| Special Features: |
Season 1:
- In the Booth – Voice Talent of Afro Samurai, presented in standard definition MPEG-4 with Dolby Stereo sound, is a 15 minute featurette that combines cast interviews and some exposition on the story's origins. Everyone, from the producer to Big Star Samuel L. Jackson, stumbled upon the project serendipitously. Sharing their production and recording experience are Jackson himself, along with Ron Perlman and Kelly Hu.
- The RZA Music Production Tour is a five minute feature in standard definition AVC and Dolby Stereo. Lead Wu-Tang Clan leader Robert Diggs, a.k.a. RZA, discusses his interpretive musical themes for each of the major characters. Afro's father Rokutaro represents soul, which was killed off by rock, the main motif of the villain Justice. Afro himself is laced with a hip hop influence. RZA's composition for the series in general is quite inspired, being equal parts subtle and catchy.
- Character Profiles is a 24 minute featurette with commentary by co-producer Eric Calderon. Shown windowboxed, in standard definition MPEG-2 with Dolby Stereo sound, Calderon leads the viewer through a rundown of the film's major and secondary characters, totaling seven parts in all. Part I covers Afro Samurai, and the aspects of his design, as well as his behavior as a character. Part II covers his chatty comrade, Ninja Ninja. Initially based on the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice books, Ninja Ninja's mischievous personality stemmed from this influence. Part III is the villain Justice, who shows a more Western influence in his "cowboy" attire and six shooters. Part IV collectively profiles the Empty 7, who have a bit of Evangelical flair in their preaching, as well as "pimp" like stature when it comes to women. Part V is about Okiku, whose voice direction had three general modes – the cool tone of a healer, cold and calculating for her employers, and childlike to reveal her true fragility. Part VI gives some detail on Kuma, the former Ginnosuke. His design, with its odd teddy bear helmet, was intended to be a combination of cute, deadly, and insane. Part VII, and the last, covers the Swordmaster, though little of him is actually discussed aside from story points.
- Trailers for other FUNimation releases are included in standard definition. Desert Punk, Burst Angel, Samurai 7, Speed Grapher, Basilisk, Trinity Blood, Hana, and Origin are windowboxed, Claymore
Resurrection:
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Afro Samurai: The Game (12 minutes): Producers, animators, and others involved in the creation of the game give us a glimpse into the revolutionary techniques used to invent a game that contains a number of fresh ideas and animation.
- Enter the RZA (6 minutes): This feature demonstrates the passion he has for the material, as well as the time he spent creating the score for the series.
- Afro In-Depth (6 minutes) - This interview features Takashi Okazaki (creator of "Afro Samurai"), as he discusses such things as the manga, the incorporation of music, the storyline, and his hopes for the future of the series. Easily the best part of this interview is a 2 minute section where Mr. Okazaki describes the underlying themes he was going for in "Resurrection".
- Afro Samurai: East Meets West, Part 1 (19 minutes) - Contains a number of interviews with all of the major Japanese players in the production of "Afro Samurai". Although the interviews are conducted in Japanese, English voice-overs are used to make this feature easier to watch.
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Afro Samurai: East Meets West, Part 2 (25 minutes) - Containing interviews with Samuel L. Jackson, Lucy Liu, and the English producers, this feature focuses more on the themes explored in the series. Samuel L. Jackson is very humble, and downplays his involvement in the series, as well as the clout he brings to the whole production. I continue to be a fan of Lucy Liu, who was apparently introduced to anime by Quentin Tarantino during the production of Kill Bill.
- Afro Samurai at San Diego Comic-Con 2008 (8 minutes) - This feature covers part of a panel discussion at Comic-Con with Samuel L. Jackson, RZA, producers, and the creator of "Afro Samurai", as well as a collection of interviews with fan-boys.
- Part A Video Commentary (28 minutes) - This supplement is a creative method of delivering an audio commentary, with the screen divided into 3 sections. On the top of the screen, we have 2 boxes where we can view a silent version of the movie, as well as running video of the main Japanese staff discussing each scene. On the bottom of the screen, we have a separate box with subtitles showing what the production members are saying.
- Collection of 8 trailers for other Funimation titles
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