Maybe because its set to one of my favorite joints from the late legend Nujabes but nostalgia always cue this scene every time I hear someone mention Samurai Champloo. I can’t exactly say what makes this scene so memorable because it’s actually far from exciting and being on anyone’s list of favorite sentimental moments in anime. I’m not even fond of Shino, Jin’s suicidal love interest. Although an odd beauty, her subservient nature makes me cringe but I think that’s why it works so well. Even given the opportunity to get all cornfully lovey, SC chose to showcase its historical timeline. Shino could’ve been the baddest women in the whole series just on the strength of Jin, but she is oddly beautiful. She could’ve been a wide-eyed village girl but her character turns into a prostitute which reminds us how often women were sold as retribution in those days. We question if it’s by chance or pity that he falls for this girl (perhaps he grew a liking to the way she handled those eels lol) but that makes his character so much more humane and dynamic. I surely didn’t want to see my ass-kicking samurai succumb to his heel, but this episode like the rest of the series threaded the story so effortlessly that it made me raised an eyebrow but in a good way. The fades in and out of the awe-inspiring music production really makes SC one of my favorite feel-good anime.