The mail came yesterday. ( I know darling reader, it does that) But I was just so happy to see those distinctive red envelopes. The last two discs of the Samurai Champloo series. My beloved anime; by director-san Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop fame.I had discovered the series last year when in fits of insomnia-- I would cruise the late night programming on Cartoon Network. I randomly chose Champloo over "Ghost in the Shell" and was immediately hooked. At first I was a little lost because the episodes were not presented in the order they were intended but I soon figured out where I was and gave up on Adult Swim and headed straight to netflix. I had been parsing the discs out carefully to prolong the buzz. I finally broke down, rearranged the queue and got the last two back to back. Christ am I glad I did. I was disappointed to find out A.) each disc only had like two or three epis--not like the earlier discs which held six to eight episodes. and B.) The shows themselves were getting shorter by the second. I feel unfinished. There wasn't enough. I am so engaged with these characters that I am actually kinda pissed off. Lame Ending. Parting at the crossroads..how freaking cliche! So much potential, so much beautiful art, original art. Fantastic dialogue. So tempting and lush, how could he just stop?? I think of other artists who yanked the rug out from under their audience, in a different genre (actual comics) we currently are victims of Bill Amend/Foxtrot, but also Bill Watterson, who drew Calvin & Hobbes the greatest cartoon of ALL time--yes even better than Charlie Brown (sorry Timmy) and and to a lesser extent because he was actually kinda run out of the studio on a rail--John Kricfalsui. These guys all commit the cardinal sin of engaging the reader and then just crapping out. To quote Otto from a Fish Called Wanda
"DIS a POIN ted!"
What Samurai Champloo Character Are You?
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