| Main Article |
| The Storm | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| English title | The Storm |
| Japanese title | Die! |
| Nihongo | 死す！ |
| Romaji | Shisu! |
| Airdate | October 9, 2004 |
| Navigation | |
| Episode number | 16 |
| Previous episode | The Gun and the Calm |
| Next episode | The Remembrance |
Die! (死す！Shisu!), alternatively called The Storm in the English version, is the sixteenth episode of the anime Samurai 7. It first aired on October 9, 2004.
Credits[]
- Director: Tōru Yoshida
- Storyboard: Kazuo Terada
- Screenplay: Atsuhiro Tomioka
- Animation director: Anime R
Plot[]
Near the waterfall, from the village ravine's bottom, several mimizuku quickly ascend the rocky path leading up to Kanna Village. In her house, Kirara and the other women remain silent and wait for the samurai, with the water priestess detecting the nobuseri's arrival with her water crystal. At the top of the waterfall cliff, Yohei and Mosuke wonder if the nobuseri are truly nearby, and Heihachi tells them that it is better to sense the enemy via listening rather than seeing. The samurai adds that being scared will only benefit the nobuseri, so the male villagers hesitantly accept his advice. In the village, Kambei remarks to Katsushirō and Shichirōji that the enemy will likely plan on lowering the villagers' morale because the majority of their army are villagers and only seven samurai. Agreeing, Shichirōji notes that a waterfall is difficult to climb but makes for a great tactic in muffling metal and hiding oneself. Katsushirō wonders if the nobuseri realize that the waterfall is fortified, to which Kambei answers that they will know how their enemy thinks. Running to the three men, Rikichi yells that the nobuseri have arrived with one raiden, eight yakan at the west cliff and ten mimizuku on the south road, as well as three yakan and twelve mimizuku in the north graveyard. Once Kambei notes the numbers, he asks if Rikichi saw any benigumo among them, which he denies. Kambei orders Katsushirō to go with Rikichi to his post and wait for further instruction from Gorobei.
At the cliff, the mimizuku fire an arrow grenade at their fence, forcing Gorobei to warn everyone to move out of the way. The bomb injures several male villagers, and Komachi and Okara huddle in fear after hearing the explosion. As the mimizuku pass the barrier, they fire a flare as a signal to the main forces. Defending the villagers, Gorobei also orders them to search for and carry away the wounded. Rikichi comes by to help his fellow villagers while Katsushirō is surprised to learn about the use of arrow grenades, agreeing to warn the other samurai. Rikichi and Gosaku are put in charge of saving the villagers. When other male villagers prepare their bows, Kikuchiyo runs to Manzō and them, claiming that he will be the leading attacker instead of the farmers. The villagers become scared and run away not because of his threat, but because of a yakan behind him. As Kikuchiyo begins fighting more yakan and mimizuku against the enemy's grenade arrows, Heihachi and his men try to toss wood and boulders down onto the flying tobito, who avoid the debris. More mimizuku arrive, forcing Heihachi to protect the villagers. At the same time, Shūsai speeds through the fields when he is confronted by Kyūzō, who dodges his attacks, cuts off his gun hand, and even stabs him in the face, knocking the mechanized bandit to the ground with ease.
When Katsushirō reports the arrow grenades and mimizuku numbers to Kambei, Shichirōji comments that the enemy appear to be avoiding damage to the rice fields. Suddenly, a barrage of flaming arrows rains down onto the village residences, so Shichirōji and Kambei begin to fight the approaching mimizuku. Shaking, Katsushirō attempts to stifle his fears about killing, and a raiden begins bombing other residences. The male villagers run in different directions, and Kyūzō comes to their aid and begins cutting down several mimizuku. Manzō tries firing an arrow at a yakan and misses, causing the calm yakan to throw it back at him, barely missing his head. Kikuchiyo stops the two yakan, yelling at Manzō to pull himself together. Grabbing a huge tree trunk, he smashes a yakan with it. With Kikuchiyo's back turned, a mimizuku fires an arrow at him, but is intercepted by Gorobei, who throws it back at the mimizuku. Quickly looking around him, Heihachi notices a mimizuku too late, and a grenade arrow launched near him destroys a catapult and injures him. Meanwhile, Kambei, Shichirōji, Gorobei, and Kyūzō grow tired of fighting the numerous nobuseri. Katsushirō has finally caught up to other villagers, who have killed a few mimizuku.
Back at the main camp, Kambei states that fifteen mimizuku remain, and Kikuchiyo comes back to retrieve a katana after he broke his large sword fighting the nobuseri. To their surprise, a raiden arrives and fires an explosive at the villagers. When everyone prepares to fight the machine samurai, Kambei orders them to halt since he offers to fight the raiden one-on-one. To Kikuchiyo's surprise, Rikichi and a few other men attempt to use Shūsai's severed gun hand on the raiden, but they miss the shot and are knocked to the ground by the colossal recoil. Laughing at their inability to use the gun arm, the raiden orders the remaining mimizuku to attack. Blocking their path, Kyūzō begins clashing with the mimizuku while the angered raiden aims at him. Using a beam as a ramp, Katsushirō runs up and cuts apart the raiden's abdomen, felling him. Immediately, Kambei warns him not to let his guard down, and the samurai push back the remaining nobuseri. Helping Gosaku carry Rikichi, Mosuke advises Katsushirō to continue the fight without them since Rikichi has a broken rib. As Rikichi smiles about his desire but inability to fight, Kikuchiyo is dragged away by two tobito. Gorobei runs to aid him, and Katsushirō reminds Rikichi that he needs to live to find his wife, ordering the other two men to take him to Kirara's house.
Heihachi returns after having bandaged his abdomen injury, joking to Kambei and Shichirōji that he could use some rice and that the rain is preventing him from being his normal, agile self. Kikuchiyo returns and is pushed back by a cannon round that also pushes back the two tobito. The other samurai take cover in response to Shūsai's firepower since the latter hides in the fog. Seconds later, breaking the tense silence, Shūsai shows himself and deploys the remaining yakan. Grabbing a burning beam, Kikuchiyo uses it as a makeshift weapon, and the other samurai cut down the yakan. Seeing Kikuchiyo, Shūsai fires a cannon round at him, breaking apart his weapon. Before he can fire another shot, Shichirōji throws his staff into one of the gun barrels. When Shūsai fires another shot, Gorobei attempts to cut it and succeeds, but a second round passes by him and explodes, greatly injuring him. Feeling Gorobei's strong wound, Katsushirō curses the nobuseri, but Kambei suggests that he and the others stay out of it. Walking up to Shūsai, Kambei nonchalantly declares that the nobuseri have already lost, asking him if he still has something to prove as a samurai. Shūsai retorts that he gave up the samurai way a long time ago, tossing his gun to the side. Making the first move, the benigumo swings his sword down and continues striking repeatedly at Kambei, who swiftly avoids the attacks. Elsewhere, Kirara detects a change in the water with her water crystal.
Revealing a hidden gun, Shūsai shoots at Kambei, prompting Kyūzō to interfere and cut off his hidden gun. Kambei says that he does not need saving, but Kyūzō merely replies that he does not want anyone else killing him. Still able to use his arm, Shūsai pushes his sword forward and manages to disarm Kambei. Although Katsushirō wants to help, Gorobei silently gestures him to stay still. Before Shūsai can cut Kambei down, he is shot in the back by the villagers with his own arm cannon, so Kambei quickly retrieves his sword. Rikichi is happy that the plan worked, but the injured Shūsai is still alive. Acting on instinct, Kambei cuts off his head and strikes his chest, finally killing the nobuseri. Gisaku senses the victory, but Kirara is distraught to detect the water being sullied and runs out of the house. Standing around the wounded Gorobei, the villagers watch as Rikichi and Katsushirō comfort him, and Gorobei apologizes for not being able to take the former to the capital. With a solemn expression, Kambei claims that he has stolen Gorobei's life. Smiling, Gorobei responds that he must be joking, and he dies in Katsushirō's arms, much to everyone's sadness. As Kirara arrives, Kambei orders Shichirōji to look after the villagers, and he departs from Kanna Village. Kirara tries to ask him to come back, but Gisaku tells her to let him leave since he still has work to do.
Characters[]
In order of appearance.
- Kirara Mikumari
- Setsu
- Okara
- Komachi Mikumari
- Shino
- Yohei
- Mosuke
- Heihachi Hayashida
- Kambei Shimada
- Shichirōji
- Katsushirō Okamoto
- Rikichi
- Gorobei Katayama
- Gisaku
- Shūsai
- Gosaku
- Kikuchiyo
- Manzō
- Kyūzō
Music[]
- Episode 15 recap — A Village to Protect (Mura wo Mamoru) — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- Opening theme — Unlimited (TV Size) — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- The various nobuseri begin their ascent and assault — People of the Land (Daichi no Tami) — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- The tobito and mimizuku attack further, Kyūzō fights a benigumo — Killing (Zan) — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- The mimizuku charge at Kambei's group, they fire flame arrows at the village — Unreleased #7
- The samurai continue to fight the enemy but become tired — Unreleased #9
- Break — Subtitle — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- Kyūzō fights the mimizuku, Katsushirō cuts the raiden's chest, Rikichi stands down — People of the Land (Daichi no Tami) — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- The samurai fight against Shūsai's forces, Gorobei cuts the bullet but is wounded — Battlefield (Ikusaba) — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- Kambei versus Shūsai — Killing (Zan) — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- Gorobei's final moments, Kambei leaves — Unreleased #10
- Ending theme — Fuhen (TV Size) — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- Preview — Water Priestess (Mikumari no Miko) — Samurai 7 O.S.T.
- Okara recaps the episode — Kikuchiyo and Komachi — Samurai 7 O.S.T.