Anime that is aniMAZING also critique why not

I thought Samurai Champloo was alright, but it took forever for me to really get engaged in it at all. The three main characters all just seemed so... (What's the right word here? Flat? Predictable? TVTrope-esque?) It just always seemed like the director cared more about style and sword fights than any sort of real character development.

That being said, the characters did finally grow on me after awhile and I really enjoyed the last 10 episodes or so. But I guess when you go into a show expecting to see another Cowboy Bebop, it's only natural to come out a bit disappointed in the end.