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| Afro Samurai (Director's Cut) | 
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| Director: Fuminori Kizaki
Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Hu, Ron Perlman, John Di Maggio, Greg Eagles
Studio: Funimation
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.98
Buy New: $12.99
You Save: $11.99 (48%)
New (40) Used (15) Collectible (1) from $12.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  54 reviews
Sales Rank: 1457
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Director's Cut, Ntsc, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 125
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 1-4210-1087-9
UPC: 704400079801
EAN: 0704400079801
ASIN: B000LP5FWC
Theatrical Release Date: January 4, 2007
Release Date: January 4, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The violent five-part adventure Afro Samurai marks both the increasing confluence of American and Japanese pop culture and the shift in Japanese depictions of African-Americans. The popularity of hip-hop in Japan has led to more positive images of blacks, including Takashi Okazaki's original manga. The "Director's Cut" contains an additional 15 minutes of footage, and is even gorier than the broadcast version on Spike TV. As a boy, Afro Samurai saw his father beheaded by the maniacal Justice. The murderer sought an ancient headband that marks the wearer as the #1 warrior in the world. As an adult, Afro seeks only revenge, cutting down anyone who blocks his path to Justice. Afro Samurai depicts a oddly anachronistic world that infuses cell phones, cigarette lighters, and cyber technology into traditional Japanese culture. The elongated character designs recall Peter Chung's Aeon Flux, and much of the series is rendered in moody grays, accented by gobbets of scarlet blood. Afro is such a taciturn figure, most of the dialogue goes to his motor-mouth comrade Ninja Ninja. This big budget production features an eclectic score by Wu-Tang Clan co-founder RZA and an A-list vocal cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman. But for all its elaborate production values and over-the-top fights, Afro Samurai suffers from a weakness at its core: Afro is so monosyllabic and cold-blooded, he's not very interesting. His inevitable duel-to-the-death with Justice lacks the emotional punch of Spike's face-off against Vicious in Cowboy Bebop or Kenshin's one-on-one with Shishio in Rurouni Kenshin. This extremely violent series is not for the faint of stomach. (Rated TV MA, suitable for ages 17 and older: graphic violence, profanity, sexual activity, grotesque imagery, nudity, risque humor, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
Product Description
Ice Cold Soul and a Jones For RevengeAfro Samurai (voiced by Academy Award nominated Samuel L. Jackson) is an epic tale of a black samurai's hunt for Justice (voiced by Ron Perlman: Hellboy Alien Resurrection ) who murdered his father. With music score by The RZA ( Kill Bill Wu Tang Clan) Afro Samurai blends traditional Japanese culture, funky technology and hip hop to create a brutally fresh entertainment experience. Director's Cut features: 15 MINUTES OF NEVER BEFORE SEEN FOOTAGE Exclusive Manga art from Afro Samurai Creator, Takashi OkazakiIn the Booth with RZA - Music Production Tour Director's Cut Edition of Afro Samurai is a 2-disc set with over 170 minutes of action! All the cool action at a hot new price!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 49 more reviews...
 Not bad August 26, 2008
I watched this on Spike. It's ok, not great but ok.
My biggest beef, why no Japanese language option? Sorry, but dubbed anime sucks.
Afro Samurai August 19, 2008
I wish there was more episodes, cant wait for a full length feature picking up where the episodes left off.
Afro Samurai August 4, 2008
This is definently a must for those who love anime. The animation definently has it's own style and in combination with Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman, makes it a must to see.When you buy the Dvd set the case is decorated with art from the series. The only problem with the DvD set is, the DvD holding pieces inside are brittle, just be patient and take you time to get the DVD's out, you don't want to break the case. The second DvD has some pretty good but short Extras. I think they could have fit all of the extras onto the first DvD, but all the same it's a good buy.
If you are one of those goody two shoes people whos buying this for there kids, this is not a kids series. Afro Samurai has blood, blood and more blood with sex and as much cussing as a Spike Lee movie.
"Tarantino style" - WTF July 14, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
What I dont like the most..
That this animation is somehow described as 'Tarantino Style'.
How does this differ from any of the well established Anime or Manga creations that have graced our screens for the last 38 years.
It aggravates me, that this has turned a full circle.
That somehow, Tarantino's steal from this genre, has redefined itself as 'Tarantino style'.
This is Anime as we know it... and quite frankly it doesnt come close to some of the brilliant original films it has ripped off...
Style vs. Substance May 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Alright, so Afro Samurai set out to answer the age old question: "If you take an insanely high animation budget, a breathtaking soundtrack, spectacularly choreography fight scenes, and a well-known actor and combine it with a plot that's ludicrously stupid, will the result still be cool?" The answer is yeah... but barely. As the pinnacle of simplistic action samurai movies, this will not disappoint. In ever other way it does. Sadly, just some minimal dialogue edits could have down wonders for the overall story.
So I will assume you both saw the show on Spike TV or Youtube, and still wish to purchase the series. You are now wondering "Is the extra 15 minutes worth double the price of the edited DVDs?" No, not really; however, it does improve the story in the last 2 episodes. Here is a basic breakdown of what you missed on TV.
All the episodes contain small cuts of slightly more excessive gore, a few f-bombs, and long shots of scenery. Small snippets of dialogue were also cut here and there, especially the ninja's.
Episode one- A fallen warrior that just collapses in the edited version gives a really long speech before dropping in the uncut. The bar patrons bicker and threaten each other and a mini fight break out. The Empty Seven talk a bit more about their plans. Overall, I prefer the edited version of this episode. The dead guy talked way too long about Afro's legend and the dialogue seemed really corny and fake. The bar scene makes the whole town appear violent and psychotic. The scene where the Empty Seven talks expands their background, but their story is severely lacking and the more you show the emptier they feel.
Episode two has some additional scenes of Afro in the orphanage that was useful to the story. In a fairly boring scene, we see Afro's first taste of lemonade. There was also a sort of cute but short scene of Afro hanging out with his girl while Kuma learns about sword fighting. Nothing spectacular was cut. There is still no more explanation for how she can read dreams. Ninja Ninja is also slightly more vulgar. You see a few quick shots of the chick's [...] in an expanded sex, shower, and death scene.
Episode 3-Well we learns why the Empty Seven decided to have Afro Droid fight their other assassins. Mostly, just talking was cut. The Empty Seven battle is the same expect we see Number 3 offer Afro tea, and he just walks by.
Episode four-Okay, so important story parts were edited out here. There are some additional scenes in the orphanage where Kuma's own theories help shape Afro's decision. There's a scene were all the kids say what they would like to do before dying, and the girl says see some fireworks. Kuma also tries to persuade Afro to leave the bandanas alone, but fails.
Episode 5-We also see some more of what happened to Kuma after falling off the cliff and getting rebuilt. These scenes were probably wise to cut because they only continue to make Kuma a more sympathetic character than Afro. There is a bunch of additional dialogue regarding Justice, his goals and dreams, and the power of the bandanas. These are really important scenes that should have not been edited out. There were also a few shots of how Afro reached him, and how Justice revived his body to fight Afro. There is a SLIGHTLY expanded ending, but it really adds nothing to the story.
The extras on the second disc total 40 minutes and could easily fit onto the first DVD. The extras are mildly interesting, but if you miss them it doesn't really matter. I think this was included just to try to convince you to shell out the extra bucks.
Are these extra scenes worth the additional $15? No. The entire series, uncut, is only worth about $[...], which is the typical Ebay price.
O, and in case you're wondering, there is no Japanese audio track because this series was made in America. No Japanese language version exists.
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