This is Komachi. Okara-chan, are you doing well?
As promised, I'm writing you a letter to tell you about the city,
and this and that which has been happening.
It has been a week since we left Kanna Village.
The city that we went to is named Kogakyo.
It is a fascinating place, with lots of food that I've never seen before.
I was so surprised!
But it's weird, with all of the food here, why do the bandits take our rice?
Maybe it's like you say, Okara-chan.
The bandits are so huge that they have to eat an incredible amount of rice.
Sister said that long ago, when the war was going on,
we supported the samurai-sama with rice.
But the weirdest thing to me is how come we can't eat the rice,
when we're the ones who raise it? I don't understand.
Okay, I'll write you another letter soon. Bye now.
We should kill the bandits!
Grandfather, that's crazy!
We'll hire samurai.
No, not this one.
I have found you, my sworn enemy!
Stay back! Stay back!
It is decided! That man is the samurai-sama who will save our village!
wakari aeru koto mo
Being able to understand each other,
wakachi au koto mo
and to share with each other,
utakata no youni
are both as short-lived as a bubble on the water.
toki no suna ni magire
Obscured by the sands of time,
tsukami kirenai to
unable to hold on,
akirameteta anata ni au made wa
I gave up, until I saw you again, asking
"dore kurai itami wo
"How much pain
hitori de kakaete kite tano?
have you been carrying, all alone?
dore kurai sabishisa
And how much loneliness
hitomi ni kakushite hohoen dano?"
is hidden behind your eyes when you smile?"
deai no kiseki wo ima dakishimete
Embrace this miracle of an encounter now,
mitsume attara tsuyoku nareru
By gazing upon each other, we can become stronger.
kore wo ai to yobanai tosuru nara
And if this isn't what you call love,
ima dore wo ai to yobu no?
then what is it you call love now?
Episode 2 - Eat!
Hey, Kiku-noji. Your head this time, is it?
Sorry. So, mister, could you fix me up again?
This is another pretty sharp cut here.
This was no ordinary quarrel, was it?
No quarrel. It was a battle.
Kiku-noji, did you take on a samurai?
Yeah, a samurai. A samurai!
Sister...
I'm sorry, Mikumari-sama, but that samurai-sama has unusually fast legs.
I ain't got any idea where he went off to.
That is a problem.
Stop.
Oh, she's a fine one, huh?
She is a peasant. This is unusual, having a peasant in a town such as this, huh?
She is indeed a diamond in the rough. She will shine, if polished, I bet.
Young Lord, your father awaits, and we must hurry.
Still, she is fine, huh?
I will bring her to you later. Now, if we could...
Ah, all right, all right. We may go.
A moment! Please, wait a moment!
A moment!
Please, wait. I have something to ask of you.
I am Okamoto Katsushiro.
I humbly request that you please accept me as your apprentice,
Zaemon Yoshichika-dono, the Peaceable.
That name was only something I used as a means to cut down the burglar.
Magnificent! Then, please tell me what your true name is!
Hmm... Must I tell you?
By all means!
Shimada Kanbe.
Well then, Kanbe-sama, I once again make my request of you.
I greatly admire the way you cut down that burglar earlier.
The moment of your piercing shout,
the way your sword made no unnecessary motions...
You are indeed the ideal samurai that I have been searching for!
Sister, we found him!
You are a samurai?
Yes.
At your age, you cannot have known war.
My aim is to be a samurai,
with a belief in the heart of the perpetual battlefield to train me up.
Your sword possesses the heart of the perpetual battlefield.
Ask someone else.
Wait!
I have something to ask of you!
Cut down the bandits, huh?
What do you think, honored warrior? Won't you please lend us your strength?
All that we peasants can offer as thanks is this.
Eat as much of this rice as you like. This is the only thing we have.
Those bandits think of us as nothin' more than their tools to grow rice,
no matter how many of us may die.
But us peasants've got souls, too!
I will go.
You will?
Mm-hmm. I have heard stories of how, after a war,
those who are bandits resort to even assaulting the peasants,
for the purpose of collecting their rice or grain.
I, Okamoto Katsushiro, will do whatever little I can to assist you.
But Samurai-san, you don't have the smell of the battlefield about you,
so you're no good. That's what Sister said-
K- Komachi! I'm sorry! What a terribly impolite thing to say!
N-no... you were completely right to say so.
However, expending ones energy for the weak is the true duty of the warrior.
Your words are more than we deserve!
Why don't we save these people from their distress?
Why?
I saw how you saved that child earlier.
I believe that you are the only one that can save our village.
The only battles I've known are losing ones.
If I were to go, your village would be decimated.
But!
You cut down that burglar earlier, didn't you!?
That was different from a battle. I am nothing more than a shell.
An ordinary shell, who continues to live in disgrace.
Katsushiro, wasn't it?
You cannot handle it.
B-but!
You won't help us, no matter what?
Young lady...
You said you were the Mikumari, maiden of the shrine, right?
Sometimes, the water you locate will be bitter.
The current rate of growth of the city is most pleasing.
In particular, the remarkable progress made
by everyone here in Kogakyo is truly wonderful,
and I understand that it is even to the point where other cities
are under strict orders to pattern themselves after Kogakyo.
If the world adopts our resourcefulness as merchants from here on,
it is said that the provisions for the post-war restructuring
will become even more firm.
A job well done, Imperial Envoy.
I deeply appreciate all your efforts, as well as your generous consideration.
Please relay that I gratefully accept these gifts.
As you wish.
Gentlemen of the syndicate, you may engrave this upon your hearts...
the era of the samurai is over.
Pledge yourselves now to the merchants,
and to aiding the revitalization of the city.
We could have skipped that.
For your father's part, it's not surprising that he would think of this
as a good opportunity to foster your involvement with the syndicate.
Someday, Young Lord, you will succeed your father.
Ukyo-sama, welcome back.
Welcome back.
Ukyo-sama...
Is that girl here yet?
Why aren't you folks eating rice? What is that?
It's called "firefly fare."
The rice is saved for the samurai.
Please don't let it bother you.
Yeah, but...
Um, Samurai-sama?
Wait just a moment. First, I need to fill my stomach.
O-okay...
Grandfather was right. Samurai are hungry.
Thanks for the food. Now, if you'll excuse me...
Are you trying to mock me!? I aspire to greater things! I'll be leaving.
I will not accept your offerings! I may be down and out, but I am still a warrior!
This is disappointing. So this is the way of the samurai?
Hey, have you found a samurai yet? There ain't any guys that crazy around, huh?
Just give up and hurry on home to your village.
You disrespectful clod!
Don't, Katsushiro-sama!
We'll try covering a wider area starting tomorrow.
There is still time before the ears of rice bow their heads.
You've finally found her?
The story is that they have gone into the lower layers.
It seems there are some peasants who are treating people to their rice.
Last night, I dreamt about you.
Oh?
I'm Ukyo. And you?
What's the matter?
These are flowers that have bloomed for you.
If you do not accept them, the flowers will weep.
That's it! That's better. See, the flowers are overjoyed.
So, what's your name?
Kirara.
Kirara? Nice. Very nice, that's pretty.
Um, was there something you needed?
Goodness, Kirara-kun, it's about the samurai-sama that you are looking for.
The truth is, there is a samurai-sama that wants so much to meet you,
but he is someone who doesn't like to come out into the open,
so I have come to you as his representative. Shall we go see him?
Please, wait...
Young Lord!
If she is bruised, I will hold you responsible.
Not to worry. Here, allow me...
That's okay! Don't touch her!
It's that samurai from before!
That one is no good.
But he tried to save that child! He did blow it, though.
That person is a machine, just like the bandits.
He's a good mechanical samurai!
Did you want something?
Kirara-dono!
So, what do you need?
Hey, what's wrong?
Hey!
I can handle the bandits by myself.
Here you are.
Will you do it?
I am a samurai.
This is great!
Here they finally find someone, and it's this mechanical samurai!
You got a problem with that?
Amazing!
With this guy around, we'll have the strength of a hundred million zillion men!
Hasn't Kirara-dono come back yet?
Ah, you're!
Katsushiro-sama, is somethin' the matter?
We don't know where Kirara-dono is.
What, the girl? You're saying she's disappeared, then?
Do you know something about it?
There's no question. She's in that place. That place.
That place?
Hey there.
You don't need to be afraid. You've been chosen by me, you see.
This is a great honor for you.
You tricked me!
How awful! And here I've rescued you.
Discreetly, now! We don't have any proof!
Quiet, you dolt!
This is your fault for not looking after her closely enough, isn't it?
And you call yourself a samurai!?
Welcome back.
Working in the fields is hard, huh?
Well, from now on, you don't have to worry about that.
First, we'll have you take a perfume bath.
Then, you'll feast upon all sorts of delicious things
you've never even seen before, okay?
Please let me off, I beg you! I have a very important duty to fulfill.
Shh!
You can't go on worrying about that. Bid farewell to the secular world.
All you need to think about is your own happiness now.
Kirara-dono!
Are you Kirara?
Y- yes...
Kirara-dono, come quickly!
I will cut down the bandits!
Who is this?
Young Lord, hurry! Young Lord!
Do not harm the girl!
Kikuchiyo-dono!
Not again!
You go on!
Kirara-dono, you must not let go of my hand!
Right!
Katsushiro-sama!
Kirara-dono, run away!
Katsushiro-sama!
Hurry and get going, Kirara-dono!
Go!
It's too dangerous! Come back here!
You'd best not be thinking anything foolish. Below you is a bottomless pit.
If you come back with Ukyo-sama, you will enjoy a life without want for anything.
Not a bad deal, right?
Hey, wait!
She did it!
Jump!
I thought I told you to go home.
I was sure...
I was sure that you would save me. I believed it.
The old man merely gazed off into the distance
kakurega ni sunda okina ga tada
from the hideaway in which he lived.
tooku wo mitsumete ita
The baby cries, seeking only
akanbou wa naku hahaoya kara
for the warmth of his mother.
atatakasa dake motomete
We are born paying the price
dareka no batsu to dareka no tsumi wo
for someone's punishment, for someone's sins,
tsugunainagara umareru
but there is no such thing as a future without salvation,
sukuiyou no nai mirai nante nai
and the present slips quietly into the past.
"ima" wa shizuka ni kako ni
We string together nothing but hollow ideas,
kireigoto dake wo narabete
and tell nothing but hollow lies.
kireigoto dake de usotsuite
And as the rain falls down upon us,
kakari furu ame no naka
something appears and then fades away.
nanika ga ukabi kieteku
Preview
Episode 3 - You Must Be Joking!