Afro Samurai: Resurrection - not the sequel we were hoping for. (Afro Samurai - Resurrection (DVD))

Member Name: sakura8

Product:	Afro Samurai - Resurrection (DVD)
Date:	13/02/09 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent animation and soundtrack

Disadvantages: Poor story

Afro Samurai: Resurrection is the sequel to the fantastic 2007 film Afro Samurai. The general premise of the Afro Samurai films is that fighters kill each other to obtain the sacred #1 headband. However, there are headband rules: only the owner of the #2 headband can challenge to fight the owner of the #1 headband, therefore every fighter in the land is out to kill the owner of the #2 headband.

In the first film, Afro's father used to own the #1 headband and when he is killed, Afro avenges the his death by killing everyone in his path and becomes the Number One himself.

Samuel L. Jackson is the voice of Afro and also the voice of his alter-ego who manifests itself as the exuberant character Ninja Ninja. He is the complete contrast to Afro's bad-ass character: his hair is white to Afro's black, he's loud and Afro is a man of few words, and Ninja Ninja gets easily distracted by sex, fun and paaartaays, whilst Afro just wants to get down to business.
Most notably, Ninja Ninja is a complete coward and scarpers whenever Afro gets into a fight, which emphasises Afro's lack of fear and why he has the reputation for being a ruthless, cold-blooded killer. The appearance of Ninja Ninja gives the film humour and light relief, as Samuel L. Jackson really excels as this fast-talking, witty character.

The sequel begins with Afro still having the #1 headband, but he doesn't wear it and is now living a life of peace. That is until an evil and twisted killer called Sio (voiced by the delectable Lucy Liu) breaks the headband rules and ambushes Afro and takes the #1 headband from him, along with the buried remains of his father. Lucy Liu is the perfect voice for Sio, with her sultry but menacing tone, she exudes her ability to kick-ass. Of course her character has the obligatory anime/manga humungous cleavage, so she inevitably looks sexy, as her tight outfit barely conceals her ample bosoms.

She challenges Afro to find the current owner of the #2 headband and then come after her. Afro is only lured into this by Sio's claim that she will resurrect his father, with the help of a mad scientist, only to torture and kill him so that Afro will feel some of the pain that she has endured.

Despite Afro being heartless and vicious, he does have honour and plays by the headband rules and seeks out to kill the owner of the #2 headband. If he succeeds then this gives him the right to challenge Sio, as she now owns the #1 headband. This in itself sets off another chain of events, which sees history repeating itself and emphasises the fact that fighting to obtain these headbands brings nothing but misery to everyone.

As the film progresses we find out why Sio wants to kill Afro so badly, but to be honest, the story is pretty lacklustre and you really need to see the first Afro Samurai film to appreciate her need for revenge, as it involves characters from the first film. I haven't seen the first film in ages, so I'd forgotten some of what had happened and was watching this sequel wondering what was going on.

This film is pretty violent and graphic right from the beginning. In the first few minutes of the film, the amount of body parts being chopped off and the blood spurting out everywhere is on the same scale as Tarantino's Kill Bill. But at the same time, it is beautiful to watch. As with the first film, the animation is fantastic, quite similar to Samurai Champloo, but much darker. During the fight scenes the animation is lightning quick, as Afro slices up anyone who dares to challenge him and the battles are very close to the camera and in your face. I love the comic book style shading as it gives great depth to the scenes.

The RZA produced hip-hop soundtrack is as equally as good as the first film and compliments the action very well against the backdrop of pseudo Japan.

However, the plot made this is disappointing sequel and not one I'd recommend buying, but it would be good to rent if you liked the animation of the first Afro Samurai film.

Directors: Fuminori Kizaki
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Manga Entertainment
UK DVD Release Date: 27 April 2009
Run Time: 100 minutes

This is a film only review so I'm afraid I can't comment on the bonus features on the second disc.

Summary: A tale of revenge.