< Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo/Characters


Mugen

Mugen

Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (JP), Steve Blum (EN)

Mugen's a murderous crazy break dancing Pirate. While not the main character, Mugen is probably the face of the show, as he was voiced in the dub by Steve "Spike Spiegel" Blum. Despite Mugen picking fights with everybody, and generally being a total dick, he sticks with Fuu on her quest.

  • Afro Asskicker
  • Anti-Hero: Type V-> Type IV.
  • Axe Crazy: Mugen's response to someone telling him to shut up? Cut off their arm of course.
  • Badass: Mugen pulled off a Ki blast by simply mimicking the movements of his opponent (who perhaps took a few months or more of training to accomplish just that feat), and regularly kicks the crap out of armed soldiers with his feet.
    • He's a self-taught swordsman who's been officially stated to have created his own style of fighting (based on break-dancing, dubbed "champuru kendo". Translation: "champloo kendo", automatically certifying the show's premise and half the title) by taking bits and pieces from all forms of martial arts and making up the rest as he fights his opponents. And for not being properly trained, he's sure as hell one of the most powerful. The dude seems to have a natural talent.
  • Balloon Belly: Tends to happen when he seriously overeats.
  • Berserk Button: Not that it takes much to piss Mugen off, but he really can't stand when Japanese people mistreat foreigners like the Dutchman (and the Russian from the manga). Obviously, it hits a little close to home for him.
  • Blood Knight: In one episode, he tries to start a fight with Fuu's pet squirrel.
    • In fact, the only time he ever turns away from a fight is when he goes to rescue Fuu from where she's being held on that island. And that said, he knew he was running towards another fight anyway.
  • Book Dumb: Interestingly enough, he takes learning how to write rather enthusiastically.
  • But for Me It Was Tuesday: Cut off one guy's arm and didn't care enough to remember. When his victim tracked him down with a Giant Mook and an elaborate murder plot and promised to make him pay for his crimes, all he got in return was a blank look.
  • Character Development: He slowly comes to care about someone other than himself, most notably Fuu.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Mugen doesn't know the meaning of fair play.
  • Cruel Mercy: To Kohza.
  • Dance Battler: Break dancing to be specific, he even has steel plates on the soles of his sandals.
  • Determinator: The man dies more than once during the course of the series, and comes back to life through sheer determination!
  • Evil Counterpart: Mukuro.
  • Foe Yay/Ho Yay: With Jin.
  • Freudian Trio: Firmly in the Id.
  • Jerkass
    • Hidden Heart of Gold: A very small heart, but it is still there. Mugen may threaten murder against anyone who implies this.
  • Improbable Age: Although no one's quite sure of his age, Mugen is generally thought to be no older than twenty, which is pretty young for a man of his abilities and experiences.
  • I Work Alone/Informed Loner:

Mugen: "I don't believe in anyone, but me, and what I can do".

Mugen: "I don't work for no one, but me".

Mugen: "Now I lived my whole life without takin' help from nobody, and I'd be damned if I let you guys help me into my grave".


Mugen's Run

Rodriguez

Mugen's prize beetle. Rodriguez is her name.

Kohza

Mukuro

Yatsuha

Denkibou

Umanosuke

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (JP)

Toube

Pantu/Grim Reapers/Ancestor spirits

Jin

Jin

Voiced by: Ginpei Sato (JP) Kirk Thornton (EN)

Jin is everything Mugen isn't: Polite, honorable, and introspective. A ronin who barely speaks, Jin helps Fuu on her quest out of a sense of obligation, while running away from his own past troubles.

  • Anti-Hero: Type III
  • Badass Normal: Doesn't use any Ki, even Mugen pulled off that weird spirit blast thing.
  • Badass Long Hair
  • Bishonen: Is able to successfully dress up as a woman.
    • And he's hot as a woman.
  • Blood Knight: Although he doesn't go out of his way to start trouble, Jin never backs down from a fight.
    • Subverted in his fight with Yukimaru, which is a major characterization point. Jin urges Yukimaru to withdraw, so that he will not have to put an end to the fight.
  • Born in the Wrong Century: According to Jin, there isn't any worthy lord to serve nowadays. The clan symbol on his kimono indicates he's descended from the Takedas or their close retainers. The Takeda clan was one of the Tokugawa clan's 2 main rivals prior to their securing the shogunate, but was exterminated in the power struggle. So Jin is literally a relic of a bygone family and era.
  • Character Development: Just like Mugen, Jin gains human connections during the series, so he finally has something he wants to protect.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Jin is just as interested in women as Mugen is, he's just a little more quiet about it.
  • The Comically Serious: After being...entertained by at least two prostitutes, he gets up and takes out an attacking group of five men in two slices. Then doubles over. "My back!"
    • "I have heartburn..."
  • Dangerous Forbidden Technique: He uses this to defeat Kariya. The move is supposed to be suicidal but he manages to survive.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Defrosting Ice King
  • Determinator/Made of Iron: Gets a sword through his stomach and keeps going. Able to fight at peak level after being tortured for a whole day. Also falls off bridges a lot.
  • The Fettered
  • Foe Yay/Ho Yay: With Mugen.
  • Freudian Trio: Super Ego, he rarely shows emotion and is dispassionate about everything.
  • Good Is Not Nice: Card-Carrying Samurai. He saves a damsel in distress from a life of prostitution (and it's heavily implied he'll marry her after her period of isolation ends), will not serve the currently corrupt Government in return for wealth and respect, and refuses to use force if he doesn't have to. However, he is not exactly friendly, starts off with a small superiority complex, has sex with prostitutes even after he rescues a severely traumatized one, and in the first episode he saves a peasant from the the corrupt lord that was going to have the peasant beaten or killed for not giving the lord a sufficient bribe, but he takes the peasant's cash too. Of course, the peasant is probably happy to not be on the wrong end of katana. Then again, saving said peasant proved useful as he later gives Fuu the pipe needed to start the fireworks that would save Mugen and Jin from their executions.
  • Honor Before Reason: See The Last DJ below.
  • Knight Errant: Prior to the series. He wandered around Japan searching for a purpose until Fuu makes him her bodyguard.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: He knows damn well that it doesn't pay to be good or honorable in the world he's been honed in. But he just can't help himself from doing the right thing.
  • The Lancer: Jin is much less likely to instigate an episode's events than Mugen and Fuu are, and rarely involves them in his conflicts.
  • The Last DJ: He could be a famous and wealthy warrior, but the lords aren't good enough for him.
    • Furthermore, Jin's old master told Jin about the shogunate's plan to turn their school into a corps of assassins for the government, and Jin vehemently protested on principle. For this his master was ordered to kill him, but Jin was the winner of that fight. He could probably clear his name in a second and do serious damage to the government by telling the truth. He'd also dishonor the name of his master and his school, so he goes Walking the Earth instead.
  • Lethal Chef: In "Gamblers and Gallantry", Jin mans a grilled eel stand alongside a woman he ran into earlier in the episode. After the dinner rush, he agrees to cook her an eel. Her reaction? "...Wow. Your cooking is really quite amazing. I'm pretty sure this the worst thing I've ever eaten! But I suppose that's a talent in and of itself..."
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy
  • Megane
  • Mistaken for Gay: Both Mugen and some random assassin think he walks down the left side of the street. There are some suggestions that Jin's old school friend Yukimaru was more like an old flame. On the other hand he does have sex with several women and falls in love with one of them.
    • Mugen claims to be relieved when Jin hugs their money to go to a prostitute. Mugen had allegedly begun to suspect that Jin was gay.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Very much so, especially when you factor in his detached personality and Shirtless Scenes.
  • Not So Different: With Mugen, both highly trained fighters who don't really enjoy themselves (except in combat) and put a lot of emphasis on martial prowess. Neither experienced love in their lives until they met up with each other (and Fuu). Yes, that was intentionally hoyaytastic.
  • Perpetual Frowner
  • Purely Aesthetic Glasses
  • The Quiet One
  • Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue.
  • Ronin
  • Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: He's a fearsome, near-unbeatable kenjutsu prodigy who can't cook, catch fish, hold a conversation (especially with women), or drink more than two shots of sake without falling asleep.
  • Shirtless Scene: With torture scenes, hot springs and good old fashioned sword fights, he gets a couple.
  • Slipknot Ponytail
  • The Spock
  • Stoic Spectacles: He's quite fond of them too.
  • The Stoic
  • Tall, Dark and Handsome AND Snarky
  • Technician vs. Performer: The technician to Mugen's performer.


Jin's Run

Mariya Enshirou

Ogura Bunta

Yukimaru

Shino

Niwa Juunosuke

Niwa Tatsunoshin and Niwa Kazunosuke

Kariya Kagetoki


Fuu

Fuu

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (JP) Kari Wahlgren (EN)

The driving force behind the story. Fuu is a Nice Girl looking for a samurai who smells of sunflowers, who is her father, Seizo Kasumi. She has some connections with the underground Christian movement, a movement she doesn't know about.

  • A-Cup Angst
  • Berserk Button: While not driving her into a murderous rage, she gets pissed whenever Mugen calls her ugly.
  • Big Eater: Interestingly, she fits both the "surprisingly skinny" and "fat" versions of the trope, as she's normally pretty lanky, but will temporarily swell up and get a Balloon Belly after some particularly serious eating.

Mugen: You're some kind of low-grade monster.

    • She is a teenager, a time when metabolisms are at their highest.
    • Used to hilarious extremes in one episode, when after eating a huge meal, after which she looks like she's put on 200 kg, she is seen by a set of guards with Jin and Mugen when they've just gotten themselves into trouble (again). The guards run into her again after she's slimmed down and ask her:

Excuse me, miss, have you seen a really fat girl around your age?

  • Bodyguard Crush: Possibly on Jin, Mugen, or both. While most interpret her as being closest to Mugen, she's more openly affectionate with Jin.
  • The Chick
  • Curtains Match the Window
  • Damsel in Distress: A fairly justified version, since while Mugen and Jin have pasts which justify their combat prowess, Fuu is just a normal teenager.
  • Freudian Trio: The Ego - see below.
  • Gag Boobs: In the first episode, she hides some bombs in her dress and runs through town with them bouncing to and fro.
  • Gainaxing: See above.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: She's angry whenever Jin or Mugen visits another woman.
    • Interesting to note though that whenever Jin gets interested in another woman she gets seriously concerned and worried about him, while when Mugen gets interested in another woman she just gets furiously jealous.
  • The Heart: She keeps Mugen and Jin from killing each other, and takes it hard whenever they try to leave.
  • Heavy Voice: Has one on the occasions that she gorges herself to obesity.
  • Japanese Christian: The daughter of Kazumi Saizo, leader of Christianity in Japan.
  • The Kirk
  • Memento MacGuffin: The skull charm on her knife's sheath. It's a hint to her father's past, but she doesn't learn this until near the end of the series.
  • The Messiah: Not a mean bone in her body, and due to her actions she saved both main's lives and an innumerable number of side characters.
  • Neutral Female: Not quite. She's physically weak and small, and probably should stay out of fights, but she intercedes on more then one occasion. Personality-wise, she is a very strong, determined person and is by no means completely helpless when she's stuck in a tight spot. Hellhounds for Hire comes to mind.
  • Plucky Girl: She runs off with two guys she's never met, one of dubious morality, saves their asses from the government, to find some guy whose face she doesn't remember. Does she give up? No. Does she give in? Hell no! Face it, Fuu is stronger willed then either Mugen or Jin. Or just plain insane.
    • For a specific example, in one episode a thug tries to threaten her with a knife and tells her if she screams, he'll kill her. She goes ahead and screams before he has time to actually put the knife in a threatening position.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": A single example--the Impression soundtrack CD has a song called "Who's Theme".
  • Ted Baxter: She thinks the men are lining up to ravish her. She's usually wrong.


Fuu's Run

Momo

Fuu's pet flying squirrel.

Kasumi-san

Fuu's mother.

The Sunflower Samurai - Kazumi Saizo


Ladies of the Champloo Universe

Hotaru

Osuzu

Fortune Teller

Hishikawa Moronobu

Yes, he counts.

Sawa

"Yamato Nadeshiko"

Osen

Takegawa and Suyama

Yuri

Sara

Other // Minor characters

Oniwakamaru

Ichiemon Ochiburi

Detective Manzo

Voiced by: Unsho Ishizuka (JP), Michael McConnohie (EN)

Inuyama

Ishimatsu

Kawara Heitaro

Kawara Sosuke

Isaac Kitching/Jouji

Shinsuke

Voiced by: Johnny Yong Bosch (EN)

Saganshougen Nagamitsu

Tajima Munetada

Ukon/Shoryuu

Born into the royal bloodline of the samurai, Ukon studied kenjutsu under the tutelage of Zuikou before he was sent on a voyage to the mainland. However, the journey was interrupted by violent seastorms and the boat he was traveling on was wrecked by the waves. Even so, Ukon survived the journey and he was found lying unconscious on the mainland by a group of shaolin monks, from whom he learnt of a mysterious fighting technique called 'Hakkei'. The tenth episode is a character study of this martial arts student-turned-renegade as he travels to challenge and defeat the fighters he encounters across the country in the hopes of achieving national recognition for what he deems to be superior fighting skills.

  • A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Is this in relation to his former teacher Zuikou.
  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Oh yes. It's also interesting to note that he takes pride in a martial artform that was taught to him by shaolin monks.
    • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: It's loosely hinted that despite having trained rigorously at using Hakkei and knowing how to use it efficiently as a result, Ukon might not fully understand the power of his technique. When dojos kick him out because of his inability to understand or realise this fact, he became greatly insulted as he thought they simply did it to shun him.
      • Although in the conversation he holds with Mugen for the first time over the bridge, he shows that he appears to be aware of what he is turning into.
  • Ax Crazy
  • Blood Knight: A very bloodthirsty one as well.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Voiced in the Japanese version by Aizen Sousuke.
  • It's All About Me: This comes in motherfucking spades.
    • Dude, Where's My Respect?: ...but only initially. By the time he gets to fight Mugen, he may or may not have confessed that he doesn't really care about this any longer.
    • That Man Is Dead: He completes his transformation into 'Shoryuu' by announcing this trope in a private conversation he has with his former instructor.
  • Serial Killer: 'He made the mountains his home, and he became a demon.'
  • Villainous Breakdown: Aside from the motivation that gives him his reputation as tsugiri, the reaction he has to Mugen duplicating his Ki blast with only a month of training (which betrays the possibility that it may have taken him much longer to practice with his own ki attacks) might be a flicker of this.

Zuikou

Formerly a martial arts teacher, with Ukon having been one of his most talented followers. Becomes a priest to compensate for being unable to stop his student from turning rogue. Offers Fuu and company food and shelter in return for help with maintaining the temple and other domestic chores. Appears to be a canny and an highly intuitive individual.

  • The Atoner
  • Bald of Awesome: It's big and shiny. Mugen compliments him greatly for it and gets rewarded accordingly.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: with subtle implications, and the justifications thereof.
    • Coconut Superpowers: he is highly intuitive, and has great reflexes.
      • It's not completely absurd to suggest that he may also have done some research into the art of Hakkei, and the explanation he gives to Mugen of the offensive uses of this technique gives fruition to that possibility.

Momoi Seishirou

Nicknamed 'the lightning dynamo', Momoi is a poser who lives by a false reputation as an accomplished dojo instructor and surrounds himself with a group of flunkies. Mugen goes after him in order to ask about the tsugiri, but is mistaken for the tsugiri himself. In the ensuing scuffle, the flunkies are quickly disposed of and in as much time, dynamo exposes himself for the coward that he is.

Shiren

Otawa Hankichi

Momochi Ginsa

Okuru

Francisco Xavier III

Johnny

A crazy old hermit who fishes Jin out of the river after his fight with Sara. When Jin comes to, Johnny teaches him how to fish, and it is awesome.

Kagemaru

Alexander Joy Cartwright

Abner Doubleday

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  1. ↑ to the point where when she fails, he has to get personally involved
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