8.5/10987 votes#1 - Tempestuous Temperaments
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 5/20/2004
Fuu is a part-time teahouse worker whose life changes forever when two vagabond warriors, Mugen and Jin, stumble into her place of business and end up in hot water with the local magistrate.
Director: Shinichiro Watanabe
Writer: Shinji Obara
7.8/10784 votes#2 - Redeye Reprisal
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 6/3/2004
When Mugen wounds an enemy's arm, it sets off a dangerous chain reaction. Fuu is kidnapped, and two deadly assassins are dispatched to make short work of vagabond Mugen and ronin Jin.
Director: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto
Writer: Shinji Obara
7.8/10732 votes#3 - Hellhounds for Hire (1)
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 6/10/2004
After leaving the domineering Fuu behind, Mugen and Jin arrive in town. Once there, it's not long before they're hired on as bodyguards by the two clans that run the city.
Director: Shintaro Inokawa, Masato Miyoshi
Writer: Shinji Obara
8.1/10721 votes#4 - Hellhounds for Hire (2)
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 6/17/2004
The paths Mugen, Jin, and Fuu follow bring them together again, but their reunion is put on hold when an untimely mistake intensifies the struggle between two clans fighting for control of one city.
Director: Hirotaka Endo
Writer: Shinji Obara
7.8/10705 votes#5 - Artistic Anarchy
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 6/24/2004
An unknown artist hires Fuu for a private modeling session, but his passion for painting turns out to be a front for a human trafficking ring. Will Mugen crack the case in time to save Fuu from a life of slavery?
Director: Sayo Yamamoto
Writer: Dai Sato
7.6/10686 votes#6 - Stranger Searching
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 7/1/2004
Mugen and Jin loses their weapons and their appetites - in an rice-eating contest, and the only way to get them back is by posing as tour guides for a mysterious European with a penchant for man love!
Director: Akira Yoshimura
Writer: Shinji Obara
8.0/10699 votes#7 - A Risky Racket
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 7/8/2004
Fuu gets caught in a web of deception when she falls for prolific pickpocket with a heart of gold. But when her sticky-fingered friend slips his hands into the wrong pocket, he could be headed for a beat down.
Director: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto
Writer: Seiko Takagi
7.8/10672 votes#8 - The Art of Altercation
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 7/15/2004
A cocky sword-slinger with a crush on Fuu dishes the dirt on Jin's disgraceful past. If the renegade ronin wants to restore his good name, he'll need to get his glasses out of hock and make ready for a throw down!
Director: Keiichi Sasajima
Writer: Dai Sato
8.1/10702 votes#9 - Beatbox Bandits
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 7/22/2004
The crew is headed for the gallows after getting caught flashing fake travel permits, but Mugen can win back their freedom by out hustling a deranged gang of warrior priests.
Director: Hirotaka Endo
Writer: Dai Sato
8.4/10698 votes#10 - Lethal Lunacy
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 7/29/2004
Mugen takes his training to the next level in preparation for a full moon death match with a killer who uses a deadly armor-piercing attack to soak the streets in the blood of his victims.
Director: Akira Yoshimura
Writer: Touko Machida
8.9/10902 votes#11 - Gamblers and Gallantry
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 8/5/2004
Jin falls in love with a suicidal beauty whose husband sold her into slavery, and Mugen tries to make his fortune in the cutthroat world of beetle sumo wrestling.
Director: Sayo Yamamoto
Writer: Seiko Takagi
6.8/10628 votes#12 - The Disorder Diaries
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 8/12/2004
When Mugen and Jin do the unthinkable and read Fuu's diary, they are treated to a riveting recap of all their greatest misadventures.
Director: Hirotaka Endo
Writer: N/A
7.9/10643 votes#13 - Misguided Miscreants (1)
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 8/26/2004
When Mugen crosses paths with a face his past, he reluctantly signs on for a heist that could land him a fortune in stolen gold. Unfortunately for him, some old friends aren't to be trusted.
Director: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto
Writer: N/A
8.8/10812 votes#14 - Misguided Miscreants (2)
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 9/2/2004
Mugen - double-crossed and headed for the bottom of the ocean - flashes back to his life before he died for the first time. Back on land, a pretty young thing convinces Jin to brandish his blades in the name of vengeance.
Director: Shuko Murase
Writer: N/A
8.3/10665 votes#15 - Bogus Booty
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 9/9/2004
Mugen goes under the covers with an undercover investigator who's out to put the smack down on a murderous ring of counterfeiters. Will he finally get the booty he's after?
Director: Kazuto Nakazawa
Writer: Kazuto Nakazawa
7.7/10608 votes#16 - Lullabies of the Lost (1)
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 9/16/2004
Tempers flare, harsh words are exchanged, and the gang splinters, each member marching off in a different direction. Mugen and Jin wander into some swordplay, and Fuu ends up at the bottom of a river.
Director: Masato Miyoshi
Writer: Keiko Nobumoto
8.1/10634 votes#17 - Lullabies of the Lost (2)
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 9/23/2004
Jin and Fuu reunite, only to be attacked by a vengeance-driven samurai from Jin's old life. Meanwhile, Mugen takes aim at an arrow-slinging madman who's at the top of everyone's most wanted list.
Director: Hirotaka Endo
Writer: Ryôta Sugi
7.7/10633 votes#18 - War of the Words
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 1/22/2005
Mugen learns his letters from a sake-guzzling maniac, Jin makes good on a promise from many years ago, and Fuu sparks a jealous showdown between two bickering graffiti artists.
Director: Sayo Yamamoto
Writer: Dai Sato
7.5/10598 votes#19 - Unholy Union
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 1/22/2005
Fuu harbors a female fugitive who's on the run from a bogus, gun-slinging missionary. The new girl is trouble, no doubt about it, but she may hold the finding the samurai who smells like sunflowers.
Director: Hirotaka Endo
Writer: Seiko Takagi
8.5/10667 votes#20 - Elegy of Entrapment (1)
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 2/5/2005
Mugen defends the honor of beautiful blind songstress, but when the when the trio of wanderers becomes a quartet, Fuu will be faced with an impossible decision.
Director: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto
Writer: Shinji Obara
9.0/10770 votes#21 - Elegy of Entrapment (2)
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 2/12/2005
Mugen's has his own deadly run-in with the same blind beauty that sent Jin plummeting towards a gruesome end. Who is this seductive assassin, and why is she targeting the Champloo crew?
Director: Akitoshi Yokoyama
Writer: Shinji Obara
6.8/10650 votes#22 - Cosmic Collisions
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 2/19/2005
Jin, Mugen, and Fuu fall into the clutches of a hoard of rotting zombie treasure hunters. Next, they get blown to oblivion by an asteroid. Or maybe they just ate some bad mushrooms.
Director: Sayo Yamamoto
Writer: Dai Sato
7.7/10665 votes#23 - Baseball Blues
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 2/26/2005
Mugen's failed attempt at a dine-and-dash restaurant caper lands him in hot water with the locals. Redemption lies with leading the town's baseball team to a victory over the arrogant and unwelcome Americans.
Director: Mitsutaka Noshitani
Writer: Shinichiro Watanabe
8.5/10641 votes#24 - Evanescent Encounter (1)
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 3/5/2005
As the crew draws ever nearer their final destination, Fuu makes a bold and startling decision. Elsewhere, unnamed adversaries pursue the travelling trio.
Director: Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto
Writer: Shinichiro Watanabe, Shinji Obara
9.0/10733 votes#25 - Evanescent Encounter (2)
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 3/12/2005
Jin enters a bloody grudge match with the man responsible for the ruin of his rep. Meanwhile, Mugen races to save Fuu from the clutches of a sadistic madman bent on bloodshed.
Director: Kazuto Nakazawa, Kei Tsunematsu
Writer: Shinichiro Watanabe, Shinji Obara
The Best Episodes of Samurai Champloo Season 1
Every episode of Samurai Champloo Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Samurai Champloo Season 1!
Break-dancing but fierce warrior Mugen has to deal with the cold-blooded and conceited Jin, a samurai who believes he is above all. These sworn enemies...
Genres:Action & AdventureAnimationComedyDrama
Network:Fuji TV
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Tempestuous Temperaments" is the best rated episode of "Samurai Champloo" season 1. It scored 8.5/10 based on 987 votes. Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and written by Shinji Obara, it aired on 5/20/2004. This episode is rated 0.7 points higher than the second-best, "Redeye Reprisal".