Samurai Champloo: Season 1
2004 · 26 episodes · ★ 7.5
What Season 1 of Samurai Champloo
Fuu, a 15-year-old girl, worked at a teahouse until it was destroyed after a violent three-way brawl between Mugen the drifter, Jin the wandering samurai, and the bodyguards of the Daikan's son in that town. At the end of the fight, Mugen and Jin are arrested to be executed the next day. Fuu helps them escape in exchange for their help finding the "samurai who smells like sunflowers." Although they agree to the deal, Mugen and Jin are always trying to finish each other off in an almost professional rivalry. Both samurai have a hazy past. And so the story follows their travels through backwoods and dark alleys, and how they sort out the messes they get into.
Season 1 Episodes
1x01 Tempestuous Temperaments
Fuu is a part-time teahouse worker whose life changes forever when two vagabond warriors, Mugen and Jin, stumble into her place of business and end up in hot water with the local magistrate.
Directing: Shinichiro Watanabe · Writing: Shinji Obara
1x02 Redeye Reprisal
When Mugen wounds an enemy's arm, it sets off a dangerous chain reaction. Fuu is kidnapped, and two deadly assassins are dispatched to make short work of vagabond Mugen and ronin Jin.
Directing: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto · Writing: Shinji Obara
1x03 Hellhounds for Hire (1)
After leaving the domineering Fuu behind, Mugen and Jin arrive in town. Once there, it's not long before they're hired on as bodyguards by the two clans that run the city.
Directing: Shintaro Inokawa, Masato Miyoshi · Writing: Shinji Obara
1x04 Hellhounds for Hire (2)
The paths Mugen, Jin, and Fuu follow bring them together again, but their reunion is put on hold when an untimely mistake intensifies the struggle between two clans fighting for control of one city.
Directing: Hirotaka Endo · Writing: Shinji Obara
1x05 Artistic Anarchy
An unknown artist hires Fuu for a private modeling session, but his passion for painting turns out to be a front for a human trafficking ring. Will Mugen crack the case in time to save Fuu from a life of slavery?
Directing: Sayo Yamamoto · Writing: Dai Sato
1x06 Stranger Searching
Mugen and Jin loses their weapons and their appetites - in an rice-eating contest, and the only way to get them back is by posing as tour guides for a mysterious European with a penchant for man love!
Directing: Akira Yoshimura · Writing: Shinji Obara
1x07 A Risky Racket
Fuu gets caught in a web of deception when she falls for prolific pickpocket with a heart of gold. But when her sticky-fingered friend slips his hands into the wrong pocket, he could be headed for a beat down.
Directing: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto · Writing: Seiko Takagi
1x08 The Art of Altercation
A cocky sword-slinger with a crush on Fuu dishes the dirt on Jin's disgraceful past. If the renegade ronin wants to restore his good name, he'll need to get his glasses out of hock and make ready for a throw down!
Directing: Keiichi Sasajima · Writing: Dai Sato
1x09 Beatbox Bandits
The crew is headed for the gallows after getting caught flashing fake travel permits, but Mugen can win back their freedom by out hustling a deranged gang of warrior priests.
Directing: Hirotaka Endo · Writing: Dai Sato
1x10 Lethal Lunacy
Mugen takes his training to the next level in preparation for a full moon death match with a killer who uses a deadly armor-piercing attack to soak the streets in the blood of his victims.
Directing: Akira Yoshimura · Writing: Touko Machida
1x11 Gamblers and Gallantry
Jin falls in love with a suicidal beauty whose husband sold her into slavery, and Mugen tries to make his fortune in the cutthroat world of beetle sumo wrestling.
Directing: Sayo Yamamoto · Writing: Seiko Takagi
1x12 The Disorder Diaries
When Mugen and Jin do the unthinkable and read Fuu's diary, they are treated to a riveting recap of all their greatest misadventures.
Directing: Hirotaka Endo
1x13 Misguided Miscreants (1)
When Mugen crosses paths with a face his past, he reluctantly signs on for a heist that could land him a fortune in stolen gold. Unfortunately for him, some old friends aren't to be trusted.
Directing: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto
1x14 Misguided Miscreants (2)
Mugen - double-crossed and headed for the bottom of the ocean - flashes back to his life before he died for the first time. Back on land, a pretty young thing convinces Jin to brandish his blades in the name of vengeance.
Directing: Shukou Murase
1x15 Bogus Booty
Mugen goes under the covers with an undercover investigator who's out to put the smack down on a murderous ring of counterfeiters. Will he finally get the booty he's after?
Directing: Kazuto Nakazawa · Writing: Kazuto Nakazawa
1x16 Lullabies of the Lost (1)
Tempers flare, harsh words are exchanged, and the gang splinters, each member marching off in a different direction. Mugen and Jin wander into some swordplay, and Fuu ends up at the bottom of a river.
Directing: Masato Miyoshi · Writing: Keiko Nobumoto
1x17 Lullabies of the Lost (2)
Jin and Fuu reunite, only to be attacked by a vengeance-driven samurai from Jin's old life. Meanwhile, Mugen takes aim at an arrow-slinging madman who's at the top of everyone's most wanted list.
Directing: Hirotaka Endo · Writing: Ryôta Sugi
1x18 War of the Words
Mugen learns his letters from a sake-guzzling maniac, Jin makes good on a promise from many years ago, and Fuu sparks a jealous showdown between two bickering graffiti artists.
Directing: Sayo Yamamoto · Writing: Dai Sato
1x19 Unholy Union
Fuu harbors a female fugitive who's on the run from a bogus, gun-slinging missionary. The new girl is trouble, no doubt about it, but she may hold the finding the samurai who smells like sunflowers.
Directing: Hirotaka Endo · Writing: Seiko Takagi
1x20 Elegy of Entrapment (1)
Mugen defends the honor of beautiful blind songstress, but when the when the trio of wanderers becomes a quartet, Fuu will be faced with an impossible decision.
Directing: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto · Writing: Shinji Obara
1x21 Elegy of Entrapment (2)
Mugen's has his own deadly run-in with the same blind beauty that sent Jin plummeting towards a gruesome end. Who is this seductive assassin, and why is she targeting the Champloo crew?
Directing: Akitoshi Yokoyama · Writing: Shinji Obara
1x22 Cosmic Collisions
Jin, Mugen, and Fuu fall into the clutches of a hoard of rotting zombie treasure hunters. Next, they get blown to oblivion by an asteroid. Or maybe they just ate some bad mushrooms.
Directing: Sayo Yamamoto · Writing: Dai Sato
1x23 Baseball Blues
Mugen's failed attempt at a dine-and-dash restaurant caper lands him in hot water with the locals. Redemption lies with leading the town's baseball team to a victory over the arrogant and unwelcome Americans.
Directing: Mitsutaka Noshitani · Writing: Shinichiro Watanabe
1x24 Evanescent Encounter (1)
As the crew draws ever nearer their final destination, Fuu makes a bold and startling decision. Elsewhere, unnamed adversaries pursue the travelling trio.
Directing: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto · Writing: Shinichiro Watanabe, Shinji Obara
1x25 Evanescent Encounter (2)
Jin enters a bloody grudge match with the man responsible for the ruin of his rep. Meanwhile, Mugen races to save Fuu from the clutches of a sadistic madman bent on bloodshed.
Directing: Kazuto Nakazawa, Kei Tsunematsu · Writing: Shinichiro Watanabe, Shinji Obara
1x26 Evanescent Encounter (3) Season Finale
Old scores are finally settled as Mugen, Jin, and Fuu finally come face to face with the ghosts of their respective pasts.
Directing: Sayo Yamamoto, Shinichiro Watanabe · Writing: Shinichiro Watanabe
Season 1 Cast
Kazuya NakaiMugen (voice)26 episodes
Ginpei SatoJin (voice)26 episodes
Eiji MaruyamaBiwa Minstrel (voice)26 episodes
Keiichi NanbaDenkibou (voice)26 episodes
Kiyoyuki YanadaMukuro (voice)26 episodes
Takayuki SugoKagetoki Kariya (voice)26 episodes
Otoya KawanoRyujiro Sasaki (voice)26 episodes
Makio InoueEnshirou Mariya (voice)26 episodes
Unsho IshizukaManzou 'The Saw' Sakami (voice)26 episodes
Isshin ChibaIchiemon Frutachi (voice)26 episodes
Shunsuke SakuyaPinwheel Merchant (voice)26 episodes
Sakiko TamagawaSara (voice)26 episodes
Mayumi YamaguchiSousuke Kawara (voice)26 episodes
SayuriOsuzu (voice)26 episodes
Norio WakamotoUohori Andou (voice)26 episodesWhere to Watch Season 1 of Samurai Champloo
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Season 1 of Samurai Champloo have?
Season 1 of Samurai Champloo has 26 episodes.
When did Season 1 of Samurai Champloo premiere?
Premiered on May 20, 2004.
Where to watch Samurai Champloo Season 1?
In Spain, on AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, and Animebox Channel Amazon Channel.
What is the best episode of Season 1?
According to the public rating on TMDB, episode 1x25, "Evanescent Encounter (2)", with a 8.4.