Had he lived he would have been good with Fuu. ![]() Fuu and that one guy who got killed seemed to me like a good romantic pairing. Fuu to me represented a person in a group of friends that had romantic tensions because everyone else in that friend group already had been in a relationship. I had this one guy friend and people would think think we should date and such, but I couldn’t see that happening. Looking back at it, Fuu reminded me of me when I had guy friends. There was a time where I lowkey shipped Mugen with Fuu but after watching several episodes, I just saw it as just friends being teasing to each other. Imma be honest, I could not see Mugen/Fuu or Fuu/Jin as a couple. And no woman would walk, smile and a sense of emotional strength in tow, towards such a fate that could be averted either. Not too many men that capable and that descent at their core would leave Fu to be accosted and sold into prostitution as that is what would clearly happen within this ethos. Nobody in a world as violent as this, with no other real human connections would choose to go their own directions with smiles on their faces. But I will always internally snicker at the writers foolish pretense on display by way of the cheapest tricks and just feel bad for anyone actually thinking like the characters in the end of Champloo inexplicably do at the last second for no ‘realistically human’ reasons. I continue watching anime because I love the character development and creative art. Mugan’s detective lady finding him during an episode, or all of them coming to terms with her clear emotions for this new little family they have found would have made for better screen time than the annoying waste of an episode spent in zombie country. It is not edgy or smart and teaches me nothing we haven’t experienced in life many times already. The way they abuse their own character creations they took so much time to flesh out in wonderful ways in an attempt to toy with the viewers emotions is a cheap tool not befitting the talented team responsible for the show’s creation. Denying the very nature of ones self in order to appear ‘strong’, essentially, is to throw away all that is good in this cruel life. Japanese culture as depicted through their storytellers anyways, tries to fight the very best feelings humans can possibly experience and I find this extremely sad. This is pretentious at best and fatalistic nonsense otherwise. We are all supposed to be evolved enough to come to grips with letting go of sentimentality, as is voiced by the two male leads making fun of Fu’s “woman emotion” around a campfire along the journey. Supposed realistic endings like this one that permeate the world of Japanese storytelling are a sign of the writers hubris. They walk away from us, leaving us only with our memory of them. Only this short part of their individual journeys are remembered. But happy endings are not certain in the violent world of Samurai Champloo. Fuu will…well, get kidnapped and pulled into some other adventure. Jin will return to the island and live with his redeemed prostitute. Most of us like to think Mugen finds the detective woman who claimed him as a husband. Samurai Champloo, despite its odd mash of hip-hop, Edo period and reggae, is a great allegory for how life works. The truth of ending is distorted by our illusions of continued connection through email, social media, movies, anime, and other media. Death, like life, is a personal experience. Even the best of friends or lovers must someday walk their own path alone. ![]() It is simply a fact: all things must end. Like the characters Fuu and the guys meet on their journey, we too meet hundreds of people only once. Relationships are more tenuous than we like to admit. The ending is far too realistic for viewers to accept. Instead the anime ends like it began: 3 people….alone. The ending leaves us viewers feeling off we expect a ending where everyone lives together happily ever after. Sometimes the roads are the same, but eventually everyone will find their own. Each of us has a road only we can walk, just like Fuu, Jin, and Mugen. Each leave a mark on them, and the road carries everyone away. ![]() People come and go throughout the characters’ journey. That is exactly the point of the ending, and the show. Despite everything they faced, and the friendship they forged with each other, they walk away without even a glance. Fuu, Jin, and Mugen part down their separate roads. The ending of Samurai Champloo is a mix of emotions.
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