Episode 9: The Bandits

Review by Jonathan Oliver

February 24, 2009

In the fields of Kanna Village, four farmers discuss the plan to hire samurai and its foolishness. They fear that they cannot hold off the harvest much longer, when the village elder reminds them that they must hold it off. He tells them that the as farmers they know more about rice than the bandits and if they say it is not ready, then the bandits will believe them. In a flashback, a village is destroyed by Nobuseri after they discover the farmers were hiding rice. Honoka recalls being captured before coming back to the present. In the caverns, Kambei assures her that they can find their way to the surface, but she insists on guiding them to the top. The samurai carry on, discussing Kikuchiyo's knack for being a nuisance while being watched by a Shikimoribito in the rocks above them. In Honoka's house, Kirara and Komachi watch over Katsushiro as they talk about him not having the scent of battle. As the samurai exit the cave, they realize they have been surrounded. Dozens of pipes as well as two large mechs appear around the group. A bandit surveys the group and confirms that they were hired by the bandits as weapons are drawn by both sides. The same bandit swings his sword down on Kambei after being insulted, however Kambei easily sidesteps it, and the fight starts. Shichiroji boosts Kambei up as he delivers multiple slashes to the bandit, destroying him. The other samurai engage and destroy numerous other enemies, all the while being watched by the Guardians. However as Kambei makes his run at the other large bandit, he is hit by gunfire. Hyogo appears with a large cannon and holds off the other samurai as the bandit prepares to finish off Kambei. Kyuzo appears in a swirl of sand and slices the bandit to pieces. Hyogo attempts to shoot him, but Kambei slices the bullet in two as repayment. Kambei apologizes to Kyuzo because he cannot return to his former allies and lets him leave. As Shichiroji bandages Kambei's arm, the leader questions Honoka as to why they were ambushed at that particular spot. The Guardians appear and confirm that Honoka is a Nobuseri spy, but defends her in saying that she did not wish the samurai harm. 

In the Nobuseri ship, a bound Kikuchiyo mouths off to a gun wielding Hyogo. He hits him with it as Kiku keeps running his mouth. Sorobei questions Hyogo why Kyuzo, one who is employed by Ayamaro, fought against the bandits, but the attention soon turns back to Kiku, who hasn't stayed quiet. The Shikimoribito inform the samurai that the bandits have been trying to gain control of their energy cell technology and have been using Honoka as a mole, who the Shikimoribito had been feeding misinformation. Rikichi asks why, and Honoka explains that the bandits took her little sister and forced her to work as a mole in exchange for her sister's safety. She says that she also told them they were heading to Kanna Village after leaving Metal City. Katsushiro wakes up and gets dressed to help Kambei, now that he is one of the group. Komachi and Kirara protest, but a Shikimoribito appears to guide him to the surface. Heihachi prepares to execute Honoka, but Kambei instead makes her a promise to save her sister. As he leaves Honoka and Rikichi in the Guardian's care, a nearby explosion catches their attention. Kyuzo stands over the wreckage of a dead bandit as Hyogo fires at him. He is surrounded by pipes and ordered to come back to Kogakyo without fuss. The samurai arrive and attack after seeing Kikuchiyo held hostage. Hyogo delivers Kyuzo an ultimatum:  fight Kambei and be forgiven, or die trying. As Kambei and Kyuzo stare each other down, Katsushiro appears and frees Kikuchiyo. This distraction allows Kyuzo the opportunity to rush in and cut Hyogo down before he can fire. The samurai finish off the rest of the bandits, with Kikuchiyo even getting in a kill. Hyogo gloats that the samurai fell for the bandits' trap. Sorobei has informed the rest of the Nobuseri at the Upper Shrine of the samurai's existence. Kambei asks Kyuzo to come with them, who agrees, making him the sixth samurai. However, Kirara objects to this, saying that he is their enemy. In Kanna, a group of bandits question the chieftain about the samurai. 

In episode nine, we get to see some bandit-vs-samurai combat. From what I can tell, Gonzo has handled this great. The scenes are fluid and visually engaging, and for the most the samurai engage enemies one at a time. There aren't any one-swipe-ten-kills here. The sixth samurai has been found, but it's been pretty obvious who it would be for quite some time. It's also interesting to find that the bandits have ties to Ayamaro the merchant. There isn't much in terms of character development, however, as Katsushiro didn't do much except for rescue Kikuchiyo. Another good episode of a good (so far) series.

Overall Rating 4 out of 5 stars

Buy the Collection on DVD or Blu-ray (eps 1-26) from Amazon