From Model to Super Hero: The Story of Samurai Flamenco

Samurai Flamenco is a stand alone anime that was directed by Takahiro Omori and written by Hideyuki Kurata in the Manglobe studio. Manglobe also brought us Ergo Proxy, which used to air on the Sci-fi channel (other people remember this, right?). Samurai Flamenco is fun, short, and incredibly quirky. The story starts off with the main character, Masayoshi Hazama, being found in a compromising position after trying to jump start his career as Samurai Flamenco!

Samurai Flamenco is Masayoshi’s alter ego; the super hero that Masayoshi hopes to become. The anime first starts out with a realistic Kick-Ass theme that is pretty interesting and then suddenly it gets WEIRD (and by weird I mean awesome and ridiculously hilarious). When this switch in the story occurs, the story no longer falls under a realistic anime genre, it becomes extremely surreal. So much so that, for a while I found myself wondering if this was still the same show or if the main character happened to slip into a coma and this was all just a dream. Once I accepted that yeah, this is reality, the show really started to come into its own. It makes fun of itself (and other super hero shows), without breaking the fourth wall with the viewers. It is really just an incredibly fun and humorous show.

If you liked Power Rangers and have a good sense of humor, Samurai Flamenco is something you need to watch. There are only twenty-two episodes, so it is incredibly short, but that really makes it better. It’s not ruined by being drawn out, it is just the perfect length to have a very good, completed show. I would highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys watching odd anime.

With that said, Samurai Flamenco does have its touching moments among all that weird. I found myself becoming attached to the characters, and was slightly disappointed with the ending of the anime because of this. A mild spoiler – don’t start wishing for romantic connections to happen or, like me, the ending will leave you a little unsatisfied. The anime is quirky and fun, not romantic and overly serious, and it sticks to that – which is one more reason why I like it.

Not once does this anime try to be something it’s not, or try to give the viewers anything more than what it originally offered. Unlike so many other shows, it doesn’t try to drag itself out for higher ratings or more viewers. The creators knew the proper time to end the show and they did. They also explored all of the crazy things they could do, mingling with the absurd, and almost crossing the line to absolutely unwatchable, all while staying true to the show. Basically, Samurai Flamenco is almost terrible, yet it isn’t. It ends up being supremely fun and enjoyable, meant for anyone who enjoys a good laugh.