Afro Samurai (2007) / Afro Samurai: Resurrection (2009)

To think, there was a brief moment in time (which faded almost instantly) where Spike TV followed in the footsteps of a younger MTV, by attempting to draw in a less popular teenage crowd. No, I'm not saying they bought old seasons of The Real World, I'm talking about their animated line-up which featured shows like Striperella and brand new (yet god awful) episodes of Ren & Stimpy. These days you might find such shows lurking around the internet, probably available to watch for free. It actually stuns me that among these "magnificent" aforementioned titles that Afro Samurai was the only one to achieve life after the death of their more maturely rated cartoons.

Afro Samurai has your typical Samurai-esque script with a touch of skitzophrenia, added with high-priority sex appeal, extreme violence and squirting blood, all in the light of an urban/futuristic/fuedal japanese world where the only black person in sight is kicking all kinds of ass. The story follows Afro, a samurai out for revenge against his father's killer who just so happens to possess a headband which bestows the wearer with the title of "baddest mother fucker in the world" or as the show says, the No. 1 whom shall rule the world. On his journey, he meets some relatively interesting characters from his past, along with some new faces who are voiced by actors like Ron Perlman, Kelly Hu and Lucy Lui. Sounds like Samuel L.'s idea of a wet dream finally came to life in five episodes and a movie that tends to beat a dead horse that didn't gallop too well in the first place.

What Afro Samurai does have, however, is some of the best animation ever seen on an American TV. Characters' movements flow smoothly like water and like the blade of a samurai, cut through all the dull plot-driven portions of the series. The voice actors are also on top of their game, as Jackson's portrayal of Afro and his grey-haired, outspoken sidekick (which the show hints at as being apart of Afro's imagination) is pretty well balanced. Perlman is awesome too, as usual.

Jackson's overzealous animated series/direct-to-DVD feature might be considered cutting edge, but lacks creativity and at times can almost seem like a waste of perfectly good Japanese animators. Even when their sweat is already so inexpensive.