May this be a lesson to us all: if you have an enemy, hide your father's head. (Afro Samurai - Resurrection (DVD))

Member Name: hewhoisme

Product:	Afro Samurai - Resurrection (DVD)
Date:	04/06/09 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Afro, Kuma, and the return of Ninja Ninja

Disadvantages: None

As you may have guessed from my other two reviews, I have a bit of thing for Afro Samurai. What can I say; Afro-sporting swordsmen make me feel fuzzy all over. Afro Samurai Resurrection is the sequel to the 2007 anime, reuniting the old cast for another gore-splattered adventure.

Some years after the events of the first season Afro has found peace deep within the Japanese mountains, where he seeks solace and inner forgiveness for his brutal past. Unfortunately someone like Afro just can't disappear. Suddenly he receives a surprise visit from the bear-headed cyborg Kuma, along with his vengeful sister Sio, who steal the remains of Afro's father in order to resurrect and torture him, as punishment for Afro's previous crimes. Now badly beaten and the memory of his father defiled Afro has no choice but to take up his sword, and walk the demons path of vengeance once again. It's either that, or his father dies...again.

Afro Samurai Resurrection is a brilliant follow up to the 2007 success, seeing Samuel L Jackson reprise his role as the gruff sword slinging samurai and his loud-mouthed companion Ninja Ninja, as well as host of equally entertaining characters. The show is still as gruesome as ever, and RZA once again have created the perfect soundtrack. The show still maintains it's unique perspective on the concept of revenge, showing how you can never completely walk away from your past, and how vengeance has a nasty habit of stabbing you in the back.

Although anime sequels, like most sequels, tend to be pathetic shadows of their forbearers, Resurrection is both a homage and an epic follow up to the first series, with several minor characters returning for small cameos and helping to tie up a few loose ends, whilst leaving the anime open for a trilogy. Even though I worry that yet another instalment might be pushing the creative threshold, and the creators are running the risk becoming yet another soulless franchise, the success of the first two instalments gives me hope that a third one will be just as spectacular. With rumours of a live-action movie coming up I wonder exactly how far this series is going to go, but remain faithful that whatever is produced will be cinematic gold.

Summary: An excellent continuation of a classic series