what will u do to become the number 1??

InfoPhotos (6)Forum (5)Members (41)Pages (0)Wall (2)

afro samurai madness

Description

The TV anime series is set in a "futuristic, yet feudal Japan," and stars a samurai named Afro, so named because of his hair. The story follows Afro as he tries to avenge his father's murder.[6] In the world of Afro Samurai, it is said that the one who becomes "Number One" will rule the world, wielding powers akin to a god. Someone becomes Number One by killing the previous Number One and taking his ceremonial headband. However, the only rule in this world is that only the "Number Two" (also designated by a sacred headband) is allowed to challenge the "Number One." The downside of this is that anyone (and typically everyone) can challenge and try to kill the Number Two, to gain the right to move forward and challenge Number One, because of this, few people ever reach the mountain where "Number One" waits because the "Number Two" headband is constantly changing owners. Afro Samurai's father was the old Number One, until he was challenged by a gunman named "Justice" (who was then Number Two), who fought him in a duel to become the new Number One. At the time Justice challenged his father, Afro had only been a child (he is an adult during the events of the show). Justice severed his father's head right in front of the young Afro. Now an adult, Afro Samurai is the current Number Two and a master swordsman; he travels the road seeking revenge on Justice, the current Number One. Lengthy flashbacks interspersed throughout the story detail how Afro rose from frightened boy fleeing the death of his father, to master swordsman, and eventually to become the current "Number Two", while the story in the present deals with the adult Afro making his way to the mountain top keep of the "Number One" to duel Justice, while at the same time the mysterious cult known as the "Empty Seven Clan" sends various agents to kill Afro and take his Number Two headband

Afro Samurai

Adult Afro Voiced by: Samuel L. Jackson
Adolescent Afro Voiced by: Phil LaMarr
Child Afro Voiced by: Crystal Scales

Afro is an Afro-headed samurai and the main character of the series. In the story, when Afro was just a child, he watched his father die at the hands of Justice for the number one headband and from that day on, Afro swore vengeance on the man with Rokutaro's sword. Sometime after the death of his father, Afro was found by a Sword Master who taught him the art of kenjutsu and hand-to-hand combat, becoming a master swordsman, along with having almost superhuman strength. The Sword Master revealed himself to be the carrier of the number two headband that Afro had been searching for many years. Afro killed his mentor to gain the Number Two headband, giving him clearance to hunt down Justice, while turning his back on everyone he knew to continue his path of revenge. It should be noted that Afro's confrontation with Jinno made him become more open and vocal with his thoughts and emotions.

Jinnosuke/"Kuma"

Voiced by: Yuri Lowenthal

A swordsman who wears a cybernetic teddy bear mask, the same design as Otsuru's teddy bear from their time as children in their dojo, earning him the nickname "Kuma," which means "Bear" in Japanese. He wears black keikogi and hakama, and his geta sandals have toe straps made of metal instead of cloth. Jinnosuke possesses great skill in wielding twin blades and is an old friend of Afro from his days at the dojo. Back then Jinno thought of Afro as a brother, but when Afro killed their master for the Number Two headband, Jinno vowed vengeance against him. His remaining eye constantly weeps, and under his robotic eye there appears to be a scar in the same position, due to the injuries (physical and greatly emotional) he suffered at the Midnight Battle Under the Bodhi Tree; he tells Afro that his tears have never stopped falling since that day. Jinno was rebuilt with cybernetic body modifications by the Empty Seven to "create a samurai of extreme power." Afro defeats him by destroying his life-support system, but it seems Kuma was again able to cheat death. He returns to challenge Afro years after the death of Justice, this time his body completely modified, appearing more android than human and virtually mummified in the other headbands from Justice's lair. At their second meeting, Jinno has also regained his teddy bear mask which smokes a cigarette. His Number Two covers the missing right eye; a mirror image of when Afro was recovering in the Sword Master's Dojo. Jinno appears in Afro Samurai - Resurrection with a motorcycle and works with Sio on her revenge plan. It is revealed that Sio is actually his blood sister who lived with foster parents when she was a child. Jinno was rebuilt several times due to the defeats from Afro, meaning that Jinno lost the fight at the end of season one. Because of the damages to his body, he is mute for most of the movie and is unable to communicate with his sister. Near the end of Resurrection, when Afro is near death, Jinno remembers his bonds of brotherhood with Afro and attempts to stop Rokutaro from killing Afro. However, he is killed along with Sio, and both die in each other's arms. Somehow, the electricity from Jinno's robotic body resuscitates Afro allowing him to continue the fight with Rokutaro's clone, eventually winning. With Dharman dead as well, Jinno will most likely remain dead; however, by coming to terms with his hatred for Afro and reuniting with his sister, Jinno may have been able to find peace at last from his suffering.

Ninja Ninja

Voiced by: Samuel L. Jackson

Perhaps the most mysterious character within the story, Ninja Ninja is Afro's companion, or as he calls his "road dog", throughout the majority of both season one and through the events of Afro Samurai Resurrection. Obnoxious, horny, loud, foul-mouthed, and cowardly, Ninja Ninja represents Afro's antithesis. Ninja Ninja normally goes into drawn out rants or complains to Afro until either they encounter an obstacle, Afro simply walks off, or, and usually when Ninja Ninja has reached a height of irritation, Afro will simply say "shut up." Ninja Ninja usually slouches when he walks and at many times can be found climbing up trees or onto the tops of buildings. It is revealed in the special features of the first season DVD that the characteristic traits of his constant commentary of Afro's journey as well as his inclination to be found in high places were inspired by the Cheshire Cat. During episode five, Ninja Ninja sacrifices himself to save Afro from Kuma's strike; the sacrifice and Ninja Ninja's death monologue propel Afro to finish his fight with Kuma and continue on to face Justice. It's revealed in the fifth episode of the first season that Ninja Ninja is in fact imaginary, which would explain why most characters never address him and his seemingly invulnerability to any attack. Justice acknowledges this when Afro finally reaches him by congratulating him on finally "shedding his imaginary friend." This realization brings up the idea that Ninja Ninja is Afro's outlet for his restricted conscious, emoting how Afro truly feels about a situation. However, at the same time, it appears that he also has some presence in the 'real world' as well. Evidence to suggest that Ninja Ninja has at least a partial existence in the first season includes him being seen through Brother 2's point of view from his binoculars, moving a hanging pillar in Okiku's home, eating food intended for Afro (Director's Cut), placing Okiku's comb in Afro's hair, and throwing the Afro Droid's computer chip at Afro to cut in half. Perhaps, Afro himself was performing these actions and Ninja Ninja was the medium through which he justified the uncharacteristic acts. During the events of Afro Samurai Resurrection, Ninja Ninja finds his way back into the 'real world' and reunites with Afro, even though he appeared to die in season one. It may be assumed that he takes form whenever Afro has a deep emotional conflict, for example: after his family is killed and later when his father’s remains are disturbed to be tortured. During the events of Afro Samurai Resurrection, the assassin Bin is the first person to actually interact with Ninja Ninja besides Afro. Bin fires a dart which hits Ninja Ninja, prompting him to worry about whether or not the dart will cause him to 'die again.' At the end of the movie, Ninja Ninja agrees with Afro's intention of maintaining the death cycle caused by the headbands.

Otsuru/"Okiku"

Okiku Voiced by: Kelly Hu
Otsuru Voiced by: Tara Strong

A young woman who specializes in the art of healing, Otsuru is an excellent cook and adores fireworks. She is the one who discovered Afro in the shrine after he lost the Number Two headband as a boy, and took him to Sword Master's dojo where he befriended Jinno. When she is introduced as "Okiku," she has once again found Afro in a near-death state (having been blown off a cliff by an RPG fired by Brother 6 and badly poisoned by an arrow in a fight with Soshun); she bandages him and takes him to her home to heal. She and Jinno survived the attack that was meant to claim the Number Two headband from Sword Master, and they were both saved by the Empty Seven Clan. Apparently, some time after the events at Sword Master's dojo, she became an agent working for Brother 1 of the Empty Seven Clan. She possesses the unique ability to siphon memories from people as they dream and did this to copy down Afro's sword style to be used to complete the Afro Droid. She was also supposed to kill him should the opportunity ever present itself, but she finds herself unable to after having sex with him. She remarks that she still thinks of him as the same innocent boy she knew so long ago, revealing to him that she is actually Otsuru. Brother 2 of the Empty Seven then kills her for failing to carry out her mission and betraying the Empty Seven. Otsuru apparently had a strong emotional effect on Afro as seen when in Episode five Afro calls out her name twice in his grief over the friends that he has lost.

Justice

Voiced by: Ron Perlman

The holder of the Number One headband for most of season one, Justice is the man who killed Afro's father before his eyes many years ago and to some extent convince him to challenge him when he was old enough. He is a remarkably skilled gunman, dressing in a cowboy garb with the Number One headband tied around his wide-brimmed hat. He has discolored, diseased-looking skin, which his bio on the official site implies is the result of a past accident (undecided, but assumed by the publishers to have been submerged in toxic waste) which would explain his abnormal abilities. Justice has the ability to regenerate himself after being exposed to blood, as seen just before his final fight with Afro when the injured hero's blood flows to Justice's feet and his withered body begins to reshape into the young version that fought Afro's father. He also has a third arm hidden on his back that holds a sword for catching opponents off guard (in an earlier version of the official website, Justice was described as "The Gunman with Three Arms"), which explains how he decapitated Afro's father. His origins are unknown, but he claims that destiny designed him to attain all the headbands and thus gain enough power to rule the world as a god and bring an end to all the violence and killing via force. Justice's hidden third arm is what decapitated Afro's father, he tries to use this move on Afro during their fight but just before the final blow Afro has a flashback of his father's fight and see's the third arm decapitate his father. Justice was able to survive being nearly decapitated (an ironic reversal of the scene with Afro's father), and seemed able to control the Number One's throne room to some extent, but Afro manages to defeat him by slicing his body into many smaller pieces. Justice returns several times in Season 2; first in Afro's dreams, seen nailed to a cross alongside Afro's father, then as a broken statue pointed out to Afro by Ninja Ninja and then once more in a non-speaking role, fully healed and meeting a mysterious masked man during a solar eclipse. This small cameo has led many to believe Justice will be utilized again in a future plot. During interviews in the DVD release, it is stated that Justice and Afro's father were in fact part of the same clan of swordsmen and indeed best friends; however, their differing views on the headbands and how to end the violence plaguing the world eventually drove them apart, leading to the final confrontation between the two in a semi-same way with Afro and Jinnosuke.