SDCC: Afro Samurai
Liveblogging via phone. we’ve got Samuel L. Jackson and Afro Samurai creator Takashi Okazaki here (the RZA is running late, in traffic) and we’re gonna see trailers and stuff for the new anime sequel, the game, and the manga!
“Buck wild” is how Jackson describes the sequel, which is about a repentent Afro whose father is resurrected by a group who want to make a zombie army. Cue trailer.
Looks pretty badass. Remember, Spike TV in January. Some self-imposed q&a…hardest part of the sequel? Getting it all written by Okazaki in a timely fashion. Samuel L. Jackson uses Skype, fyi.
Okazaki says that people’s expectations are high for sequels so the hardest part was meeting those expectations…and Sam’s. Jackson denies that he has a temper and says he doesn’t throw a tantrum…much. (His words, not mine!) Jackson says he comes at it as a fan.
Jackson has been watching Asian cinema for a long time– since college, especially samurai flicks, so Afro Samurai with its story, lead, and music, was a perfect marriage of his interests.
The RZA just joined in and smooched Okazaki’s translator, too.
Okazaki has been a fan of hip hop and soul in college, where he started doodling Afro on tissue boxes. When he heard Samuel L. Jackson and GDH were interested in the property, he thought it was a joke being played on him.
RZA says he’s sorry he was late but 5 is jammed out. He was approached by GDH for the show but he’d come upon it before, and he was also a fan of Ninja Scroll. The new Afro’s music is different from the first; the music is more about the women and female fury, whereas the first was more about Afro’s feelings.
Okay, have to scoot out early for Bandai Entertainment…hope you enjoyed what little I got. (OhgodI’mtenfeetfromsamuelljackson!)