout the series, the trio encounter various minority groups along their journey, and learn about their unique struggles. One episode has them protecting a secret Dutch immigrant, taking him on a tour of the city while they dodge immigration officers. When the man reveals that he fled his home country because of homophobia, it doesn't feel out of place or poorly handled. His queerness is just as much a part of his character arc as his foreign-ness, and though the show makes a few light-hearted jabs at his accent and obvious visual difference, it takes the rest of his identity rather seriously. This character, while only in the show for an episode, is just one of many minority characters in this series that is handled well, showing that a series doesn't have to be disrespectful to be historical.

Another major theme in this series is death, and the acceptance of it. Being an action series, its pretty obvious that a lot of characters die, but what's interesting is how other characters deal with those deaths. Many side characters who the trio befriend on their journey are dealing with loss in some way, whether it be a husband, sibling, child, or something else. We witness how their grief drives them, such as with Fuu, or various other characters in the series. In a world such as the one in this series, death is commonplace, but a healthy acceptance of it is unfortunately less so. Each encounter with death in the series opens up new discussions about it, and often had me pondering what these characters might do next, or how I would deal with their situations.

In the end, though, Samurai Champloo is a fascinating series that brings a unique blend of Eastern and Western styles to make a truly memorable viewing experience. It's hip-hop soundtrack pairs beautifully with flashy and quick-paced sword fighting, creating a simultaneous modern-historical vibe to it all. Its characters have an enjoyable dynamic that kept me coming back day after day for more, which inevitable led to disappointment upon discovering how short this series is. If we lived in a perfect world, this would have at least an extra season, but unfortunately, perfect this world ain't.

But hey, at least I can spend my Pink Halloween (read: Valentine's Day) knowing that Fuu is valid, Mugen is gender, and Jin defintely got pegged in that one episode.

#anime and manga #anime review #film critic #review #anime #anime critique #animation #animated series #samurai champloo #otakucore

[lazulilu]

Iggy and Re-L Mayer in a magazine article about Ergo Proxy (2006, Manglobe)

#anime #design #2000s #shukou murase #manglobe #ergo proxy #re l mayer

[rikeijo]

Today's translation #612

Febri vol. 41, Ujita Takashi talking about Yamamoto Sayo

[Screenwriter for Michiko and Hatchin]

She seems so tough at core, but at the same time she's soft

The first time I've met with her was about "Michiko and Hatchin". I was contacted about the project by a member of production team at manglobe (the studio that produced it). In the project proposal from that time descriptions of characters of Michiko and Hatchin, in addition to a rough outline of the story, some illustrations and ideas here and there, were included and I thought that it was simply a good story. It was a project full of 'firsts' for me - the first time working on anime, the first time working with female director and the first time working on a series. Intrigued, I accepted the offer.

My first impression of her was that she has such a great attitude [and at the same time physical 'stance'] when she is talking to people. I've been working on live action movies for a very long time, so I've met with a lot of different directors - most are quite imposing and you can see their self-assurance in their faces. Or better say, even if they don't have self-confidence, they act as if they had it (laugh). Things like that are then reflected in your attitude [and physical stance]. I think perhaps, the same can be said about me, too. But my impression was that Yamamoto Director is completely different. She's tough at core, but at the same time, she's soft - that was the impression that I had of her.

#yuri on ice #yoi translations #yuri on ice translation

[drilanime]

#GANGSTA #Manglobe #Dril #DrilAnime