The honor of a samurai and the passion of a flamenco...Samurai Flamenco!

Hazama Masayoshi, a 19-year-old model and actor, has always dreamed of being a TV show hero--the kind who is committed to justice and is resilient enough to conquer anything in his way. Resolving to bring his late grandfather's superhero concept, Samurai Flamenco, to life, Hazama dons his bicycle helmet and spandex to rid his city of crime by confronting juvenile delinquents and litterbug salarymen. Reality ensues.

That's the first and last time that anything in this show can be called realistic. Buckle up, kids, it's gonna be a wild ride.

Story

Holy moly, where do I even begin? SF, on the surface, claims to be a tokusatsu parody, but then hooks you with strange conspiracies and actual high stakes. It sounds cliché, but rest assured: this is not your average Power Rangers ripoff.

The plot unfolds like a 30-car pileup: the absurdity and carnage rise exponentially the more you watch. Even the most seasoned tokusatsu buffs will have difficulty predicting the plot, so if that sounds appealing, this is the show for you. It's a story with a cheap premise that compensates for it with sheer insanity. (8.1/10)

Characters

"I like to watch parodies for the character development!"

--No one, ever

SF boasts a motley crew of side characters, some that you'll like and others you'll dislike. Some of them even make rational decisions, which is refreshing given the bizarre situations the characters find themselves in. Most of the side characters aren't important and only serve to drive the plot forward. However, you will find a few who actually change over the course of the story, main characters included.

That said, none of the cast members are particularly fleshed out in the first place. It's a parody, of course no one's invested in the characters, but a good character arc or two wouldn't have gone amiss. (6.8/10)

Visuals

The cover art greatly oversells it--it's lackluster in terms of animation. The animation quality may have been fine in the early 2000s, but it just looks dated in 2013. Character design, while interesting, isn't particularly detailed. The entire anime is a mashup of tokusatsu and mahou-shoujo tropes, which leaves little room for originality.

Despite its obvious artistic limitations, it manages to give us two different OPs and EDs. Personally, I didn't notice any recycled footage, which is a common pet peeve of mine. There's little to no use of CGI, but it's hard to say whether more CGI would have made the show funnier or not. (5/10)

Audio

SF is reminiscent of tokusatsu shows in that the OST is appears exciting but is pretty bland upon closer inspection. Some of the OST songs sound like generic royalty-free music, while others are charming and give off a Persona vibe. The verdicts may vary depending on the listener.

Both of the OPs were good choices (hard to go wrong with some good J-rock). The EDs stood out, not only because the studio and VAs went to the effort to record original songs but also because they were surprisingly catchy. The OPs and EDs are actually very relevant to the anime, and if you pay attention to the lyrics you'll have those lightbulb "so that's what they were singing about!" moments. (7.3/10)

Enjoyment

Tighten your seatbelts, keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle, and bring a neck brace for the extreme mood whiplash you're going to suffer. This is not a contemplative anime that will make you question the meaning of life, it is an adrenaline rush and a half. (8.8/10)

Conclusion

Samurai Flamenco is bonkers in the best way possible. It falls short in terms of visuals and some may be turned off by the absurd humor, but it's an experience like no other. If nothing else, I recommend a watch because it's a show that doesn't promise much, but man, it can deliver.