5-1-1, initially designated for road weather information, is a transportation and traffic information telephone hotline in some regions of the United States and Canada. Travelers can dial the three-digit telephone number 5-1-1 on traditional landline telephones and most mobile phones. It is an N11 code of the North American Numbering Plan that are used for special services. The number code has also extended to be the default name of many state/provincial transportation department road conditions websites, such as Wisconsin's site.^[1]

As of March 2001, at least 300 telephone numbers existed for travel information systems in the United States. To overcome the confusion caused by this array of numbers, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a national assignment of a single three-digit N11 dialing code. On July 21, 2000, the FCC assigned 511 as a nationwide telephone number for ITS traveler information,^[2] along with 2-1-1 for social services. Its use is being promoted by the USDOT's Intelligent Transport Systems initiative.^[3]

The first 511 traveler information system to launch was in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area in June 2001.^[4]

The first statewide 511 traveler information system was launched across the state of Nebraska in October 2001.^[5]

511 service in the United States[link]

Implementation of 511 service in the United States[link]

Eight states, from Alaska to Maine, pooled resources and expertise to develop the 511 voice-activated phone service for travelers. Led by the Iowa DOT, the multistate consortium received $700,000 from the Federal Highway Administration to help pay for system design and software development. Each state also provided a 20 percent matching fund, boosting total funds to nearly $900,000. In addition to Iowa, the participating states in the consortium (as of 2011) are Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Sacramento Area Council of Governments, and Vermont.

Individual states have the lead role in coordinating 511 deployments. National leadership is provided by the 511 Deployment Coalition.^[6] Led by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and including travel information experts from more than 30 organizations, the Coalition has developed voluntary guidelines for state transportation agencies to follow when planning 511 service for their states or regions. Other leading member organizations of the Coalition include the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

National logo The 511 trade name, slogan, logo design symbol and any combination, including its similarity in sound, appearance or meaning, all provide the identify for the nation's travel information number and distinguish its goods/services.

511 is a service mark of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (registration number 2680779, Jan. 28, 2003).

The logo was designed with the notion that the telephone is a universal, easily recognized symbol. It clearly sends the message that 511 is a telephone-based service. The blue double lines and dotted lines evoke a sense of movement or thoughts about transportation.

Individuals wishing to use the 511 logo must adhere to the national guidelines established by AASHTO. The guidelines are available online at the National 511 deployment website –^[7]

Active 511 systems in the United States[link]

Active 511 systems (in order of deployment date) as of January 31, 2010:

Tennessee[link]

Implemented in August 2006, Tennessee travelers have the option of accessing road and travel conditions at TN511.com^[8] or through the 511 phone service.

Kentucky[link]

In Kentucky, 511 services cover traffic and weather conditions, and can also be heard on the radio on the AM dial (the Travelers' Information Station) and at 511.ky.gov.^[9]

Florida[link]

Florida has an active 511 system that underwent an overhaul in 2009.

Georgia[link]

This statewide Georgia Navigator system provides traffic, MARTA/GRTA and other public transport, rideshare, Clean Air Campaign, Atlanta and Savannah airport, Amtrak, Greyhound, weather and tourism information in an interactive voice response (IVR) format. Callers are also given the option of connecting to live operators at the Georgia Department of Transportation's Transportation Management Center in Atlanta. Connecting to operators allows users to report traffic accidents to the Georgia State Patrol or local police or sheriffs, or request motorist assistance from the Highway Emergency Response Operators (HERO) program. Callers can also connect to adjacent states' 5-1-1 systems, including North Carolina's.

In January 2011, the Georgia Department of Transportation launched a mobile application on the iPhone platform to provide iPhone users with a mobile option for up to the minute traffic information found on the website. The application also provides special offers and other information about businesses and organizations who participate in the program.

Georgia actually had a system for years before this, using only live operators, and the code *DOT (*368), which could not necessarily be used by those mobile phone users who were roaming from elsewhere, as these codes are specific to each phone company. A local 404 number in metro Atlanta and a toll-free 800 number were used for these and landline calls, and still serve as backup for mobile providers that fail to connect.^[10]

New Hampshire[link]

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has implemented a service that helps commuters and travelers access information regarding weather-related road conditions, construction and congestion, via the Web or mobile device 24/7. The site can be found at www.511nh.com. New Hampshire is part of an 8-state consortium that is sharing the cost to design and develop the system.^[11]

New York[link]

511 New York is established and administered by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). Basic service was launched in the New York City metropolitan area in late 2008. Statewide coverage and more sophisticated services will be added throughout 2009. 511 NY – “Get Connected to Go” is the umbrella brand of The New York State Department of Transportation for traffic, transit and travel information. The 511 New York theme line is: Get Connected to Go. The tag line is: New York State’s Official Traffic and Travel Info Source. The credit line is: A Free Service of the New York State Department of Transportation.

Pennsylvania[link]

Pennsylvania's state wide 511 launched on September 1, 2009. The system provides up to date information on all the states interstate highways.^[12]

Wyoming[link]

In the summer of 2007, the original vendor was removed and services were redesigned and improved using Meridian Environmental Technology.^[13] The effort to redesign and improve service undertaken [summer of 2007] to revamp WYDOT's 511 Travel Information telephone service is paying benefits this winter, based on recent customer feedback.^[14]

Some of the additional features are:

• Ability to choose neighboring states that provide 511 information
• Voice recognition, with the option to revert to touchtone keypad input
• Ability to choose route-specific information or regional summaries
• Agency capability to include Alerts (Amber, Homeland, customized)

Local regions[link]

San Francisco[link]

The logo on a road sign

FasTrak antennae in San Francisco that pull data used to generate 511.org traffic information

In addition to the phone service, travelers in the San Francisco Bay area can access transit information on a website, which provides information on mass transit schedules and an interactive trip planner, which will provide an optimal routing between a given origin, destination, and optional time constraints. In addition, 511.org provides information on bicycling, ridesharing, and the toll road system Fastrak. 511.org^[15] is a service of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and was designed by the transportation engineering company Parsons Brinckerhoff, Farradyne (now Telvent Farradyne).^[16] The system had a fair amount of controversy^{[citation needed]} when it was announced that it would use FasTrak electronic toll tags to track vehicles as they traversed Bay Area freeways.^[17]

In 2006, the Bay Area's transit coordinator signed an $11 million four-year contract with defense contractor Science Applications International Corporation to operate the local 511 system.^[18]

San Diego[link]

Users of the San Diego area have access to road, transit, and other information via the phone and web. They can access transit information on a website, which provides information on mass transit schedules and an interactive trip planner, which will provide an optimal routing between a given origin, destination, and optional time constraints. In addition, 511sd.com provides information on bicycling, ridesharing, and the toll road system Fastrak. 511sd.com is a service of the San Diego Association of Governments, and was designed by the company ICx Technologies and PB Farradyne (now Telvent Farradyne).^[16]

Elsewhere in the United States[link]

Similar services are operated in other cities and states; for example, the Minnesota Department of Transportation operates a website for traffic and road condition information. Central Florida is claimed to have the most-used 511 system in the nation, on a per capita basis.^[19]

Washington state and Oregon both operate their own 511 system. The Washington state 511 system has an option to transfer to the Oregon 511 system to help users in the Portland metropolitan area to access the right system for them.

5-1-1 service in Canada[link]

Implementation of 5-1-1 service in Canada[link]

The Intelligent Transportation Systems Society of Canada (ITS Canada) has brought together a consortium, the Canada 511 Consortium,^[20] to help get 5-1-1 service up and running in Canada.

In January 2005 the consortium filed an application to assign the 5-1-1 access code in Canada. It proposed that in addition to traffic, the number would report weather, which also has a major impact on traffic, particularly in a country with such harsh winters. The application was approved by the CRTC in Canada on July 28, 2006.^[21][22]

In March 2007, an article in Computing Canada said it was up to each individual province whether or not to launch a 5-1-1 system, but that not all provinces were eager to proceed.^[23]

In May 2008, an article in ComputerWorld Canada claimed that the 5-1-1 initiative "appears to have lost momentum".^[24]

Active 5-1-1 systems in Canada[link]

Ontario,^[25][26] Quebec,^[25] New Brunswick,^[27] Nova Scotia, and the Yukon Territory^[28] each have 5-1-1 systems. British Columbia began loose implementation of 5-1-1 service in late 2009/early 2010. This replaced the interim mobile service provided by *4997 (*HWYS) which had been in place on Rogers, Telus Mobility and Bell Mobility. BC 5-1-1 service is available to Telus, Telus Mobility and Telus MiKE clients at this^[when?] time. Full service NOT utilizing 5-1-1 is available via DriveBC (a government website/phone line) at www.drivebc.ca or by phone across North America at 1-800-550-4997 (HWYS).

Most provinces and territories without 5-1-1 systems have other road information hotlines, accessible by dialing various phone numbers.^[29]

References[link]

External links[link]

Region-specific 511 sites[link]

• Arizona
• California – Greater Los Angeles Area
• California – Sacramento Area
• California – San Diego Area
• California – San Francisco Bay Area
• Florida
• Florida – Tampa Bay Area
• Florida – Southwest Florida Area
• Florida – Jacksonville Florida Area
• Florida – Southeast Florida Area
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Montana
• New Jersey
• New York
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Northern New England – Maine
• Northern New England – New Hampshire
• Northern New England – Vermont
• Oregon
• Southwest Ohio – Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky
• Pennsylvania
• Quebec
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• Washington

General information[link]

• Federal Highway Administration 511 website, a source of official information
• 511 Deployment Coalition, a United States 511 advocacy group
• Canadian 511-related news updates
• Contact info for the Canada 511 Consortium

Afro Samurai (アフロサムライ, Afuro Samurai^?), also written AFRO SAMURAI, is a Japanese seinen dōjinshi manga series written and illustrated by manga artist Takashi Okazaki. It was originally serialized irregularly in the avant-garde dōjinshi manga magazine Nou Nou Hau from September 1999 to May 2000. Inspired by Takashi Okazaki's love of soul and hip hop music and American media, Afro Samurai follows the life of Afro Samurai who witnessed his father (owner of the No. 1 headband) being killed by the hands of a gunslinger named Justice (owner of the No. 2 headband) while he was a child. As an adult, Afro sets off to avenge his father's death and kill Justice.

The Afro Samurai dōjinshi was adapted into a 5-episode anime TV series by studio Gonzo in 2007. The same studio also went on to produce a made-for-TV movie sequel entitled Afro Samurai: Resurrection in 2009, which gained two Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation, which it won, and Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More). After the release of the anime series, Takashi Okazaki remade the original Afro Samurai dōjinshi into a two-volume manga. To be only released in North America, Tor Books and Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the title and published it under their new Tor/Seven Seas imprint.

In addition to the success of the anime series, Afro Samurai has also been adapted into a video game and an upcoming live-action feature film. For the TV series and the film, two soundtracks by the RZA of Wu-Tang Clan have been released as well as a profile book in Japan.

Plot[link]

[edit] Afro Samurai

In a futuristic yet feudal Japan, it is said that the one who wields the Number 1 headband is the fiercest fighter in the world and shall possess godlike powers. The only way to obtain the Number 1 headband is to challenge and defeat him in combat. However, only the Number 2 can challenge the Number 1, while anyone can challenge the Number 2, which causes a constant struggle for the Number 2 headband.

Justice, the owner of the No. 2 headband, goes to fight the owner of the No. 1 headband, Afro's father. The two battle, ending with Justice decapitating Afro's father and claiming his headband. His head rolls in front of his son, Afro, as he sobs and vows revenge.

Now an adult, "Afro Samurai" is the current No. 2 and a master swordsman. He travels Japan trying to make his way to the mountain-top keep where Justice awaits. As he makes his way to Justice, he recalls his journey from a frightened young boy to a master samurai. Along the way, many people challenge Afro for his headband, including the "Empty Seven Clan" who send various agents, including a robotic Afro, to kill him throughout his travels. He is also being hunted by his vengeful childhood friend Jinno, who was long thought to be dead. It is revealed that Afro's childhood samurai master became the new No. 2 after Justice killed Afro's father. When Afro confronts his master, they are both attacked by assassins, leading to the death of everyone except Afro, Jinno, Atsura (Ukikio) and their master. Jinno begs Afro not to kill their own master, claiming he is selfish and he is to blame for the death of their friends. Afro defeats the master and claims the number 2 headband. Jinno, filled with rage and hatred for Afro, throws himself off a nearby cliff. Afro as an adult finally confronts Justice. Afro learns that there are other headbands in existence, ranging to an unspecified higher number, and sees that the corpses of those who wore them are skewered throughout the room where Justice awaits. Afro defeats Justice and takes the No. 1 headband, and the other headbands disappear.

Afro decides to live in the mountains once again. Jinno, adorned with every headband in existence, returns and confronts Afro for the No. 1 band and his revenge.

[edit] Afro Samurai: Resurrection

Afro refuses to wear the No. 1 headband as the rules require, and spends his days making wooden sculptures of people from his past instead of fighting. On a bridge, after fishing, a group of people challenge him, but he easily slays all of them. One dark and stormy night, Jinno (now mindlessly taking orders) and a mysterious woman named Sio attacks Afro. Jinno easily defeats him and takes the No. 1 headband for Sio and then robs his father's grave of his remains. Sio is revealed to be Jinno's sister. Sio tells Afro her plans to resurrect Afro's father, Rokutaro, so she can torture him as revenge against Afro for the lives he has destroyed, including her brother's and her own. Sio challenges Afro to find the No. 2 headband to earn the right to challenge her. Afro, determined to recover the No. 1 headband and his father's remains, sets off to find the No. 2 headband. At "Lady's Luck Town" in a stripper/sex club, finds brothers No. 1 (who is in a stand-up wheelchair and has a catheter) and 3 and has to play a dice game against Brother No. 3. No. 3 cheats and Afro finds out, threatening to kill him and eventually learns from No. 3 that the bearer of the No. 2 headband is a man named Shichigoro.

Afro, in search of Shichigoro, coincidentally kills the kidnapper of Schichigoro's son and prompts Shichigoro to buy him a drink. They eventually fight to the death with the No. 2 headband at stake, and upon victory, Afro continues on toward Sio. Shichigoro's son, who witnessed his father's death, sobs and then vows revenge over the dead body of his father, much like Afro and Justice. Along the way he is observed by three masked, android warriors from his past. The warriors are revealed to be a part of Sio's original plan to overwhelm Afro in the final battle, but apparently had decided to battle Afro early in an attempt to finish him off before Sio had to dirty her hands.

Afro battles and defeats the three while Sio attempts to resurrect a mind-controlled version of Afro's father. However, Rokutaro is revived before he is completely restored, leaving him merely a mindless, though apparently somewhat controllable, killing machine. Afro defeats the three and is soon confronted by Sio, Jinno, and his resurrected father. With Afro hesitant to fight his father, Rokutaro defeats and kills him (stops his heart from beating by strangling him). Jinno comes to Afro's aid, though pointless as Sio points out, in a sudden flash of selective memories of being a childhood friend and sparring partner with Afro. Landing only a few blows, Jinno is quickly killed by Rokutaro, who kills Sio in the same blow when she attempts to come to Jinno's aid. The cybernetic remains of Jinno give off an electrical surge, which, conducted through the spilled blood of Sio, restarts Afro's heart. Afro apparently defeats Rokotaro and emerges from the scene wearing the No. 1 headband.

Afro walks away from the battle, wearing the No. 1 headband and clutching the No. 2 headband in right hand. He comes across Shichigoro's orphaned son, who had been following him, and hands him the No. 2, telling him to challenge him when he's ready.

Production[link]

Takashi Okazaki started drawing African-American characters on items like Kleenex boxes when he was a teenager, inspired by his fondness for hip hop and soul music. He also drew ideas from American media and their depiction of Japanese culture.^[1] Takashi started combining elements of samurai into his work, eventually developing the design for Afro. Takashi Okazaki began writing the original dōjinshi, then called Afro Samurai!, when he and his friends started independently publishing the art magazine Nou Nou Hau.^[2] The preparatory "issue 0" of Nou Nou Hau was released on November 1998 with Afro Samurai artwork featured on the cover.^[3] Takashi Okazaki wrote the entire manga in the English direction, with elements from English and Japanese comics. He also used Afro Samurai for a cat food advertisement in the last pages of his manga book.^[4]

In addition to the anime production, Takashi Okazaki re-made the dōjinshi, with much better art skills.^[4] At the Japan Society from March 13 to June 14, 2009, original Afro Samurai dōjinshi artwork (as used on issue 0 of Nou Nou Hau) was showcased at the KRAZY!: The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games exhibition.^[5]

Media[link]

Manga[link]

Written and illustrated by Takashi Okazaki, Afro Samurai was originally published in the self-funded Nou Nou Hau dōjinshi magazine.^[2] First appearing in issue 0, the dōjinshi version was first published from September 1999 to October 2000.^[3] After the release of the anime version, Takashi Okazaki recreated the original dōjinshi.^[4] Although the recreation of the original manga was created in Japan, it was first published in the United States by Seven Seas Entertainment and Tor Books in two tankōbon volumes.^[6] As a special supplement, thumb-nail sized clips of the original dōjinshi were shown at the end of the first volume.^[7] The English release of the manga was Tor Books and Seven Seas' first publication under the newly formed Tor/Seven Seas imprint.^[6] The manga was also released in Italy through Panini Comics' manga publishing division Planet Manga, starting on April 9, 2009.^[8] The manga was released in one volume in Japan on December 18, 2009. The limited edition came with all the issues of the original dōjinshi included in a separate volume.^[1]

Anime[link]

One of Takashi Okazaki's friends decided to make action figures based on the character, which were released in small amounts. After the action figures were created, a producer from the Japanese studio, Gonzo, happened to find them and thought of an animated TV project based on the series. The anime took three years to develop, and in the three years the studio also created a trailer, which happened to fall into the hands of Samuel L. Jackson.^[10] It was announced that the project would be a five-episode "creative collaboration" between Samuel L. Jackson, Takashi Okazaki, and Gonzo, with a music score by hip hop artist RZA from the rap group Wu-Tang Clan.^[11][12] In 2006, it was announced that Funimation Entertainment acquired the rights to the anime series which would premier on Spike TV (now simply known as "Spike") later that year, and that Samuel L. Jackson would voice Afro.^[13] Afro Samurai debuted on Spike TV, on January 4, 2007.^[14] The series' worldwide premier was on Spike TV's website where they streamed the first episode online. The anime was later released on Japanese television Thursday, May 3, 2007, in English with Japanese subtitles. The Japanese air was released completely uncut.^[15] On Friday, May 11, 2007 Funimation released the first Afro Samurai DVDs at Anime Central, at their own booth, the regular Afro Samurai: Spike Version and the uncut Afro Samurai: Director's Cut. Both DVDs were released to the public on May 22, 2007.^[16] On September 4, 2007, all five episodes of Afro Samurai were released on iTunes. To promote this, Funimation released eight custom designed iPods by Takashi Okazaki.^[17] In 2008, Funimation released the Afro Samurai anime series onto Xbox Live in high definition format and also debuted on Blu-ray Disc in that year.^[18][19] Also in 2008, Afro Samurai was shown at the German Film Festival in Germany.^[20]

Films[link]

In an Associated Press interview in 2007, Takashi Okazaki confirmed there would be a sequel to the anime series, and that it would also be shown on Spike TV.^[21] In 2008, the sequel was announced to be a TV movie titled Afro Samurai: Resurrection, and that actors Lucy Liu and Mark Hamill would join the voice acting cast.^[22] Hip hop artist RZA also came back to provide the soundtrack for the movie. Afro Samurai: Resurrection debuted on Spike TV on the night of January 25, 2009.^[23] On July 16, 2009, Afro Samurai: Resurrection was nominated for an Emmy in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for programming one hour or more)" category in the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards and the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. At the Emmy awards, Afro Samurai: Resurrection lost to Destination Imagination, a TV movie based on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.^[24][25] The art director of Afro Samurai: Resurrection, Shigemi Ikeda, won an Emmy for his work on Resurrection, which is the first ever awarded for work on a Japanese-animated production.^[26] Afro Samurai: Resurrection was the first Japanese anime to be nominated for and win an Emmy.^[25]

Late 2009 also saw the release of Afro Samurai: Complete Murder Sessions on Blu-Ray and DVD. A 4-disc collection of both Afro Samurai Director's Cut and Afro Samurai: Resurrection, together in one complete boxset.

Announced at the 2006 Comic-Con, a live action version of Afro Samurai was said to be in the making.^[27] On 2011-07-21, Gonzo K.K. and Indomina group announced Indomina group had obtained the rights to produce the film, with Samuel L. Jackson, Jasbinder Singh Mann (Indomina Group Vice Chairman and CEO), Shin Ishikawa (Gonzo Studios) as producers; Eli Selden of Anonymous Content as executive producer.^[28][29]

Video games[link]

In 2005, Gonzo had awarded Namco Bandai Games exclusive rights to publish to Afro Samurai video games, as announced that year.^[30] The debut trailer of the first game was released at the company's Editor's Day presentation.^[31] Afro Samurai was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on January 27, 2009.^[32][33]

Soundtracks[link]

Wu-Tang Clan member RZA produced the soundtrack for both the Afro Samurai TV series and the TV movie sequel Afro Samurai: Resurrection.^[12][23] The first soundtrack for the anime series, The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai: The Soundtrack was released on January 30, 2007 by Koch Records (now known as E1 Music).^[34] The second soundtrack for the TV movie, The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai: Resurrection: The Soundtrack was also released by Koch Records on January 27, 2009.^[35]

Crew[link]

• Samuel L. Jackson - Executive Producer
• Jamie Simone - Casting and Voice Director

Reception[link]

The Afro Samurai manga series has received generally positive reviews from critics. Scott Green, writer of the Anime AICN segment of Ain't It Cool News said that the manga "is a work of design" and that it "utilizes the medium to which it is applied as a platform rather than as an ends unto itself." Scott notes that Okazaki does not have a "head for manga as a storytelling form" and that the "manga labors to show off Okazaksi' [sic] design."^[36] Anime News Network reviewer, Carlo Santos stated about the anime that "like most typical action-adventures, the story starts out slow and only picks up toward the middle and end when the blades really start flying" and that "Afro Samurai is hardly a complex story" and that it only has "a handful of characters and a straightforward beat-the-next-guy plotline". Carlo Santos also noted that "the original Afro Samurai manga is pretty lousy" and that Takashi Okazaki often gets lost in "incomprehensible scribbles" and "style over substance."^[37] Volume 2 of Afro Samurai also charted 147 on ComiPress' "Top 250 Manga Volumes" of February 2009.^[38] The Blu-ray release of the anime series charted #16 on VideoScan's Blu-ray charts.^[19] Zac Bertschy of Anime News Nerwork stated about Afro Samurai: Resurrection that "it's a gorgeous film," with "incredible animation, spectacular action setpieces [sic] and a thumping score by The RZA". Zac noted that the plot is just "window dressing" and that if it's about anything it's about "cool".

Zac criticized that the film is just an excuse to string fight scenes together and that the farther it goes on it becomes clearer how "weak the writing is".^[39] Hyper commends the anime for its art, saying, "stylised poses and sharp, dynamic visuals have long been a trademark element of this series, and they hold true [in the anime]."^[40] In January 2009, IGN ranked Afro Samurai 90th on a list of the top 100 animated series, saying that the over-the-top violence and quirky story and characters made the show enjoyable ^[41]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official Afro Samurai: Resurrection website (Japanese)
• Official Gomanga page
• Afro Samurai (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Afro Samurai (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Afro Samurai: Resurrection (film) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Afro Samurai (film) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Afro Samurai at the Internet Movie Database
• Afro Samurai: Resurrection at Internet Movie Database