5 Anime Like Samurai Champloo If You’re Looking for Something Similar

Rurouni Kenshin

Anime Like Samurai Champloo If You’re Looking for Something Similar

Rurouni Kenshin may lack some of the humor of Samurai Champloo, but this late 90s anime makes up for it with its visceral fight scenes and honest historical translations. Taking place in the period following Samurai Champloo’s late Edo setting, Rurouni Kenshin’s early Meiji-focus leads to both series sharing similar aesthetic sensibilities. Kenshin, the protagonist, shares the same rōnin status as Mugen and Jin, with his fighting style following Jin’s traditional stance. While Rurouni Kenshin’s greater focus on romance and linear storytelling may put some Samurai Champloo fans off, it makes up for it in its intense fight scenes. There is lots for Samurai Champloo fans to enjoy here, particularly if they enjoyed its vignettes on late-Edo Japan and Christian persecution.

Sarai-ya Goyou (House of Five Leaves)

Anime Like Samurai Champloo If You’re Looking for Something Similar

Continuing the rōnin theme, Sarai-ya Goyou tells the story of a masterless samurai, Akitsu, who has lost employment at several Houses due to his shy personality. Following his struggle to attain a new master, Akitsu takes a job as a bodyguard for Yaichi, the leader of a gang called the Five Leaves. While Akitsu is initially ambivalent towards the gang, he warms to Yaichi and his outlaws, as their actions muddies the young samurai’s sense of honor. This anime shares Shinichirō Watanabe’s love for rejects, with Sarai-ya Goyou and Samurai Champloo sharing common ground by positioning themselves outside of the realms of society. Fans who enjoyed Samurai Champloo for its power fantasy may want to give this one a miss, however, as Akitsu is a humble character and swordsman.

Michiko to Hatchin

Anime Like Samurai Champloo If You’re Looking for Something Similar

Masterminded by Samurai Champloo episode director Sayo Yamamoto, Michiko to Hatchin shares significant hip-hop and psychedelic inspirations. Set in the fictional South American country of Diamandra, the anime tells the story of escaped convict Michiko and her attempt to save her ex-lover’s daughter, Hatchin, from an abusive foster home. After helping her escape, they both travel through favelas and jungles to reunite with the Michiko’s ex and Hatchin’s father: Hiroshi.

The show blends Watanabe-inspired action with Yamamoto’s penchant for underground culture, leading to an anime that screams vibrancy. On paper, Michiko to Hatchin bears little similarity to Samurai Champloo, yet both anime share a large overlap in their undertones, stylistic nods, and over-arching stories. Similarities are strong between Hatchin’s search for her father and Fuu’s mission to find the Sunflower Samurai, which comes as no surprise due to Yamamoto’s involvement in Samurai Champloo’s final episodes.

Afro Samurai

Anime Like Samurai Champloo If You’re Looking for Something Similar

Afro Samurai oozes style. From its highly stylized combat sequences to its blatant appropriation Western action tropes, the anime contains more than a few nods to Samurai Champloo. Set in a retro-futurist depiction of feudal Japan, Afro Samurai tells the tale of Afro and his search for the Number 1 Headband. The headband’s previous owner was Afro’s father, who lost the garment and died in battle in front of Afro. Legends say that the owner of the Number 1 Headband will receive god-like powers, so Afro swears to take the headband, not for its power, but for the purpose of revenge. The anime’s major common ground with Samurai Champloo is its action sequences and style, but it also shares the comedic duality between a conventional and unconventional samurai.

Black Lagoon

Anime Like Samurai Champloo If You’re Looking for Something Similar

This choice may be a little out there, but Black Lagoon’s appeal to mercenary camaraderie has similarities to Samurai Champloo’s tacked-together crew. The plot details the adventures of Lagoon Company, a ragtag team of pirate mercenaries who smuggle goods into South Asia. Taking place during the mid-90s, the pirates use the island of Ko Chang as its base of operations. The island is known for being a stopping point and watering hole for every international criminal organization in the world, which leads to Lagoon Company going on a series of increasingly precarious adventures. To give away more would be spoilers, but at its core, Black Lagoon is an appeal to friendship.