Samurai Champloo is the first anime that really changed my perspective on life. The phrase ''It's about the journey not the destination'' never really struck a chord with me when I kept hearing it. After watching this anime, I now understand the importance of the journey and living life in the present and being content with where you are now rather than letting yourself be happy at the destination.

Firstly, Samurai Champloos opening is amazing. I personally do not like watching anime openings because I find them quite obnoxious or I just don't like the music taste. I could not skip a Champloo opening even if I wanted to. The openings music really struck me and I listen to it non stop, Nujabes did an excellent job and despite his tragic death, it's great to to see his amazing work immortalized into an amazing show. This goes for the entire soundtrack as well. The music sets the tone for the entire show really well, setting a very relaxed feeling to the viewer as if they are a part of this journey. Overall the music is spectacular and really sets the mood for the show extremely well.

One of the best parts about the show for me was the fighting scenes, they are not like your traditional anime fight scenes where the fights pause every 10 seconds to show what the character is thinking and going into intense thought. Instead, the scenes are fluid with no interruptions, just fighting. The fighting is very well made and really puts you on the edge of your seat especially if the strong duo are facing a formidable opponent. Overall the fight scenes are one of the best I've seen in any anime and felt very fluid and organic.

The characters are superb. All 3 characters are essentially complete opposites from each other whilst Fuu is the glue that holds the group together. From the first episode, one can get a clue that Jin and Mugen are not the best individuals in the world, but the most important part is both feel very much human. Jin, Mugen, and Fuu have their obvious flaws and have their own way of solving issues. Their interactions are very personable and the characters are very easy to relate to, especially Mugen for my case. It is a breath of fresh air to have main characters who aren't the perfect person or characters with a known purpose. It was nice to have characters were very flawed personalities and no clear goal in life, as that is something a lot of us can relate to thus making the show much more fun to watch.

My only real critique about the show was that some episodes felt boring, at some points I just wanted the story to accelerate and get to something serious or plot advancing so I could see more action or emotion in the show, but nevertheless, the episodes that seemingly have nothing to do with the main plot does its job of entertaining the audience regardless.

Finally I will touch on the overall message and impact the anime has had on me. Samurai Champloo has helped me appreciate life at the present, to treat it like a journey just like Mugen, Jin, and Fuu have, and enjoy it while it lasts. If you have had trouble finding some sort of meaning to life or trouble enjoying your present self, I highly recommend watching this anime as a method to help you.

Overall this show is amazing and deserves the 10/10 rating more than any other anime on my list. It is also fantastic for beginners to anime, it is not overwhelming with it's music, characters, or art style. Champloo is overall a very relaxing anime that is virtually timeless. Highly recommend.