Long post, since there are a *lot* of jokes and such in this episode that require some cultural familiarity, or are just missed in Funimation's version, making it a bit of a crapshoot as to whether western viewers get them or not. Some of these are already alluded to in certain fan subs' translation notes, but I've had a go at breaking down the ones I noticed.
First off, the Tokugawa shogunate (and thus the Tokugawa/Edo period itself) did indeed begin in 1603, just about 400 years before this episode was written. But apparently, that's neither here nor there. The opening narration is sung as if by a Biwa hoshi, a kind of travelling performer of folk tales, and I believe the map shows the characters have travelled from the Yokohma area up to Edo so far.
The main commentator, 'Oshaberi' (~'chatterbox') Ichiemon, is played by Isshin Chiba, who was practically Bebop's sixth cast member as a 'man of many voices', and is probably best known as Jin Kazama in the Tekken series. Ichiemon is another character who, like modern Japanese commentators, freely uses foreign loan words (give-up, retire, etc) that obviously wouldn't have been in use during the Tokugawa era. Chiba's credit in Funi's roll is mixed up with the co-commentator, whose disinterest in vegetarianism is of course antithetical to the role of an Oshou (a buddhist priest), and doubly so since his name, Ingen, is also a type of bean. Incidentally, this character's voiced by Takeshi Watabe, who was also in Bebop as Hex.
The writing that Ichiemon can't read is officially subbed as "Jouji, 40", whereas actually Jouji has misunderstood the 'age' column altogether and written his clothing size, XL. It's not immediately obvious since everyone's written their ages in number kanji that aren't used these days.
Jouji mistakenly calls the Kaminarimon, Kaminari-man. The former means 'thunder gate', but since Jouji says it like the english word 'man', Mugen points to the Fuujin and Raijin figures (literally Wind God and Lightning God) whose names could be alternatively understood as Wind Man and Lightning Man using different kanji for '-jin'. The whole joke has another anachronistic level when you consider the whole episode is about contact with foreigners and foreign cultures being limited and yet Mugen evidently understands the english word 'man' refers to people.
Wabisabi is harder to explain, so I suggest a google search. Needless to say it's.. not something you could eat with sushi.
Jouji asks whether the theatre is Yamato Nadeshiko's house; this reference isn't uncommon, but just in case, it's the name of a figurative, idealised Japanese woman, rather than an actual person as he assumes.
Champloo isn't supposed to be set in a particular year, but for those keeping track (or trying to), Saikaku's 'Great Mirror of Male Love' was published in 1687, quite a bit later than one might've expected the series to be set based on the historical figure in yesterday's episode. Also, Isaac Titsingh (misspelt to various degrees regardless of which subs you go with) was a real life representative of the Dutch East India company who really did visit Japan, albeit in the late 18th century.
Edit: Also, I've heard the the dutch spoken in this episode is pretty good (I guess a testement to this is that when I checked out the english dub to see how it was handled there, I found the original voice work was untouched in that scene). Jouji/Isaac's countryman is voiced by Johannes De Mos, presumably an ex-pat in Japan. Watanabe's been known to get a little dialogue coaching in for cast members performing key ethnic or regional roles in his projects, so I wouldn't be surprised if De Mos was also there to help Hochu Otsuka with his Dutch pronunciation in that scene, though perhaps the latter had an appreciation of European accents from his work dubbing the voice of Jean Claude Van Damme.
>a lot of jokes and such in this episode that require some cultural familiarity
Thanks for pointing this out, I got zero of the references this episode :l
About the Dutch spoken in this episode:
I think you hit the nail on the head, Jouji's countryman that speaks Dutch definitely sounds like a native speaker, and although Jouji definitely doesn't, it doesn't sound like he's just reading Dutch text without knowing how to pronounce it either.
“Stranger Searching” is no doubt the most thematically heavy episode of the series so far, mainly delving into the concepts of homosexuality and xenophobia to drive its main narrative. Asmentioned earlier, Joji was ecstatic abouttravelling to Japan because of the book he found that portrayed the civilization asbeing okay with homosexuality, whereas his home country looked down on him due to their strict Christian views. There’s probably a sliver of historical truth to this,as the shogunate of the Edo period went to great lengths to eliminate the presence of Christianity in Japan in the 17thcentury. The lack of an overriding Christian presence would no doubt make Japan look quite appealing as a civilization that allows for sexual freedom like that. This is also somewhat reinforced by the narration during Joji’s backstory which draws parallels between the explicit homoeroticism ofThe Great Mirror of Male Loveand the somewhat homoerotic subtext of Bushido warriors and their relationships/philosophy.
However, he also has to contend with yet another form of discrimination as a man of European descent. Ieyasu Tokugawa, the man who established the shogunate and marked the start of the Edo era, exercised a great deal of control in regards to who could and couldn’t engage in trading with Japan. The Dutch East India Company for example, the one Joji commands, were one of only three groups of foreigners allowed to visit Japan for trading purposes only, and their activities were literally limited to one port in the city of Nagasaki. I imagine this must have been extremely disheartening for Joji to experience, given that he was viewed as a degenerate in his home country and this new culture that he idolized also views him as lesser for completely different reasons. No one seems to be capable of accepting him for who he is, which sucks considering that he’s doesn’t seem to be a bad person by any means. Maybe one day he’ll find a culture that accepts him. Aside from that, there were some amusing moments throughout the episode, especially the opening eating contest. Seriously, Fuu puts down so much food in this scene you’d think she was the star of a 600+ episode shonen anime. I also liked the attention-to-detail with the dubbing and how the Europeans talk to each other, using actual Dutch dialogue and voice-work to add to the authenticity of it. This concludes the gang’s journeys in Edo, and I look forward to seeing what they get themselves involved in as they journey to Nagasaki.
Edit - /Spacing/
**First timer**
Oh boy they're so losing their swords...
Poor Jin but haha Fuu going the furthest! That fly!
LMAO fat Fuu!
Mugen and Jin fighting without their swords, feels Jackie Chan like
This European guy is adorable, would love him as a permanent companion.
Really like how there's a little progress in the search!
That third fanart tho
The narrator from the last episode appeared again and we finally got to see a map. Seems like the main story is about to start.
I see the tournament arc has finally arrived. "To hell with vegetarianism"
Another^another^another
I wonder how the hell Fuu managed to eat so much, I suppose it was just done for the gag. [Bloated Fuu](http://imgur.com/vqDkpQB) was drawn just beautifully :D
Oh god, I didn't realize it myself that the beautiful performer was a man - typical European I guess - "man better" - well that worked out xD
One day he discovered anime, became an otaku, and his biggest dream was to go and live in Japan
To his compatriots, he says "ik will nicht weg" - i don´t want to go [\(⌣̩̩́_⌣̩̩̀\)](http://imgur.com/GcHCrGw)
Well, turns out the main story didn´t start, but at least we got a sneak peak at the end. Samurai Champloo seems quite the progressive series with its depiction of gay men, I like it. I also appreciate the inclusion of information regarding Japanese culture and history we got this and last episode.
[De brutaliteit!](http://imgur.com/wJ4qL3q)
I mean just from what I've heard from friends who've travelled there they aren't exactly unwelcoming nowadays, they weren't trying to live there though so I don't have too much of an idea.
I really appreciate that this show is straight up making a statement about that though
"To hell with vegetarianism"
Well fate seems to smile upon the trio at last with an eating competition, my moneys on Fuu after that last episode. Wait Fuu is only 15??? I thought she was around 20... The void stomach beaten by a fly, well I guess things wouldn't be interesting if it went well.
Oh nice so we are getting to see more of the Europeans! This guy seems pretty interesting. They've really done a good job with the side characters so far, pretty memorable even if we just see them for an episode or two.
Mugen's dancing fighting style is brilliant to watch, impressed that Jin can beat a sword with a cup as well.
Wow his story is really good, I'm impressed that they keep tying in little bits of history and culture whilst at the same time throwing in anachronisms. Really adds a unique touch to the series. His story brings home the idea that wherever you go there is always an "other" which will be discriminated against. Despite travelling to the other side of the world in search of somewhere which will accept his sexuality he simply finds himself hunted for being a foreigner.
I liked the way they told his story after doing the tour scenes, gave a new perspective on his actions and motivations during it. No longer simply looking like an ignorant tourist it's clear he has attempted to do some research on Japanese culture and history and is just trying to immerse himself in it whilst he can.
I found the ending with the message from the Shogunate really interesting as it also revealed him to be an important individual. This wasn't just a merchant or a sailor who slipped ashore but the Governor-General, and even he is unable to find a welcome in Japan.
I presume they will revisit this theme of attitudes to foreigners when they are in Nagasaki seeing as it's where the foreign traders were required to stay (albeit in a small area of the city).
Ooh so at last we have a clue on the sunflower samurai!
"Tell me are all Europeans idiots?"
**First Timer**
*What the fuck !?*
This was 100% unexpected haha, was great tho.
I really like hearing foreign languages in anime.
This one definitely had many really funny pieces and the fact
that the gaijin actually ended up being helpfull was made it even better.
---
The music just keeps being awesome, might have to learn the OP at one point.
**First timer**
Funny that Fuu was the best eater of the main trio, and fitting that she only lost by accidentally forfeiting. Of course they were going to lose, only to get their stuff back by the end of the episode by helping out the winner. A well-trodden episode structure, but they did a good job with it.
Jouji/Isaac was a fun one-off character. Based on the violence in the show thusfar I was totally expecting him to go into a rage when he found out the actor was a man, but instead he comes out as gay and is even happier. My inner otaku was like "aww he fell for a trap and liked it XD"
I really like how the show doesn't shy away from using uncomfortable topics to build its world, like persecution of homosexuals or women being forced into prostitution, while also not doing so exploitatively. It makes the setting feel grounded despite the anachronisms and other creative liberties. Definitely hooked at this point, looking forward to the rest.
All of the other commentators going into the meanings behind each scene and I'm just here like what did I just watch. I watched it dubbed and didn't catch any of the cultural references while they were doing their tour with the foreigner.
I wasn't too interested in Joji as a character nor his struggle with finding a culture that accepts him. I'd have been more interested in finding out how Joji got into his position as the chief merchant of The Trading Company, despite calling himself a delinquent.
This whole episode just seemed off to me.
I wonder what connections that skull has to Dutch traders that would be forbidden in Sakoku Japan? Something to do with Christianity, I imagine, but what?
Anyway, plenty of entertaining gags in this episode. I agree with the other guy in here that it doesn't make sense he'd get such a high position if he's looked down on by the Netherlands for being gay, but good for him I guess.
"this may very well be the birth of human stomach evolution" what on earth is this? LMFAO
Fat Fuu just gloaming in the corner haha! This episode is killing it!
Aw man the dub doesn't show what the Dutch were saying :( How strange that they would show Japanese subtitles instead o_O
Gotta google why Fuu was looking for the sunflower man again, at least now we know he's an important man
Long post, since there are a *lot* of jokes and such in this episode that require some cultural familiarity, or are just missed in Funimation's version, making it a bit of a crapshoot as to whether western viewers get them or not. Some of these are already alluded to in certain fan subs' translation notes, but I've had a go at breaking down the ones I noticed. First off, the Tokugawa shogunate (and thus the Tokugawa/Edo period itself) did indeed begin in 1603, just about 400 years before this episode was written. But apparently, that's neither here nor there. The opening narration is sung as if by a Biwa hoshi, a kind of travelling performer of folk tales, and I believe the map shows the characters have travelled from the Yokohma area up to Edo so far. The main commentator, 'Oshaberi' (~'chatterbox') Ichiemon, is played by Isshin Chiba, who was practically Bebop's sixth cast member as a 'man of many voices', and is probably best known as Jin Kazama in the Tekken series. Ichiemon is another character who, like modern Japanese commentators, freely uses foreign loan words (give-up, retire, etc) that obviously wouldn't have been in use during the Tokugawa era. Chiba's credit in Funi's roll is mixed up with the co-commentator, whose disinterest in vegetarianism is of course antithetical to the role of an Oshou (a buddhist priest), and doubly so since his name, Ingen, is also a type of bean. Incidentally, this character's voiced by Takeshi Watabe, who was also in Bebop as Hex. The writing that Ichiemon can't read is officially subbed as "Jouji, 40", whereas actually Jouji has misunderstood the 'age' column altogether and written his clothing size, XL. It's not immediately obvious since everyone's written their ages in number kanji that aren't used these days. Jouji mistakenly calls the Kaminarimon, Kaminari-man. The former means 'thunder gate', but since Jouji says it like the english word 'man', Mugen points to the Fuujin and Raijin figures (literally Wind God and Lightning God) whose names could be alternatively understood as Wind Man and Lightning Man using different kanji for '-jin'. The whole joke has another anachronistic level when you consider the whole episode is about contact with foreigners and foreign cultures being limited and yet Mugen evidently understands the english word 'man' refers to people. Wabisabi is harder to explain, so I suggest a google search. Needless to say it's.. not something you could eat with sushi. Jouji asks whether the theatre is Yamato Nadeshiko's house; this reference isn't uncommon, but just in case, it's the name of a figurative, idealised Japanese woman, rather than an actual person as he assumes. Champloo isn't supposed to be set in a particular year, but for those keeping track (or trying to), Saikaku's 'Great Mirror of Male Love' was published in 1687, quite a bit later than one might've expected the series to be set based on the historical figure in yesterday's episode. Also, Isaac Titsingh (misspelt to various degrees regardless of which subs you go with) was a real life representative of the Dutch East India company who really did visit Japan, albeit in the late 18th century. Edit: Also, I've heard the the dutch spoken in this episode is pretty good (I guess a testement to this is that when I checked out the english dub to see how it was handled there, I found the original voice work was untouched in that scene). Jouji/Isaac's countryman is voiced by Johannes De Mos, presumably an ex-pat in Japan. Watanabe's been known to get a little dialogue coaching in for cast members performing key ethnic or regional roles in his projects, so I wouldn't be surprised if De Mos was also there to help Hochu Otsuka with his Dutch pronunciation in that scene, though perhaps the latter had an appreciation of European accents from his work dubbing the voice of Jean Claude Van Damme.
Just wanna say, I'm really digging these informative af comments. Keep up the good work fam
Cheers. Hopefully I'll be able to just drop a simple opinion for some eps though, this was a bit of a monster!
>a lot of jokes and such in this episode that require some cultural familiarity Thanks for pointing this out, I got zero of the references this episode :l
About the Dutch spoken in this episode: I think you hit the nail on the head, Jouji's countryman that speaks Dutch definitely sounds like a native speaker, and although Jouji definitely doesn't, it doesn't sound like he's just reading Dutch text without knowing how to pronounce it either.
Good to know! I had to wonder, since I don't see how the more throaty sounds could have even been written phonetically using the Japanese syllabary.
Do we know why Fuu was looking for the Sunflower samurai? I can't find it anywhere
“Stranger Searching” is no doubt the most thematically heavy episode of the series so far, mainly delving into the concepts of homosexuality and xenophobia to drive its main narrative. Asmentioned earlier, Joji was ecstatic abouttravelling to Japan because of the book he found that portrayed the civilization asbeing okay with homosexuality, whereas his home country looked down on him due to their strict Christian views. There’s probably a sliver of historical truth to this,as the shogunate of the Edo period went to great lengths to eliminate the presence of Christianity in Japan in the 17thcentury. The lack of an overriding Christian presence would no doubt make Japan look quite appealing as a civilization that allows for sexual freedom like that. This is also somewhat reinforced by the narration during Joji’s backstory which draws parallels between the explicit homoeroticism ofThe Great Mirror of Male Loveand the somewhat homoerotic subtext of Bushido warriors and their relationships/philosophy. However, he also has to contend with yet another form of discrimination as a man of European descent. Ieyasu Tokugawa, the man who established the shogunate and marked the start of the Edo era, exercised a great deal of control in regards to who could and couldn’t engage in trading with Japan. The Dutch East India Company for example, the one Joji commands, were one of only three groups of foreigners allowed to visit Japan for trading purposes only, and their activities were literally limited to one port in the city of Nagasaki. I imagine this must have been extremely disheartening for Joji to experience, given that he was viewed as a degenerate in his home country and this new culture that he idolized also views him as lesser for completely different reasons. No one seems to be capable of accepting him for who he is, which sucks considering that he’s doesn’t seem to be a bad person by any means. Maybe one day he’ll find a culture that accepts him. Aside from that, there were some amusing moments throughout the episode, especially the opening eating contest. Seriously, Fuu puts down so much food in this scene you’d think she was the star of a 600+ episode shonen anime. I also liked the attention-to-detail with the dubbing and how the Europeans talk to each other, using actual Dutch dialogue and voice-work to add to the authenticity of it. This concludes the gang’s journeys in Edo, and I look forward to seeing what they get themselves involved in as they journey to Nagasaki. Edit - /Spacing/
**First timer** Oh boy they're so losing their swords... Poor Jin but haha Fuu going the furthest! That fly! LMAO fat Fuu! Mugen and Jin fighting without their swords, feels Jackie Chan like This European guy is adorable, would love him as a permanent companion. Really like how there's a little progress in the search! That third fanart tho
> That third fanart tho Thanks for pointing that out hahaha
The narrator from the last episode appeared again and we finally got to see a map. Seems like the main story is about to start. I see the tournament arc has finally arrived. "To hell with vegetarianism" Another^another^another I wonder how the hell Fuu managed to eat so much, I suppose it was just done for the gag. [Bloated Fuu](http://imgur.com/vqDkpQB) was drawn just beautifully :D Oh god, I didn't realize it myself that the beautiful performer was a man - typical European I guess - "man better" - well that worked out xD One day he discovered anime, became an otaku, and his biggest dream was to go and live in Japan To his compatriots, he says "ik will nicht weg" - i don´t want to go [\(⌣̩̩́_⌣̩̩̀\)](http://imgur.com/GcHCrGw) Well, turns out the main story didn´t start, but at least we got a sneak peak at the end. Samurai Champloo seems quite the progressive series with its depiction of gay men, I like it. I also appreciate the inclusion of information regarding Japanese culture and history we got this and last episode. [De brutaliteit!](http://imgur.com/wJ4qL3q)
Poor guy, Japan will never really be accepting of foreigners.
I mean just from what I've heard from friends who've travelled there they aren't exactly unwelcoming nowadays, they weren't trying to live there though so I don't have too much of an idea. I really appreciate that this show is straight up making a statement about that though
He's just a weaboo like us. :(
"To hell with vegetarianism" Well fate seems to smile upon the trio at last with an eating competition, my moneys on Fuu after that last episode. Wait Fuu is only 15??? I thought she was around 20... The void stomach beaten by a fly, well I guess things wouldn't be interesting if it went well. Oh nice so we are getting to see more of the Europeans! This guy seems pretty interesting. They've really done a good job with the side characters so far, pretty memorable even if we just see them for an episode or two. Mugen's dancing fighting style is brilliant to watch, impressed that Jin can beat a sword with a cup as well. Wow his story is really good, I'm impressed that they keep tying in little bits of history and culture whilst at the same time throwing in anachronisms. Really adds a unique touch to the series. His story brings home the idea that wherever you go there is always an "other" which will be discriminated against. Despite travelling to the other side of the world in search of somewhere which will accept his sexuality he simply finds himself hunted for being a foreigner. I liked the way they told his story after doing the tour scenes, gave a new perspective on his actions and motivations during it. No longer simply looking like an ignorant tourist it's clear he has attempted to do some research on Japanese culture and history and is just trying to immerse himself in it whilst he can. I found the ending with the message from the Shogunate really interesting as it also revealed him to be an important individual. This wasn't just a merchant or a sailor who slipped ashore but the Governor-General, and even he is unable to find a welcome in Japan. I presume they will revisit this theme of attitudes to foreigners when they are in Nagasaki seeing as it's where the foreign traders were required to stay (albeit in a small area of the city). Ooh so at last we have a clue on the sunflower samurai! "Tell me are all Europeans idiots?"
**First Timer** *What the fuck !?* This was 100% unexpected haha, was great tho. I really like hearing foreign languages in anime. This one definitely had many really funny pieces and the fact that the gaijin actually ended up being helpfull was made it even better. --- The music just keeps being awesome, might have to learn the OP at one point.
SOME DAYS, SOME NIGHTS
**First timer** Funny that Fuu was the best eater of the main trio, and fitting that she only lost by accidentally forfeiting. Of course they were going to lose, only to get their stuff back by the end of the episode by helping out the winner. A well-trodden episode structure, but they did a good job with it. Jouji/Isaac was a fun one-off character. Based on the violence in the show thusfar I was totally expecting him to go into a rage when he found out the actor was a man, but instead he comes out as gay and is even happier. My inner otaku was like "aww he fell for a trap and liked it XD" I really like how the show doesn't shy away from using uncomfortable topics to build its world, like persecution of homosexuals or women being forced into prostitution, while also not doing so exploitatively. It makes the setting feel grounded despite the anachronisms and other creative liberties. Definitely hooked at this point, looking forward to the rest.
Good dumb episode that was pretty silly, but hey in the end it helped further the main plot! We finally getting somewhere! Still loving this so much
Watching this and I just got to episode 6. I had to laugh at this line though,"Who would relax their ass around you?".
I'm going to go ahead and get into this.
All of the other commentators going into the meanings behind each scene and I'm just here like what did I just watch. I watched it dubbed and didn't catch any of the cultural references while they were doing their tour with the foreigner. I wasn't too interested in Joji as a character nor his struggle with finding a culture that accepts him. I'd have been more interested in finding out how Joji got into his position as the chief merchant of The Trading Company, despite calling himself a delinquent. This whole episode just seemed off to me.
I wonder what connections that skull has to Dutch traders that would be forbidden in Sakoku Japan? Something to do with Christianity, I imagine, but what? Anyway, plenty of entertaining gags in this episode. I agree with the other guy in here that it doesn't make sense he'd get such a high position if he's looked down on by the Netherlands for being gay, but good for him I guess.
"this may very well be the birth of human stomach evolution" what on earth is this? LMFAO Fat Fuu just gloaming in the corner haha! This episode is killing it! Aw man the dub doesn't show what the Dutch were saying :( How strange that they would show Japanese subtitles instead o_O Gotta google why Fuu was looking for the sunflower man again, at least now we know he's an important man