Samurai 7

Plot

Samurai 7 tells the story of a village named Kanna. Set in a futuristic world that has just witnessed the end of a massive war, scores of villages are terrorized by Nobuseri bandits. But the Nobuseri are no normal bandits. They were once samurai, who during the war integrated their living cells with machines to become dangerous weapons now appearing more machine than man. Absolute power corrupts, and their reign of terror is increasing its hold on the countryside.

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 (島田 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, and he was on the losing side of many of them. 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 (岡本 カツシロウ)

Voiced by: Romi Park (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 in his own right. 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 (片山 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 on 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 also appears to have a paraphilia with inflicted injury as it reminds him of battle. He is the second samurai, he was also the first samurai to die in the anime, and guided Katsushiro to go back to Kanna Village in spirit form.

Kanna Village

Kirara Mikumari (キララ)

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

Kirara is a Mikumari (water maiden, a village priestess) of Kanna village. She decides to go find the samurai 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 other's hearts. She rejects Katsushiro's love, and later is shown to have fallen for Kanbei instead, who rejected her for his own reasons.

Komachi Mikumari (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.

Gisaku (ギサク)

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

The village patriarch who hired samurai to battle bandits.

Setsu (セツ)

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 (テッサイ)

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, whose 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.

Tessai's dress is a derivative of the traditional dress of the Dutch fishermen town of Volendam, including his pipe.

Ayamaro (アヤマロ)

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

Ayamaro is the Magistrate to Kogakyo and adopted father of Ukyo. 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 (ヒョーゴ)

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

Other characters

Masamune

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

Masamune is Kikuchiyo's mechanic and veteran of the Great War. As the series progresses, he befriends Kanbei and the other samurai while they stayed in Kogakyo. He was the one who helped them escape Kogakyo in episode 6 of the show (Although he was tied up by Kambei and "roughened up" by Kikuchiyo as a ploy to trick the attendants into believing that Masamune was taken hostage rather than willingly aiding the samurai).

Yukino (ユキノ)

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

Yukino is Shichiroji's lover and the woman who saved his life when Shichiroji's escape pod washed ashore on the river underneath the Firefly House. Indebted to Yukino, Shichiroji helps her run the Firefly House and claims that he had abandoned the samurai life. However, it is one of Yukino's fears that the old samurai hasn't quite forgotten fighting. When Shichiroji joins Kanbei and the others on their journey to Kanna Village, Yukino waits for him, expecting him to return with "a mountain of treasure" as in the old tale of "Peach Boy" with which they tease Shichiroji with. As the series progresses, Yukino seems to be very sisterly towards Kirara and is aware of Kirara's hidden love for Kanbei.

Honoka (ホノカ)

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

Honoka is a village girl who was traded to the Shikimoribito by the Nobuseri after they destroyed her village. In truth, she is a spy for the Nobuseri, who desire to control the Shikimoribito's power cells. If she is not compliant with the Nobuseri's wishes, they claim they will kill her little sister, Mizuki. However, when discovered, rather than be killed as Heihachi wanted, Kanbei spares her and promises to restore Mizuki to her.

Sanae (サナエ)

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

Theme songs

Opening: "Unlimited" by Nanase Aikawa

Closing: "Fuhen" (Ubiquity) by Rin'

Opening NHK TV Version: "Justice" by Coming Century (V6)

Closing NHK TV Version: "Niji Musubi" (Tying Rainbow) by Rin'