Tomorrow Studios is taking things to the next level and adapting Samurai Champloo as their next endeavor, according to Variety’s Kennedy French. The show hasn’t been taken to networks yet but does have both the blessing and the involvement of Shinichiro Watanabe, who created the hit animated series based on Masaru Gotsubo’s manga.
In anime form, Samurai Champloo boasts a ubiquitous blend of new wave period chanbara thrills and lo-fi hip-hop fusion that set the tone accordingly for the story of Mugen and Jin, pair of wayward outlaw samurai who clash swords before reluctantly joining to the aid of a tea waitress on a series of adventures to search for “a samurai who smells of sunflowers”.
…The adaptation will retain the core elements fans love while updating the material for a contemporary television audience. Clements said music will be central to the process — the original anime’s hip-hop-inflected score was a defining characteristic — and that the studio plans to bring in a major recording artist early to help establish the show’s sound.
According to the report, Tomorrow Studios, the label behind the single season of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop, also credit their affirmed inclusion of Watanabe – in conjunction with the resonating success of their live-action One Piece adaptation with auteur Eiichiro Oda, for their newfound potential in Samurai Champloo.
“We’ve learned,” said Adelstein. “Having the creator there to bless the creative is really important.”
In addition to all things Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, Watanabe’s credits also include contributions to The Animatrix, Blade Runner: Black Out 2022, and Sola Entertainment and Studio MAPPA’s Lazarus to name a few.
Samurai Champloo was one of the anime that helped open some doors for me in music tastes. I didn’t have access to the network broadcasting this show either, so you can imagine me just under a decade ago immersing myself in anime and infectiously becoming fascinated with and listening to Nujabes whenever I had my phone in hand. I think if you saw my reaction to the news about this series development you would’ve either shrieked at my reaction or jumped in elation as I did.
I’m just curious as to where this show will land. It’d be pretty dope if Netflix got it though. Talk about a library. Anyway, about these earworms while we’re at it? Hit play below and read more at Variety!
