At its very beginning, Afro Samurai was a so-called Doujinshi - a Manga/Comic made and released by a private individual. However, the series was so successful that Fuminori Kizaki along with the studio GONZO (who produced such series as Basilisk, Samurai 7, GANTZ) produced a five-part Anime. The budget for this production was one million dollars per episode (!) - a record for the Japanese comic studio; but this was only one reason for the series' huge success - the other reason was the fact that Samuel L. Jackson voiced the series' protagonist as well as his sidekick for the English version of the series.

Funimation - the studio that released the series in North America - decided to release 2 different versions of the series. One version included the regular TV versions (which were e.g. aired on Spike TV in the US or Fuji Television in Jaan). The other version included Director's Cut versions of the episodes. Not only are these versions longer, they also include a few new voice actors. Dharman - the mad scientist - got a new voice actor for the Director's Cut. Apart from that, the Director's Cut does not only include a few new scenes but also characters that were not included in the TV versions. Funimation announced that most of the changes focused on evolving the plot a little further - a little disappointment for all the gorehounds out there. Still, "Afro Samurai" is pretty violent and not at all intended for kids. Funimation also promised to include one of Samuel L. Jackson's trademarks - the word "motherfucker" - and they didn't disappoint us there (you hear it in almost every episode).

Whenever there are image comparisons, they're listed as follows:
Left Side: TV Version
Right Side: Director's Cut


Conclusion: The regular TV versions of "Afro Samurai" are still fun to watch. The new scenes offered by the Director's Cut are mostly just additions to scenes from the TV versions. There's almost no point in the series where you ever really miss the extensions from the Director's Cut. The scenes that were drawn specially for the Unrated release as well as the new dialogues don't really strike you when you watch the episodes.


In this episode the overall difference in time adds up to 200 seconds (= 3 minutes and 20 seconds). Opening and ending credits were disregarded for the difference in time.

The time designations refer to the Director's Cut.

Flashback
The TV Version includes a 20 second flashback of the previous episode. This was disregarded for the difference in time.

Opening
At the beginning of the opening, Afro was re-drawn.

No difference in time.

0:02:04
Different dialogue:

TV Version: "Whack that punk."

Director's Cut: "Whack that motherfucker."

No difference in time.

0:03:24
Jinno's right eye glows in the DC - not so in the TV version.

No difference in time.

0:04:33
Dharma talks to Jinno a little longer. He says that he's supposed to carve the Number 2 limb by limb. Then, something comes out of his head - it's the fan.

5 seconds

0:04:52
In the DC, the altar is bloodbesmeared - not so in the TV version.

No difference in time.

0:05:48
Brother 1 says that it is because of the fact that he has the needed technical knowledge and no conscnience. Dharma responds that they will stain his name.

12 seconds

0:06:05
A Brother asks about his grief and anger. He asks if it wouldn't be better to just let him die.

8 seconds

0:08:32
Blut drips down from Jinno's sword. You can hear him breathing heavily.

5 seconds

0:08:45
Jinno looks at the men he just killed.

2 seconds

0:09:44
Jinno angrily tramples a pile of stones. The camera pans upwards and you hear him screaming in anger.

11 seconds

0:11:17
The flashback of Otsuru being killed was re-drawn.

No difference in time.

0:12:38
The shot of Jinno's corpse was slightly revised. The most noticeable difference is his wound which is bloody in the DC.

No difference in time.

0:13:26
The fade to white is longer.

5 seconds

0:15:03
Number 1 talks to Afro a little longer. He says that not one loser was able to put the headband on his head. They all just died, one after the other. Nobody was able to conquer the world like a rainstorm - most of them were rather like a tornado of chaos and murder, completely out of control.
Blood from under Afro's feet runs towards Number 1. The latter's body absorbs the blood and he seems to rejuvenate.

Number 1 asks him if he isn't aware of the fact that absolute power will lead to ultimate peace. He says that power is nothing if it stays unused and adds that for him it's a sin not to reign the world if you had the power to do it.

42 seconds


0:16:12
Number 1 says that it is time for one man to free the world from conflicts so that all men - young or old - are able to live in peace. He says that it's time for one man to become a god at the point where god failed. At first he took the head of the most powerful samurai on earth. A man who was feared because of his abilities - Afro's father. Then, when fate brought him to this secret place, a very old secret was revealed: It is not enough just to get the Number 1 headband. He then asks Afro if he thinks that it was just a coincidence that he had a father, a master, a friend... and that all of them were sacrificed.

50 seconds

0:17:27
Number 1 says that Afro's father was aware of that. The only reason why he accepted Number 1's challenge was to keep him from learning the truth.

9 seconds

0:17:52
During the tracking shot over Number 1's face the camera's position was slightly changed. When it pans upwards it slightly staggers.

No difference in time.

0:18:19
Now follows another flashback scene of Afro's father's battle against Number 1.

3 seconds

0:20:21
In the DC the camera is a little farther away from Number 1. In the following shot, Afro's sword's blade reflect the light a little - not so in the TV version.

No difference in time.

0:21:00
The fade to white is a little longer than in the TV version and followed by a fade to black. Only then you see Number 1's cloak falling to the ground in the DC. In the TV version the fade to black is really short and immediately followed by the cloak falling to the ground.

5 seconds


0:21:30
You see Number 1's headband flying through the air a little longer.

4 seconds

0:22:04
In the TV version the tracking shot towards Afro begins a little earlier.

2 seconds

0:22:18
You see the outside of the mountain. The sun is shining and sunbeams illuminate Jinno's smashed bear mask and his corpse. The sunlight is reflected by his eyes.

23 seconds

0:22:41
In the TV version the title card says "Years Later..." while in the DC it says "Time passes by... Many years later".

3 seconds

0:24:17
Then follow 2 additional title cards that say "And so... The never-ending battle continues..." The text is read out by Number 1 as well as Ninja Ninja at the same time. The title card fades to Ninja Ninja who then adds "... on and on and on and on."

11 seconds

Credits
The credits are different for both versions. In the TV version there's plain text while in the DC there's some artwork from the series. Additionally, the DC's credits are longer - this was disregarded for the overall difference in time.

Here are 2 examples of what the credits look like:

At the end of the credits there's an image of Afro.