Well, Samuel L. Jackson just got his own anime.

The Core The Anime Forum
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Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Samuel L. Jackson Gets Animated for Spike TV with ‘AFRO SAMURAI’
Released by Spike TV

Samuel L. Jackson Gets Animated for Spike TV with ‘AFRO SAMURAI’

NEW YORK, May 3 – Acclaimed actor and producer Samuel L. Jackson is set to voice and produce the highly anticipated animated action-adventure AFRO SAMURAI for Spike TV, with Japanese anime studio Gonzo and Japan’s largest TV network, Fuji Television. The five episode series will premiere on Spike TV in 2006.

AFRO SAMURAI is the tale of a black samurai futuristic, yet feudal Japan who is on a mission to avenge the wrongful death of his father. Samuel L. Jackson stars as “Afro,” a warrior who travels a solitary path encountering a myriad of enemies, friends and challenges beyond imagination. The series, produced in Japanese animation, blends samurai style with hip-hop, creating a kind of action that American audiences have never seen before.

“With Samuel L. Jackson involved with this project combined with the talents of Gonzo, the leader in producing cutting-edge Japanese animation, and featuring a funky, hip-hop soundtrack – this project was irresistible for us,” says Kevin Kay, Executive Vice President of Development and Production for Spike TV. “Afro Samurai is already generating a great buzz for its animation and captivating storyline.”

AFRO SAMURAI is a creative collaboration between Samuel L. Jackson, Takashi Okazaki and Japanese animation company Gonzo, a division of GDH, who is also acting as Series Producer. The concept of AFRO SAMURAI was created by graphic designer, illustrator and artist Takashi “Bob” Okazaki who has worked on the illustration versions of “Spiderman” for Sony and “Blade: Trinity” for New Line Cinema.

Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 87 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), owns and operates the following television programming services – MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, mtvU, VHI, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, MTV INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 12 digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

SOURCE Spike TV
Web Site: http://www.spiketv.com

Heh, Gonzo is making it. It can’t be too bad. It’ll probably be Samurai Champloo with Samuel L. Jackson.

EDIT: Shit, this should go in the anime forum.

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Sounds cool. Though the fact that it’s being developed for Spike TV raises a few red flags.

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I’m ALREADY animated, foo’!

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they say this cat Afro Samurai is a bad mother

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I can dig it, Turkey.

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And I can bast it, now all we need is someone to shove something up it’s ass and we’ll be half-way to finishing Thanksgiving dinner!

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stupid

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Eh, I don’t know if I’ll like it or not… only way to find out is to watch it. Gashsplurnit…

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Yet another wannabe asian series.

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Quite right you are, but the fact that Jackson is voicing and kind of producing this
might give this a little hope. A lot of people thought that Samurai Jack back in the day wasn’t gonna make it, but now they sell DVDs. I’d say give it a chance, then determine if it’s good or shitty. If it does turn out to be like an American Samurai Champloo…then there’s a good chance it’ll kick ass as long as it sticks to that style.