History Anime / AfroSamurai

-->''Nothing personal, it's just revenge.''

Set in a SchizoTech version of something that may or may not be feudal Japan, the story revolves around the titular character's (played by SamuelLJackson) quest to defeat the strongest warrior in the world. The idea goes that whoever wears the "Number One Headband" is the unquestioned biggest BadAss on Earth, but he or she can [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou only be challenged by]] the person with the Number ''Two'' band -- which is, at the moment, Afro. Making Afro's life a lot more complicated is the fact that ''any'' regular schlub can challenge for the Number Two and with it, the right to try for the big prize.

* ColorCodedCharacters - Afro wears a white shirt, while the [=AfroDroid=] wears black. All of the silver accents on Afro's clothes are gold accents on the [=AfroDroid=] equivalents. As well, Afro's sword and scabbard are red; the Droid's are gold.

* VictoriousChildhoodFriend - Otsuru to Afro, [[DisposableWoman sort]] [[DeathBySex of]].

* DesignatedVillain: Justice. Both stated by WordOfGod and lampshaded by Justice himself during his HannibalLecture in the Video Game.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience - Afro wears a white shirt, while the [=AfroDroid=] wears black. All of the silver accents on Afro's clothes are gold accents on the [=AfroDroid=] equivalents. As well, Afro's sword and scabbard are red; the Droid's are gold.

* HeyItsThatVoice - Other than [[SamuelLJackson the obvious]], Justice is voiced by RonPerlman, Jinno is YuriLowenthal, Sio is Creator/LucyLiu, and Okiku is KellyHu.
** Also, One of Sio's QuirkyMinibossSquad is MarkHamill.
** Shichogoro is voiced by Liam O'Brien, the man who does [[{{Naruto}} Gaara]] (English) and the StarCraft2 Ghost unit.
** Tomoe is GreyDelisle.

Set in a SchizoTech version of something that may or may not be feudal Japan, the story revolves around the titular character's (played by SamuelLJackson) quest to defeat the strongest warrior in the world. The idea goes that whoever wears the "Number One Headband" is the unquestioned biggest BadAss on Earth, but he (or she) can [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou only be challenged by]] the person with the Number ''Two'' band -- which is, at the moment, Afro. Making Afro's life a lot more complicated is the fact that ''any'' regular schlub can challenge for the Number Two (and with it, the right to try for the big prize).

* AntiHero - At his BEST he can classified as very loose [[SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes Type V]]. Revenge is pretty much all that on Afro's mind. Especially evident in the manga verison of the series in which a story features Afro using two innocent bystanders (a boy and his handicapped sister later on) as shields to avoid attacks, showing no remorse in causing their deaths. That he killed his master to reclaim the No. 2 further establishes him as one.

* AttackOfTheTownFestival: In ''Afro Samurai: Resurrecton'', Afro battles the new Number Two during the town festival. At the same time, the BigBad sends a bunch of assassins to ambush him. [[KillEmAll Everyone but Afro, the DJ, and the Number Two dies.]] [[spoiler: Then Afro kills the other two.]]

->'''Justice''' (To Young Afro): "It's unfortunate you had to see this, boy. This moment'll always haunt you. You will be consumed by hatred for me. Challenge me...when you're ready to duel a god! * cue EvilLaugh* , YEE-HAW!!"

* DeterminedExpression: the young protagonist takes this expression very shortly after seeing his parents killed. This is the moment he is truly destined to become a badass.

* {{Doujinshi}} - The series started off as one of these

* EvilGenius - Dharman
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: We never find out if "Afro" is his real name or simply what everyone calls him because of his hair. Ninja Ninja lampshades it by saying "Who names their kid Afro Samurai anyway?", but a boss video games state's the name is "what they are calling him now", saying it's "Uninspired, but accurate."

* GreyAndGrayMorality: So many people are motivated by revenge (especially in ''Resurrection'') that no on'es actions could be considered pure good or pure evil. Even ''Justice'' had a good reason for killing Afro's father to take the Number One-- He wanted to use the headbands' ultimate power for ultimate peace.
* GreekChorus - [=Ninja Ninja=] to Afro

** In addition, [[spoiler: While serving the tea, he simply says "Headband, please," [[GratuitousJapanese in Japanese]], rather than fight him. During the game, he appears in one scene, kisses his hand, thumps his chest, and gives Afro the peace sign while walking out.]]

** Tomoe is GreyDelisle

* KatanasAreJustBetter: yes, kids, they can deflect bullets, cut rockets in half, crush rocks and, should the need arise, split laser beams!

* LargeHam: bordering the [[WorldOfHam World of Ham]] (with the remarkable exception of Afro himself, who is the only one sticking to the honest-to-God silent asskicking), but Brother 1 is just...a ham to behold.

* {{Sidekick}}- [=Ninja Ninja=] to Afro

* TheStoic - Afro, in contrast to [=Ninja Ninja=]
* TalkingToHimself - Afro and [=Ninja Ninja=] are both played by Samuel L. Jackson. [[spoiler: And [=Ninja Ninja=] is Afro's imaginary buddy.]] Interestingly, [[spoiler: while Jackson spoke with two separate voices for the two, during Ninja Ninja's dying scene in the first series,]] he reveals [[spoiler: Ninja Ninja's imaginary nature]] by slowly changing [[spoiler: his voice to sound more like Afro's.]]
** Furthermore, [=Ninja Ninja=] [[spoiler: introduces himself whenever Afro feels truly alone and with doubt (first time being after the fight with his master and him deciding whether or not to continue on with his revenge). However, he repeatedly interacts with the environment and has been noticed before.]]

** In ''Resurrection'', [[spoiler: Afro does this to both Kotaro's adoptive AND real]] fathers.

* EvilGloating - Lampshaded

* MySensorsIndicateYouWantToTapThat - [=Ninja Ninja=] pulls this on Afro in regards to Okiku. In frustration, Afro swings at a laughing [=Ninja Ninja=]. Afro and Okiku eventually ''do'' have sex, but things go downhill from there.

* [[SheIsAllGrownUp She's All Grown Up]] - Otsuru/"Okiku"

-->[[spoiler:'''Justice''']]: The world is lost. [[CrapsackWorld All this chaos, and pain...]] it's time for someone to take control. It's time for a man to use [[AGodAmI absolute power]] for the [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans cause of ultimate peace.]] It's time to rid the world of conflict, and all men and women, young and old, to live in tranquility. [[AGodAmI It is time for Man to become God,]] [[GodIsInept where God has failed.]]

EvilIsSexy - Sio is acknowledged as such in-universe. Ninja Ninja actually describes her as a "crazy, sexy, bitch"

* AFriendInNeed-Twice. Once when Afro cuts down a kidnapper on a bridge (though, the guy pointed a gun at him first,) later when [[spoiler: Jinno]] protects [[spoiler: his "[[TrueCompanions brother]]," Afro]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard - [[spoiler:Afro's Resurrected father ends up killing Afro, then Jinno, and finally, Sio herself.]]

* OffingTheOffspring - Afro

* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind - Two- the first, with Ninja Ninja prior to[[spoiler: his SplitPersonalityMerge, the second with Justice]]
* BladeBelowTheShoulder- The Android Ninja enemies have these

* LemonyNarrator - Ninja Ninja. ''"You think I should be watchin' his ''back!? '''''[[PrecisionFStrike FUCK]]''''' you!! I've ''been'' watchin' I've seen '''''ev-'''''rything!"

* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler: Justice, after his arms are sliced off]]

* WalkItOff - Afro heals by killing people. (In Number One Headband, though, he has to pick up Otsuru's bears in order to get his health back - making it much more difficult. It's still possible to heal by killing enemies, but only if you can pull off a perfect decapitation).

* OneWingedAngel - [[Justice, after his arms are sliced off]]

* HeyItsThatVoice - Other than [[SamuelLJackson the obvious]], Justice is voiced by RonPerlman, Jinno is YuriLowenthal, Sio is LucyLiu, and Okiku is KellyHu.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: So many people are motivated by revenge (Especially in ''Resurrection'') that no ones actions could be considered pure good or pure evil. Even ''Justice'' had a good reason for killing Afro's father to take the Number One-- He wanted to use the headbands' ultimate power for ultimate peace.

** In addition, [[spoiler: While serving the tea, he simply says "Headband, please." [[GratuitousJapanese in Japanese.]], rather than fight him. During the game, he appears in one scene, kisses his hand, thumps his chest, and gives Afro the peace sign while walking out.]]

** Shichogoro is voiced by Liam O'Brien, the man who does [[{{Naruto}} Gaara]] (english) and the StarCraft2 Ghost unit.

* HighlyVisibleNinja - Ninja Ninja is loud-mouthed and ridiculously visible (although he's somewhat stealthy in the second episode of Season One, hiding in the rafters of a house), especially considering that he's hanging out with a samurai who kills everyone he meets. [[spoiler:But then, he's a hallucination anyways.]] The manga version hints that he may be something more, as there is a similar character who only Ninja Ninja can see or be seen by.

** Furthermore, [=Ninja Ninja=] [[spoiler: introduces himself whenever Afro feels truly alone and with doubt(First time being after the fight with his master and him deciding to wither or not to continue on with his revenge). However, he repeatedly interacts with the environment and has been noticed before]]

* TrueCompanions - Young Afro has these at the dojo, [[spoiler: Until nearly all of them are killed at the battle under the Bodhi tree.]] In Resurrection, Sio's vassals function as a set.

* EvilKnockoff - The Afro-Droid, which took it's fighting style from Afro's memories, was 20% stronger, and had a laser cannon.

* MeaningfulName - Kuma means bear in Japanese and refers to a type of African ceremonial mask representing symbols of great wisdom and danger. So, it only makes sense that the guardian of the current Number One's throne room [[spoiler:read: Jino]] wears a giant teddy bear mask [[spoiler:that doubles as a life support system]].

-->'''Justice''' (To Young Afro): "It's unfortunate you had to see this, boy. This moment'll always haunt you. You will be consumed by hatred for me. Challenge me...when you're ready to duel a god! * cue EvilLaugh* , YEE-HAW!!"

* EvilIsSexy - Sio

* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind- Two- the first, with Ninja Ninja prior to[[spoiler: his SplitPersonalityMerge, the second with Justice]]

--"My desire was to become a god. In the pursuit of revenge, you made me yours. Searching for me. Obsessing over me. Killing for me.[...]Each life you took was a tribute to me. Your actions gave me substance, let me live. You've been doing my good work."

* LemonyNarrator: Ninja Ninja. ''"You think I should be watchin' his ''back!? '''''[[PrecisionFStrike FUCK]]''''' you!! I've ''been'' watchin' I've seen '''''ev-'''''rything!"

* LargeHam: bordering the [[WorldOfHam World of Ham]] (with the remarkable exception of Afro himself, who is the only one sticking to the honest-to-God silent asskicking), but Brother 1 (yeah, that's his name) is just...a ham to behold.

* LemonyNarrator: Ninja Ninja. ''"You think I should be watchin' his ''back!? '''''[[PrecisionFStrike FUCK]]''''' you!! I've been watchin' I've seen '''''ev-'''''rything!"

* [[SamuelLJackson Samuel L. Jackson]] - Afro and Ninja Ninja.
** He obtained the role by request after he became aware of the project. The exchange went something like: Jackson: "You know I'm going to be the Afro Samurai, right?" Gonzo: "Hahaha... yeah."

** Actually lead bullets are quite soft, compared to a steel katana. There's a video on youtube of a bullet being shot at a katana. The bullet splits in two, the katana is just dented. Now actually slicing bullets that someone is shooting at you? Rather difficult.

** He obtained the role by request after he became aware of the project. The exchange went something like: Jackson:"You know I'm going to be the Afro Samurai, right?" Gonzo: "Hahaha... yeah."

** He obtained the role by request after he became aware of the project. The exchange went something like: {{=SLJ=}}:"You know I'm going to be the Afro Samurai, right?" Gonzo: "Hahaha... yeah."

* [[SamuelLJackson Samuel L. Jackson]] - Afro and Ninja Ninja

* OffWithHisHead - Afro's father, and eventually, [[spoiler: Justice, who did the honors for Afro's father.]] [[IGotBetter Eventually, they both get better.]]

** Furthermore, [=Ninja Ninja=] [[spoiler: introduces himself whenever Afro feels truly alone and with doubt. However, he repeatedly interacts with the environment and has been noticed before]]

* AttackOfTheTownFestival: In ''[[AfroSamurai Afro Samurai: Resurrecton]]'', Afro battles the new Number Two during the town festival. At the same time, the BigBad sends a bunch of assassins to ambush him. [[KillEmAll Everyone but Afro, the DJ, and the Number Two dies.]] [[spoiler: Then Afro kills the other two.]]

The show is set in a SchizoTech version of something that may or may not be feudal Japan, and revolves around the titular character's (played by SamuelLJackson) quest to defeat the strongest warrior in the world. The idea goes that whoever wears the "Number One Headband" is the unquestioned biggest BadAss on Earth, but he (or she) can [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou only be challenged by]] the person with the Number ''Two'' band -- which is, at the moment, Afro. Making Afro's life a lot more complicated is the fact that ''any'' regular schlub can challenge for the Number Two (and with it, the right to try for the big prize).