Samurai 7

Samurai 7 (サムライセブン Samurai Sebun) is a 2004 anime TV series, produced by Gonzo and based on Akira Kurosawa's highly regarded 1954 movieSeven Samurai. The series was directed by Toshifumi Takizawa and its music was composed by Kaoru Wada and Eitetsu Hayashi. There are 26 episodes, each costing around ¥32,500,000 ($300,000USD) to produce.

The series premiered across Japan on the anime satellite television network, Animax, as an exclusive high definition CS-PPV broadcast, and was also later aired by the network across its other respective networks worldwide, including Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America and other regions. Funimation Entertainment has acquired the dubbing rights for the North American release. It is airing in America through the Independent Film Channel (using FUNimation's dub) since April 2006 and in high definition on Dish Networks Animania HD channel (also using FUNimation's dub). It has also been broadcast across Canada by specialty channel Razer and across Hong Kong by TVB Jade. The FUNimation Channel began airing the series on September 6, 2010.

Plot

See also: List of Samurai 7 episodes

Samurai 7 tells the story of a village named Kanna. Every year during the harvest a group of bandits come and steal away almost all of the rice that had been harvested that year. Not only that, the bandits are becoming more demanding, now taking women and children in addition to rice.

The elder of Kanna Village has decided that to protect the village they must hire samurai to fight against the bandits. However, the village has no money and thus must find samurai willing to protect the village for a payment of rice. Three members of the village leave to attempt to recruit samurai. They travel to the city and search for samurai willing to work, and after finding several samurai and having a few encounters with the local government they return to Kanna village to prepare defenses against the bandits.

The samurai train the villagers in the use of bows, building walls, and construct a giant ballista to defend the village against the bandits. After successfully defeating the bandits, the samurai then launch an attack upon the capital to defeat a power-hungry ruler who has recently risen to power as Emperor. After heavy casualties for the samurai, and the near-destruction of Kanna village, the capital is finally defeated.

Characters

Samurai

Shimada Kanbei (カンベエ)

Voiced by: Masaki Terasoma (Japanese), R. Bruce Elliott (English)

Kanbei is a wise samurai who has survived many battles, though he feels no joy from them. Many of his friends have died in those battles. He constantly lives in the shadow of his painful and violent past, rejecting Kirara after stating that his heart is dried up. He leads the group during their battles and usually plans strategy. In the end, after understanding Katsushiro has become a successful samurai, he passes his sword onto him as he leaves Kanna village ahead of him and Shichirouji. He is the first samurai.

Okamoto Katsushiro (カツシロウ)

Voiced by: Romi Paku (Japanese), Sean Michael Teague (English)

Katsushiro is a young and inexperienced samurai who wishes to be Kanbei's student, calling him sensei almost from their first meeting. He idolizes the principles of bushido. He promises to protect Kirara no matter what, and seems to be attracted to her. He grows stronger and more skillful throughout the series, eventually becoming a worthy student of Kanbei; and he also comes to terms with killing enemies, after reacting in shock the first time. He becomes strong enough to deflect the capital's main cannon, and defeated numerous bandits all by himself. He gains emotional strength as well, and understands what his true reason for becoming a samurai is. After turning down Kirara in the end, he explains to her that he intends to continue his life on the battlefield. After hearing this, he receives Kanbei's sword from him in recognition as his student. Unlike in the original movie, he shows more focus on becoming a samurai and improving his skills greatly in the anime (where in the original he was preoccupied with a love affair). He is the fifth samurai.

Katayama Gorobei (ゴロベエ)

Voiced by: Tetsu Inada (Japanese), Bob Carter (English)

Gorobei is a skilled samurai who has made his living since the wars' end by entertaining people on the city streets. He is also a veteran of the Great War, so he knows Kanbei by reputation. He is very skilled at dodging blows and can pluck arrows and darts from the air. This ability was presumably based of the fact that in the original movie, Gorobei was able to sense (from a few feet outside the door) Katsushiro's waiting to hit him inside the hut. He often makes light of rather serious or dangerous situations. He is also quite smart, in his own unique way. He is the first to be killed when saving the rest of the samurai from bullet fire during the bandits raid. To him, all the world was a stage and the people, merely players. He is the second samurai.

Shichiroji (シチロージ)

Voiced by: Tohru Kusano (Japanese), Duncan Brannan (English)

Shichiroji initially fought side by side in the Great War with Kanbei, and is often referred to as "Kanbei's old wife." ("Mate" in the English series) He temporarily leaves behind his successful post-war business at the Firefly Inn, and with it, his beautiful girlfriend/fiance, to join Kanbei in battle once again. He has a prosthetic left hand which has a grappling hook capability with his index finger. In combat he uses a type of spear; the only samurai not using a sword. This is probably a reference to his using a spear mainly during the final battle in the original movie (though normally he carried a sword). His girlfriend, Yukino, has nicknamed him Momotaro, from the traditional Japanese tale, because she found him, badly injured after a battle, floating down a river inside a capsule reminiscent of a peach. He is the fourth samurai.

Kikuchiyo (キクチヨ)

Voiced by: Kong Kuwata (Japanese), Christopher Sabat (English)

Kikuchiyo is a cyborg with a mechanized exoskeleton. He is originally a peasant until becoming a samurai to help others. He is often looked upon as a clown or a bother, as he gets angry easily and often causes trouble with his loud noise and clumsy ways. He is accepted as the seventh samurai after revealing he was also a farmer, like the peasants of Kanna. He carries the largest of the swords, which also acts as a chainsaw. He is fiercely loyal to Kanbei, and, when given recognition, he returns favors fourfold. He is well liked by the villagers, especially by little Komachi, who asks him to become her husband when she grows up, a request that he accepts in return for her keeping his fake family tree. He is the last to be killed, he died protecting Kanna from the crashing capital. He shows his true determination and strength here, and proves himself to be a worthy samurai.

Hayashida Heihachi (ヘイハチ)

Voiced by: Junji Inukai (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)

Heihachi is a genial samurai who wishes to avoid fighting as much as possible and prefers to eat rice instead. During the Great War, he took a position as a combat engineer, which kept him off the front lines but also used his mechanical skills. He is discovered chopping wood in exchange for food or devices that interest him. He is most helpful within the group as their mechanic, and orchestrates the construction of medieval-type weapons. However, he harbors a deep hatred for traitors as he was one himself, which resulted in his whole unit being killed. He is crushed by a huge iron bar. Before dying, he shouts out: "I'll be in the rice" or "Find me in the rice". Within the series, he talks about the old tradition of the "seven rice kami" inside every grain of rice. He dies with a smile, and shows himself to be friendly and jovial till his end. He is the third samurai.

Kyuzo (キュウゾウ)

Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (Japanese), Sonny Strait (English)

Kyuzo is originally a nearly silent, mysterious bodyguard for Ayamaro. In that role, he fights with Kanbei, and he later joins the group with the stated intent of saving Kanbei's life so that he can later fight Kanbei to the death. Kyuzo is an incredibly skilled fighter, wielding double blades that fit into one sheath on his back. He's accidentally killed by Katsushiro when Katsushiro used a gun to protect Kanbei because his sword was broken. Rather than showing anger to Katsushiro or regret of his own life, he instead expresses his anticipation of fighting Kanbei in the after world. He is the sixth samurai.

Villagers

Kirara (キララ)

Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese), Colleen Clinkenbeard (English)

Kirara is a Mikumari (water maiden, a village priestess) of Kanna. She decides to go find the samurais to be brought back to her village, while admitting that she also wanted to see the outside world. She possesses a dowsing crystal on a necklace which allows her to detect the flow of groundwater and to read others' hearts. She harejects Katsushiro's love, and later shown to have fell for Kanbei instead, who rejected her for his own reasons.

Komachi (コマチ)

Voiced by: Chiwa Saito (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)

Komachi is Kirara's little sister, who follows along with her and Rikichi to see the city as well as help locate the samurai. She likes the boisterous Kikuchiyo and asks him to marry her when she grows up. After the death of Kikuchiyo, Komachi is seen with her sister's dowsing necklace hinting that she inherited her position as the Mikumari of her village.

Rikichi (リキチ)

Voiced by: Tadahisa Saizen (Japanese), J. Michael Tatum (English)

Rikichi is a peasant of Kanna, who travels with Kirara to locate the samurai. He can be often rash because of his hatred for the bandits. He blames himself for the loss of his wife, Sanae, who has given herself up to the bandits to save the village. Kanbei promises to rescue Sanae, and Rikichi is eventually reunited with her.

Sanae

Voiced by: Yuu Asakawa (Japanese), Clarine Harp (English)

Elder Gisaku

Voiced by: Ikuo Nishikawa (Japanese), Andrew Haskett (English)

Setsu (Matriarch)

Voiced by: Atsuko Mine (Japanese), Juli Erickson (English)

Okara

Voiced by: Megumi Tano (Japanese), Zarah Little (English)

Manzo

Voiced by: Naoki Makishima (Japanese), Mark Stoddard (English)

Shino

Voiced by: Yu Kobayashi (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

Mosuke

Voiced by: Takehiro Murozono (Japanese), Kyle Hebert (English)

Yohei

Voiced by: Kenichi Mochizuki (Japanese), Grant James (English)

Gosaku

Voiced by: Youhei Oobayashi (Japanese), Christopher Bevins (English)

Gonzo

Voiced by: Masafumi Kimura (Japanese), Andy Mullins (English)

Kanzo

Voiced by: Takehiro Murozono (Japanese), John Burgmeier (English)

Antagonists

Ukyo (ウキョウ^?)

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Anthony Bowling (English)

Ukyo is the adopted heir to Ayamaro. His shielded and pampered lifestyle leaves him with a self-centered yet playful attitude on life, which is really a cover for a rather calculating, manipulative and cruel personality. He is later revealed to be the 49th clone of the Emperor and after surviving a three-day ordeal of constant questioning, Ukyo is proclaimed heir to the throne. He then murders the emperor to succeed him and launches a plan to pit the villagers, samurai and bandits against one another to consolidate his control.

Tessai

Voiced by: Michihiro Ikemizu (Japanese), Robert McCollum (English)

Tessai is a samurai employed by Ukyo as a body guard. Throughout most of the series, he plays the role of the frustrated sycophant to Ukyo; enduring near constant verbal abuse. However, he is eventually revealed to be a competent warrior, who's martial skills may even be greater than the heroes. His subservience to Ukyo comes from a sense of personal honor in loyalty to his retainer, however undeserving that retainer might be.

Ayamaro

Voiced by: Seiji Sasaki (Japanese), Barry Yandell (English)

Ayamaro is the Magistrate to Kogakyo. He raised Ukyo and taught him in the ways of commerce. But, when his samurai hunt for the murderer of the Imperial Envoy turn up unsuccessful, he is stripped of his title which is given to Ukyo. Ayamaro was seen in the last episode, living among the Shikimoribito.

Hyogo

Voiced by: Takeshi Kusao (Japanese), Jerry Jewell (English)

Hyogo is one of Ayamaro's bodyguards. He is identifiable by an androgynous appearance, and deports a cutthroat personality; always seen trying to outshine Kyuzo, as suggested in Episode 5 when he challenges Kanbei after Kyuzo is defeated by the ronin. He is later killed by Kyuzo, who cuts him down after he fires a shot from his newly-acquired rifle at Katsushiro.

Amanushi (アマヌシ)

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Anthony Bowling (English)

He's the emperor, whose body was damaged during the great war. Thus, he bought out the samurai in an act of revenge. He also created several clones in an attempt to make a successor, including Ukyo.

Nobuseri (野伏せり)

The Nobuseri, or bandits, are former samurai who have converted their bodies into large fighting machines during the previous war. Because they were bought out by the emperor, they rob farming villages of their rice, and occasionally women and children for the capital. Ukyo later orders the court physician to remove the bandits' souls, so they will be nothing more than mindless machines, accepting orders only from the emperor.

Tanomo

Voiced by: Naoki Makishima (Japanese), Scott McNeil (English)

Sobei

Voiced by: Kazuhiko Kishino (Japanese), Michael Sinterniklaas (English)

Syusai

Voiced by: Takashi Nagasako (Japanese), Brett Weaver (English)

Genzo

Voiced by: Ryuzaburo Otomo (Japanese), Sean Schemmel (English)

Others

Masamune

Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura (Japanese), Brice Armstrong (English)

Yukino

Voiced by: Rieko Takahashi (Japanese), Gwendolyn Lau (English)

Honoka

Voiced by: Kumiko Watanabe (Japanese), Carrie Savage (English)

Mizuki

Voiced by: Chiaki Osawa (Japanese), Laura Bailey (English)

Koharu

Voiced by: Mio Morisawa (Japanese), Caitlin Glass (English)

Chiaki

Voiced by: Tadahori Moriya (Japanese), Lucy Small (English)