Hey, let's start some theories about teh sunflower dude. I personally think that the sunflower smelling samurai guy is Her father based on what happened with ep 4 when the girl is asked about her family etc. . .it just kinda serves as link a hint that he must bo someone part of his family, since the girl kinda makes a statement about them being a burden (family) so usually when there is such a journey to find a "mystery person" it has to be a family member right? and well it seems that she really had no family to begin with (it's not mentioned in the anime as of yet) so hey, why not papa? I mean I looked at the ending theme and at some of the pics and it looks like flashbacks of her childhood so I just figured that with the hints of the family, her absence of family, and the childhood pics and the ed lyrics thing seeming to invoke a nostalgic feeling but of course this could all be speculation and I'm really bored soooo. . .. yep, that's it

For some reason I think its her brother....

Dont know where that thought came from. But who knows where thoughts come from. They just appear.

gonna go out on a limb here .. i think this guy is someone completely unknown even to the girl .. he saved Fuu or whatever her name is while her family was being killed .. or something like that

or perhaps he killed her family and she wants revenge. I don't think that's vary likely given her opposition to violence and the end credits however why else would she want 2 strong fighters to help her find him?

Not sure, but there could be some twists in the story that we have yet to look out for. The revenge for killing family seems a bit too common to make an assumption on, but I might be on to something...until further clues are revealed, that is.

ah, but in the third episode she says something along the lines of: "i don't need them, i can find the sunflower samurai by myself" or something, i don't remember
so i guess it cancels out the theory that she wants revenge and needs two strong fighters to do it.
personally, i think it's her dad.

sounds like a typical brother to me

i can't say why either lol but it just seems typical that it's her brother

seems like the kind of thing she'd remember about a brother too, that he smells like sunflowers i.e.

<IAMJOKING>
how's this for a plot twist though:
the samurai who smells like sunflowers is really a girl, and her lover (i.e. she's lesbian)
</IAMJOKING>
XD


edit: made it more obvious i am joking. for everyone's benefit.

i think the answer lies in the ending song (not in the lyric). if u watch closely, there is a samurai (sunflower samurai) holding the little girl's hand (Fuu). if my guess is correct, its her pop.

My money is on this theory. . . i think they bo-jacked the story from –³ŒÀ‚Ì�Z�l�@(Blade of the immortal) Where Rin, (who would be Fuu in this case) had her parents brutaly murderd and seeks revenge. Along the way she meets up witha ruffian outcast uber ass samurai named Manji (who in this case would more likely be Mugen, but Jin as well) And along they go, encountering many different scenarios along the way but ultimately catching up with the infamous samurai who smelled like sunflowers. Also another little tid bit, the scent of old blood is often referred to as two different things, almonds. . . and sunflowers. Not a pretty thought but that could play a role in it.

A young girl traveling alone...a couple of strong fighters might be a good idea. The one time she traveled without them she ended up in a brothel.
That's not to say that the revenge idea isn't valid. I was just pointing out why she would need two strong fighters other than revenge.

i've said it before, and i'll say it again.

There. is. no. such. thing. as. a. female. samurai.



hmm... interesting...
i still find the revenge thing highly unlikely though.

I agree BrokenSword, the revenge storyline appears to be too common in most animes, and if that were the case...then Samurai Champloo would already be predictable, since we know what usually would happen. I think there is something more better planned.



Well actually, I've done some research on the little tidbit, and there really did exist female samurai. I do not wish to take the credit for the documentary, but you can go here to find out more: http://victorian.fortunecity.com/duchamp/410/femalesam.html But even if there did exist female samurai, I don't think this would be possible since the ending scenes back it up as being a male character.



Just like the first, I disagree with what you said. Shinichiro would not steal a storyline in order to satisfy his own. This series has new surprises that I never would have seen in other samurai-series, such as the moves that Mugen uses that look like he's breakdancing. Taking this type of style presents takes a new background away from the other samurai animes or manga. Well, that's enough for now.

See, despite my respect for Wantanabe and all, i'm not puting it past the writers and directors to do a revenge story. We have to admit that despite how great this series is so far, it is filled with numerous chliches from other samurai related things. Sure it has Mugen doing copeira and other "break dancing" stuff while he fights, sure it has an edgy, classy soundtrack, but it's still milking the cliches most have come to love.
An example that comes to mind would be the end of the fourth episode where Mugen squares off with the Bad Yakuza's youjinbo dood. I mean the running at each other/flash by/ question who got taged and who didn't . . . how played out is that? but i didn't complain cause it was so well done =D Same goes for the revenge idea, i'm not gona put it past them to do it, but nor will i be upset if they did choose to base it all off of revenge.

OMG SOMEONE ACTUALLY TOOK MY JOKING SERIOUSLY.
(sorry bout the caps but the shock was just too much.)

not only 1 but TWO people
congratulations to both of you!


oh man.
i thought the 3 laughing smilies at the end of my post would be enough to tip everyone off
to make it even more obvious i added something to my post above.

that aside, just because he's holding her hand when she's little doesn't mean it's her father

Whoa! I didn't notice that post, sometimes I skip past some others, or I just click on the "Last post" link and read only what was recently posted. I laugh to myself after reading it. I guess I will apologize for being a bit overcritical, but still...I only threw in two cents of the talk. Though most of the time, when you see two samurai going past eachother in a final move, I would consider it more or less an anime classic scene rather than a cliché. There are just some things that you can never avoid being a cliché. But, I need to stick to the subject of the Sunflower smelling Samurai. We can see that Fuu is holding the hand of thsi mysterious person at the end. Knowing she was pretty young at this time, she must have looked up to him in some way. It may either be her father or brother for all we know. But I can see where the revenge idea may come into play, since Fuu doesn't appear to have any family members at all...and they could be dead. Well, I'm glad I gave this topic some reasonable thought. That's it for now...again.

Somehow a part of me wants to believe that that samurai is her fiance .

Maybe Fuu is supposed to marry him to get her family out of debt ?

But I'm thinking about what Fuu said on episode 4 at the end, she said that she would come visit Sousuke and Suzu once they find the samurai who smells of sunflowers. Usually most heroes or people say something like that when they know they are going to return. Maybe it's not a case of revenge, it could be one of those family reunion storylines...

I think its some guy who did her family well. *shrug*

I don't have any justification, but hey, it sounds good, right?

come to think of it... when she speaks of him it doesn't sound like someone she wants revenge on either
and since they've already focused on the fact that she doesn't have any family already a few times (the ones i can remember being when the restaurant burns down and when she's in the brothel), it seems that it might be an important part of it...
it might just be someone who knows where one of her family members has gone too though, or someone who was a friend of one of her family members... maybe even the ones who produce it hasn't decided that yet

We sit in suspense throughout all 24 episodes to finally find out in the end that the sunflower samurai is none other than...! *dun dun dun* Sejuurou Hiko!!!

Yes!

(and if you don't know who that is, look it up, I don't wanna lessen the joke. =p)
<==EDIT==> Didn't help that I spelled his name wrong. >_<

i don't think japanese women/girls (of that era at least) are allowed to come into contact with men who aren't related to them, eg. brothers, fathers, etc.... remember, this ain't the west
and i quite doubt that it is the brother because he looks far too old (in the ED) to be a brother, most likely a father i think

and the blood thing smelling like sunflowers... hmm, i quite doubt it.. altho it is interesting.
there are sunflowers in the ED in several sections of it

I agree with Nodachi. What was great about Cowboy Bebop was that it broke so many anime cliche's and became something much more than anime. So far, Champloo has been fairly typical, aside the music, glasses, and a few dance moves. I really hope the series gets edgier and takes more risks down the road. I dare not say Watanabe's only feat is CB...but it's beginning to look that way...

aside Detective Story and Kid's Story

COME ON WATANABE...TAKE A CHANCE!

well it seems like it is her father afterall .. it seems to point in that direction now .. in episode 7 she was telling the story of her past/parents .. oh well .. still have to wait and see

But if was indeed her brother or father, I find it strange that Fuu hasn't already come out and told her relation to the samurai who smells of sunflowers. But why would Mugen and Jin come along with her in the first place if the only clue they have is a "Samurai that smells of sunflowers?" Wouldn't they need more facts than that in order to agree to come? I know it revolves around Fuu saving them, and the toss of the coin, but the absence of any concrete facts is what appears to be killing the plot a little...

I would like to add this:

Don't remember in which episode it was, the one with the gay dude from Sweden or where ever, and at the very end, Fuu asked him about the sunflower smelling dude. (Do sunflowers smell like anything by the way??) She pulled out that little skull out... What the heck does that have to do with him?? I thought from the beggining it was her father, but...the skull and father thing?? I don't think that's very fatherly like...but...oh well...that's my two yen!

maybe the father is a secret agent samurai of sorts .. the gay dude was from holland .. maybe he had to do something for the dutchies at one point .. could also explain why he's gone away .. but looking at the thing (weapon) Fuu carries around .. it's pink .. isn't it ? i don't know if it's her fathers .. or just something he left behind for her with the skull things hanging from it .. oh well .. wait and see i guess .. hopefully around episode 13 we'll be knowing something about that

That's probably Fuu's weapon alone, the tiny skull was the item that the sunflower samurai had. Otherwise, she would have given the weapon along with the accessories to the gay holland guy for him to look at.

i thought she was giving the dutchy the skull as a lil present .. been a while since i saw that .. so i can't back that up right now .. but oh well

Well it seems that this series gets better as it goes, and is moving even further from the cliché after all.

If episodes 8 and 9 were typical anime, with no "watanabe edge" then I must have forgotten his mastery of the art in CB.

I'll say this: This series seems to be purposefully taking cliché anime storylines and mixing them up a bit, as a theme. But truthfully, the bizarre side characters and the originality of episodes 6-9 has been a huge improvement on the first 5.

I laughed my sides off.

I personally don't like stories/series being compared to one another. They're unique stories that should be treated as "good" or "bad" and not as "better" or "worse". For some of us that haven't seen Cowboy Bebop (yet? I probably never will) this discusts us. Also this can produce a bad commercial to people who are thinking of watching some series.

Ex.:

Good commercial:

<n00b> Hey, is MADLAX any good?
<SMARTn00b> Check it out for yourself ^_~. I think it's great (bad).

Bad commercial:

<n00b> Hey, is MADLAX any good?
<n00b2> z0mg, man, don't watch it, it's a Noir replica >:O. Go for Noir.

Some people might enjoy some series they haven't watched yet, and because of bad recommendations they'll be missing out on some good fun.


P.S.: I'm extremely bored right now. ^_~

(I hate Madlax being compared to Noir. *shrug*)

Well, this is going a little bit off topic, so I leave it up to the person after me to get this thred back on topic. *nods* Let me just state first off that I watched Noir, loved it, and am watching Madlax and am liking it as well, because I really want to know wtf is actually going on.

You may despise the fact that comparisons are made... but the comparisons are just sitting there crying out to be made!

Hot young blonde professional assassin? Check.
Young brunette chick that doesn't talk much? Check.
Secret evil orginization with lots of expendibles? Check.
Soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura? Check.
Mysterious all-knowing woman in a hard to reach place? Check.
Nigh-invincible female underling to aforementioned all-knowing woman? Check.

But for those of you that haven't watched both of these two series, don't get me wrong... they are really quite different. The storylines are actually rather unrelated, and by no means should you think after watching them that one was better or worse than the other, like LytHka was saying. Shows should be treated as separate entities.

Here's my two cents. I think that the sunflower samurai is either 1) someone Fuu passed by when she found her mother covered up. Because it seemed to me, that in that flashback scene, Fuu was surprised.

or 2) that maybe Fuu's mother had told her about the sunflower samurai and because Fuu felt like she always disobeyed her mother, she feels it is necessary for whatever reason to find this person because of her mother.

I dunno, its all really sketchy at this point so its hard to say.

SPOILER












For any who haven't read the articles and Fuu VA article in the latest NewType, they give many hints about the sunflower samurai.

Basically they say we know who it is already. They also go into a deal about traveling and traveling with a goal is kinda boring. Once you get there it's over. Once they find the sunflower samurai it's over. Mugen and Jin won't have any reason to stay with Fuu. Fuu's main journey will be over. They talk about traveling being more fun when there is no destination. So yeah, they also say they know the end of the series now, the voice actress knows who the sunflower samurai is, they'll just take their time going about getting to it. Oneother thing, the outro is a bit of Fuu's history that has some clues about the samurai. Now you have to ask yourself, is the sunflower samurai Mugen or Jin?

Oooh, thanks for that, driftr. I'll spoiler-text some thoughts in response...

Since this is Watanabe, I knew that the ending credits had something to do with the overall story and the sunflower samurai. I've been meaning to sit down and give them a good, hard look.

We know that Fuu's mother recently died, but I am not as positive that her father is dead. She says he's been "gone" for a long time, though. As far as I remember, the only time Fuu mentions her father specifically is when she's talking to Shinsuke in episode 7.

My wild personal theory is:

Fuu's father was Jin's sensei. They're going to arrive in Nagasaki and discover that the man who has been traveling with her all this time killed her father. Then Jin will reveal why he says he did not betray his master by killing him.

Since Mugen is neither a samurai (though he'd cut my head off for saying that, I'm sure) nor originally from Japan, I doubt very much it's him. In fact, despite how much I like him as a character, I'm trying to figure out how he's going to fit into this whole mess. I hope Fuji TV's suggestion that episode 13 is his backstory is accurate...

Hmmm... interesting report, driftr.

I keep saying that I see the journey undertaken by these three as the real story hung on a sunflower smelling framework.

I don't really think this is a spoiler, but just in case it is for some people...

but what about what the Dutch guy had to say? about the skull and that the sunflower came originally from there?

Besides... if the sunflower samurai were Jin, then wouldn't he have had some reaction to the skull and all this sunflower stuff?

Well... forgive me for not reading all the posts..

I just have to say, that the 'Sunflower Samurai' is most likely NOT her father. It would be too obvious that way. And if it was, she would have recognized the skull that the Dutch Governor-General told her about.

I like the idea about the person being her brother. But I'd have to say that it probably has to do something with her mother's murder. And that the skull belongs to some notorious gang leader. And there will be some big fight scene at the end.

Okay, I didn't want to spoil anyone with my reasoning, so I've left it a non-spoiler by keeping it down there. Read if you want.


But look back on episode 06, who was there when Fuu showed the skull? Only her and the dutch individual. And where were Mugen and Jin? They already took off before Fuu and the dutch guy had the conversation concerning the sunflower samurai and the skull. So how could have Jin or Mugen reacted when they never saw it?

Good point.. I just have to say..

It's most likely not Jin or Mugen.. she would have realized that by now.. I mean that's kind of obvious.. Unless they took a shower and don't smell no more. I think in future episodes we will find that Jin or Mugen will recognize the Skull.. remember tho, when she was trying to pawn her pink laquer sword or whatever.. Where was the skull? Unless she hid it somewhere

But what really has me wondering is, how does the assassin from episode 02 know about the sunflower samurai? Was it just a bait, and if it was, where did he get the information? But then I remember drifter saying this at the end of his spoiler:



But then again, as I look at the scenes at the end of each episodes, it seems they've somehow blotted out the face of the samurai near the end by the sunlight possibly on purpose...

Enjoying the spoilers so far? I'm certainly not. ~_~ Enjoying spoiling the story to yourself?

I just saw episode 13 and I must say we have some nice analysts and/or information gatherers on this forum. Which is NOT such a good thing. ~_~
Let's just stick to predictions, ok? Especially since not many people have such intelligence sources as some do, on this forum.

people don't have to view the spoilers, they're being posted in white text as they should be.

I unno.. maybe this'll help?

ooh the dice! I like the dice

the dice are pretty cool

Not sure if this has been said as I was reading thru the posts but...

- Maybe he doesn't even exist? Fuu only wants them to look for the sunflower samurai in order to keep her company all the way thru? and keep this everlasting friendship? hehehe...

- Perhaps Jin and Mugen are secretly looking for the same guy but don't know it yet?

idunno, those are my thoughts.

I have just started watching this show... so excuse me if some of the stuff don't make sense.

It's just an intuition but when I first heard about the sun flower guy. I got this feeling that it may be someone we know all along. Isn't there some saying that said things are hardest to find are usually right under our nose? Even one of the Sherlock Holmes books talked about that. Sun flower smelling is not exactly the best description of a person anyway.

But I may be completely wrong, of course.

Anyhow, I just hope that this anime will not have a sad ending like Cowboy Bebop or else I think I will cry.

I watched the episodes again, and this time made a few questions on my own. It was pretty obvious for me...I think I know who the sunflower samurai is already based on what I saw and learned...but I'll just have to wait and see!

Ok, here's what i think about the sumflower samurai. He is really Fuu father who disapeared, searching for a way on how to cure his wife (Fuu's mother). But instead he never came back! Maybe thats the reason? You tell me. -_-

Uh...Fuu's mother is already deceased...