That night he ran and danced deep within that electric purple haze.
Hello and welcome to our reef. There yet in exploration and education and anime. I'm your anime idiot, patrick dugan.
I'm an anime expert, dana hollander.
And I'm brenda mccullough. Your anime Tom Cruise being appropriated into a samurai movie. Oh, yeah. Remember that movie?
Very topical.
I just think about samurai's and I was like, why the fuck was Tom Cruise in a samurai movie? Why do we need that?
I wish you just said hi. I'm Samurai Jack.
It's me, Jack, which isn't even his real name. Like, looking back on that series, I haven't watched.
Yeah, I know nothing about it. I last watched that show when I was, like, seven. So can't really help you on your Samurai Jack lore.
Yeah, I have every episode. I love it. I also talked to Phil amart, a voice actor on my podcast. Check out that episode. It's real short because he's busy and famous.
Hey, we do plugs at the end, but they're brown.
Okay.
Hey, wait, quick, shout out my big brother Ben. I wanted to say hi to all the weebs out there. So my big brother Ben says hi. shouts out to Ben. Moving on.
Anyway, the reason we're talking about Samurai today is because the episode the show we're watching is Samurai shampoo.
Yeah. This is something I only know about through reputation because I know our studio did it and I saw posters, but beyond that, I know nothing about it.
Yeah, same.
Oh, wow.
I know it's popular and I haven't watched it.
That surprises me. It was one of the tunami staples, and it's done by the same creative team behind Cowboy Bebop. So that's why I got a lot of recognition early on. And it's also just very good in its own right. So it's a lot of the same cast. Yeah.
And this was running 2004 to 2005.
Yes.
I definitely see the Cowboy Bebop in it now that I'm thinking about it. Not that I've seen Cowboy Bebop either, but the style very similar.
Yeah, and I believe it's a similar voice cast. I know at least the main character, Steve bloom, is the main character for both Bebop and shampoo. But the music is very well integrated and it's a different kind of music. We'll see it's like hip hop, and it's really kind of like odd for samurai stuff. And it works well just a style. And they even kind of admit they're like, we're not trying to be realistic. Like we're telling a story in our own way. If it seems outlandish, it's because it is. Like, just go with it. Style is the most important aspect of the show, and I really enjoy it. Yeah.
I am interested because I know there is such a reputation of the jazz incorporated into Cowboy Bebop, so I'm interested to see how they interweave hip hop with Samurai.
They do it well, and the creative director behind this. I forget his first name. watanabi is also going to be producing the blade Runner anime that's going to be coming out based off blade Runner 2049. I'm the only one excited about that, but I am.
You probably are. At least I think so. From these three people, this very small.
Sample hey, that's 33%. That's nothing.
That's true. Good point.
So, yeah, we're watching episodes one, six and nine. We'll discuss details later. But any reason for why these episodes.
Were no reason with that video, but grudging.
Nice to you, sir.
Nice. No, it's got an overarching story throughout the whole season or series. It's only one season, but it's nothing really plot intensive. It's pretty episodic. So we can easily jump around and not like, oh, man, we're missing so much of the story because it's pretty much the major arc is set up in the first episode, which we'll see. And it's kind of, like, wrapped up in the last two. Everything else is kind of them on the journey, but no real major plot points. So I jumped around to just episodes I remembered and thought were good and really captured the stylized I don't want to keep relying on the word style. There's other words, but they're just not coming to me right now. Just kind of the crazy way they draw and animate and write this show. And I think these episodes just highlight it the best.
All right, fair enough.
So, yeah. Shall we drop on in into some samurai action?
Absolutely.
Damn it. I couldn't make a post malone sunflower joke quicken.
It well, we thought of it.
That would have been perfect.
We didn't make the reference, but we thought about making one that counts. Don't tweet at us.
It's the thought that killed at me. And I'm with Bob.
Okay, back to business.
Yes. We watched episodes one, six and nine, so I think one is a good place to start. Here we go. We start off with the opening, which is chill lofi beats to study to.
The origin of chill lofi anime.
Yeah. I mean, it's still hip hop. Hip hop is not lo fi beats. I guess it can be, but chill enough. I found myself, like, bobbing my head and I was like, this doesn't happen.
That's a sign.
What is happening to me?
Openings. This is weird.
I'm succumbing to the rhythm at beats.
Yeah. I was just like, ooh, grooven. It's very chill. It sets up a very chill vibe.
Yeah. It also establishes what you're expecting for the rest of the show right off the bat of, hey, here's immediately. Samurai imagery with hip hop.
Yeah. And that's what you're here for. So one of my favorite things about the show is the way whether the narrator has a voice or if it's just, like, on screen things, the narrator kind of plays with the viewer. And I really like that. It's very Jane the Virgin. I don't know if either of you watched it.
I've seen bits and pieces.
Yeah, well, the narrator in that also kind of plays with the audience and interacts with the audience. And I think that's a really cool thing because before the show starts, it's like, just so you know, this isn't an accurate historical portrayal. Not that you care. Enjoy the show.
There's also a later episode where it does the preview or kind of the tease from the next episode. And text comes up saying, like, we'll see where the gang ends up in this city. And you hear mugan and Gene that make her trip, being like, what? Why are we going there? And they're like, Shut up. Just go with it. Like, so they can see the text that the narrator is saying. So it breaks the fourth wall with the narrator a fair amount.
I love it. I love that. Yeah. So we start with two men that are about to be beheaded. Oh, no. They're obviously the main characters.
How are they ever get out? They're very distinct, differentiated from everyone else in that scene. They must be important.
I bet you're wondering how I get.
That'S me literal record scene transitions.
And then we're taken back to one day earlier, but not before they make the mistake of taking us all the way into the future where there are cars. And I was like, what's happening?
It was one day earlier in current Japan. And they're like, whoa, no. Let's go back to feudal Japan and go way back.
I love that. Love it. So we're taken back so one day earlier, before these boys are beheaded, we are shown gross dudes in a restaurant harassing women, harassing an old man. One of them was just grabbing a.
Ticket, jerks being jerks.
And then we're also shown a crowd of people around, a guy who's begging the governor to keep his job. And the governor is like, give me the money in your pockets. And then we'll see. And he's like, this is spare change to me. And there's one person in the crowd who is not happy about it. A tall man who stands out a lot.
Big white hat and glasses.
Yeah. And a ponytail. Well, I guess that's not too uncommon in this era, this time, this place. So we get flashes of both, and they're kind of mixed up in my mind. But then we see the restaurant where there's a waitress named fu, and a dude comes in. And now that you've said the cowboy bebop thing, he definitely reminds me of.
He got the big hair. He's got the real laid back attitude, and he's voiced by Steve bloom.
Yeah, there you go.
He's got it. The perfect package.
He comes in and sits down, and the waitress is like, hey, what can I get you? And he just says water. And she's like, oh, well, I mean, we only serve customers, so you're going to have to buy stuff. And he kind of takes a look around, and he beckons to her, and she comes down to hear what he has to say, and he says, for 50 dumplings, I'll get rid of all of these men. And she's like, no, please, no flight. Please don't kill people in my restaurant.
But then can I do some murder in your place that you'll have to clean up if you also give me free food?
Is that a deal? So as she's walking away, she is taking tea to another table, and she trips, and the tea splashes all over a customer, and he's not happy about that. And he decides that the only way to compensate for his embarrassment is to take one of her fingers.
Yeah. We find out from other patrons, like gossiping, kind of whispering to each other, this is the Governor's kid, and he's a real asshole.
Yeah, so I thought that was cool, is that he is an asshole that we're seeing.
That's what's cool about him.
We find out the Spike spiegel character's name is Mugen. We're seeing mugan deal with the Governor's son, and then we're seeing jin, the glasses haired guy, deal with the Governor. And I was like, oh, I love this. This is cool. So they kind of pin food down, and they're getting ready to do it. They're getting ready to hurt her. And she just yells, 100 dumplings. And Mugen stands up, and he's like, ha, that sucks. Your guys lives are worth 100 dumplings. What is that, five dumplings apiece? And then the cook in the back is like, his master.
There's, like, eight guys maybe? That's not right. That's not even close.
Yeah, this is sort of where this show really grabbed me, because I just love that very dumb humor on these very tense situations.
Yeah, so it's at this point, we get, like, intercut fights of Mugen fighting the guides in the restaurant and then Gene taking out the Governor's bodyguards. And it was at this point I was like, oh, my God, there's so cool. ruin the bootswalk.
Bee.
Yes. Revolution. Revolution.
So back in the restaurant, we see the Governor's son, and he's watched Mugen kill at least, like, four or five dudes, and he's just like, you better not mess with me. I'm the Governor's son, and I do.
You even know who I am?
Excuse me? I feel like I'm kind of I.
Feel like we get these voices a lot on this podcast. It's an animated trope of, like, the rich kid, the bully. So it works.
Yeah. So I'm having trouble remembering exactly what we see Jean do. I know. He kills the bodyguards, and then the Governor is like, oh, do you want money? I'll give you money. I'm so sorry. Please don't kill me. And then he just takes the guy who was begging, he takes the spare change and leaves. Is that pretty much it?
He takes the gold pieces. He has I guess, like, the biggest currency offer he gave to the governor. And then he's like, this is enough, and it just heads out, okay, cool.
So mugan, I forget what he asks them to go get just, like, more people for fight.
Governor's kid was pleat. He was saying, don't you know who I am, and you shouldn't be attacking my guy. He got real bait because that's all he has. He knows he can't fight this guy, so he's just, like, leaning in hard to the only thing he might have, which is bluffing. And he says the governor's bodyguards are these elite group of samurai who can take down anyone and really hyping up his bodyguards, who at this moment are just being killed by Jean.
Yeah.
So he's like, I'll call my dad's bodyguards. And mugin is kind of like, yeah, you do that. I want to fight those guys. And he tells the other thugs to go get them, and he gives them to the count of ten, and while.
He'S, okay, fine, I got this part. So he tells them, like, I will give you until I count on all of your dude's fingers. Goodbye. And then they run out. And I was expecting him to cut off his fingers one by one. No. He bends back this guy's fingers, just breaking them one at a time as he's counting. Snap. Snap is incredible.
But I think by six or seven, he's kind of just bored. He's like, yeah.
He's like, oh, my God, are they really not going to come back?
9876 still, like, lazy fair breaking the dude's fingers. Like, just not shallow.
Yeah.
He's like, let me just speed it up. I'll just break all of them. They're not going to be back in 10 seconds. Let me just get this over.
Yeah, I'll just do it.
I'm so impatient.
So the bodyguards don't show up, but Gene does. And then Mugen is like, oh, are you the guys? Are you the guy? And he's like, I don't know what you're talking about, but if you want to fight, I'm down.
If you're talking about those samurai that I just killed, then no, I'm not those guys, but I'll fight you.
So they are super evenly matched, which was exciting to watch. And then while they're fighting, a man comes in and drops, like, a jug of gasoline on the ground and lights the dumpling place on fire, which I didn't understand.
Yeah, he's the guy from earlier. He was kind of the governor's kids, like, main guy who was, like, gloating about his sword, cuts his hand off in the beginning and starts the initial fight.
Got it.
Yeah, I missed that too. I was like, why is just a random arsonist thrown into the mix? But after he gets his hand cut.
Off, he kind of gets, like, crazy kind of crazed look and looks pretty different from what he looked at earlier. So yeah, it's hard to tell right away.
Yeah, but so the place is burning down. Mugen and Jean don't run away. They're just still in there. And then they wake up and they're all tied up. And the governor is like, hey, my son was murdered in that fire, and I am not happy about it. So they are tortured until the next day when they will be executed. And then back at the restaurant, Foo and the owners, I suppose, are kind of in the wreckage. And the owners are like, hey, Foo, we know dead Mom Club checking, so if you want to come with us, you're more than welcome. And she's like, no. This forced me to make up my mind. And I was like, oh, is she going to become a samurai? I was really hoping that would be great.
Kick some ass.
So Mugen and Jean formally introduced themselves while they're being held captive. Held captive? I don't know. In prison.
Gene also comments, mugen's fighting style is very relaxed and undisciplined. And we see that with him jumping around and kicking tables over and just very untraditional.
And then we are shown Foo trying to break into the jail. And she's like, please, I'll do anything, Mr. Guard. And the guard is like, fuck me. And she's like, no, just kidding.
Anything but that.
One exception. Anything but that, please. And then she has a flying squirrel named momo that helps her, I guess. And she takes out the guard, not the flying squirrel. But she does.
Yeah, this squirrel was so cute. Everyone just go on the internet right now and just Google momo. That's going to go great.
Nothing bad can happen.
It's a great time for this to come up.
Yeah, there are three things that come to mind. This thing. momo from avatar, and the bad.
Meme.
The bad.
If you want the actual flying squirrel, it's a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel. It's very chubby and crazy big anime eyes. It's adorable.
Excellent. So look up. That not mobile. So she breaks into the jail to visit them, and she's like, hey, fellas, what's up? And they're like, how the fuck did you get in here? And she's just like, I need your guys'help. Please help me. Promise me right now that you'll help me. And they're like, what? And then the guards come and chase her away because she doesn't want to get in jail either.
Foo is a true she's a very pragmatic main character.
Sure. She just wanted to leave. I guess.
She wants to stick around. Like, I can find all I was like, fuck this amount. Yeah, good. Good call.
Oh, this is where she says that she wants to find a samurai that smells like sunflowers. I thought that was later on.
This is where she says that that's her favor.
Yeah, she wants them to help her find this guy.
It sets up the whole plot of shell.
This is the main plot?
Yeah. I thought she just mentioned it at the end of the episode, but no. So then we are kind of shown her she's trying to stop the execution, pretty much. So she goes into a shop, and she's like, hey, can I have these things? And he's like, you can't afford that. And she's like, you're right. I can't. But can you please just give them to me, please? And then the guy's like, have whatever, you thief. I'm a sap, and you're cute. And then I've seen this gift of her running down the street with bombs in her kimono. She's running. They just look like ridiculous titties.
Yeah, this threw me for a second because I was like, are they getting into big anime titties right now? They didn't establish this earlier. Why did they just pop up now? But yeah, no, they're not.
There's a reason to go.
Yeah, I have seen this. I know this was exciting. So it's time for their execution. And they're up there. The Governor is saying, like, beg for your lives. And they're like, no, we're tough guys, and we're not going to do that. And as this is happening, foo is shown climbing up on the roof. She asks someone for a light. And the guy who was being harassed by the Governor earlier hands one to her. And I was like, oh, hell yeah. I love this full circle team, work teamwork. So Mugen and Jean break free super easily because they're them and they're super cool, and they have no problem doing that. And they start fighting the bodyguards, they're just mowing them down. And Foo climbs up on the roof and is getting ready to light the bombs. And my notes here say, oh, Jean killed the Governor. Lit. And then I said, oh, now the bomb is lit. Cool. Double lit. Now it's really lit. But my favorite thing is that they turned out to be fireworks. So food just really knows how to put on this show. I love it. So they finish all this business. yay. They're free. They're walking away. They're talking about how they still want to fight, which I feel like is strange. They went through this thing together. I'm like, can't you guys just chill?
It's kind of the anime trip of the overpowered main character where it's like, you're the only one that I could fight one on one with. You're my rival, so we must fight. They get the thrill of having a competent rival to fight against.
Yeah, because Gene also mentions that in that restaurant fight, mugen is the only person he was unable to kill. So he sort of wants to keep his streak alive.
Yeah. So Foo is like, hey, no, you guys promised you would help me.
And I was like, did she got him out?
Don't think they really did. Oh, that's true. She did kind of save their lives almost. And so she says, okay, I'm going to flip a coin. If it's heads you guys can fight each other to the death. If it's tails, you guys are going to help me. And Mugen throws it up really high.
Watched it.
And they're waiting for it. It comes down. pap lands on foo's forehead, and it's tails. And so the adventure begins. Will they help her find her samurai? Will they actually find him? Here we go.
That should have just been the end slate. And so the adventure begins.
It should have been me saying that exact thing I just said. Just completely incoherent.
Great. They did it. It was so good.
I'm so excited to see what happens next.
Adventure.
Yay. So that's episode one. I didn't watch the ending all the way through any time because I found it, I don't know, boring. I'll listen to it separately, but I think I was also just, like, tired.
I was like, yeah, the visuals aren't great. I think it's flashbacks of Foo as a kid, but I'm not sure. It's just kind of like still shots of different sceneries and scenes. But the music is a good thump and beat to it. I would definitely recommend checking out the at least the end song.
I will find it.
Stay alive. And then we get to episode six.
So yeah, so we sort of get filled in by the narrator saying that they're off on their quest for the journey to find the sunflower smelling samurai. And they are now in the town of Edo. And when they arrive, I really loved as soon as they get in the city, we see shots of this group of people walking around with baskets on their heads. And it's great because I'm playing sekiro right now and there's a village with a bunch of people with baskets on their heads and stuff.
Do they also wear claws?
I have to double check, but this is one thing.
I see a ton of anime in, like, Japanese games of the Field year of Japan. I don't know if it ever actually happened. Like these weaved baskets with, like, eye slots. Like, to see them, it just seems silly to me.
Yeah, if it's that prominent, I assume there's something to it. But we're all American and we know nothing.
My knowledge of Japan comes from anime and anything I've looked up, and that's not much.
So yeah. Speaking of white people left in Japan, get back to this episode. So they get into the city and they are there on the day of sort of like an all you can eat contest where they are lining up because they're like, hey, this is so great. It's a free sign up, so we can just go eat as much food as we want. It's no pressure for the competition. And when they get to the front of the line, they realize that there is a fee, and since they can't put up the money, they all put up their swords. So they are basically now on the line to win, or else they lose their swords.
The currency was one shoe, and I was like, okay.
An actual shoe.
That's what I thought. I was like, Why is that such a big deal? Excuse me.
They're wearing sandals.
The winner has a bunch of left shoes and nothing to do with them.
What am I supposed to do with.
So they join this contest. We see. Basically, everyone in town is gathered because it's their big annual event. The former champions are there. There's also this new stranger with a big straw hat covering his face. But everyone's just chomping away. And basically it's all you can eat call over the next bowl. They keep track by, like, number of bowls. It's like rice and meat. And you signal to surrender by putting your hands together.
Towy, thank you for your life.
So everyone's munching away. gina's out on the first bowl.
Just so sad.
We see. Everyone is just chomping munching away. Mugen's out not too long after, and everyone dwindles down, except for Foo and this masked stranger. Yes. So all the champions are out. They blast past the former record of 22 bowls, and now it's just the two visitors to this town who are still in but Foo oh, no. There's a fly in front of her face, and when she claps it to kill it and stop annoying her. That's the signal to surrender. So she is out. And this this big boy stranger is our winner.
The idea of eating 20 bowls of rice and any kind of meat is.
It made me want pokey.
And they also established that food is 15 here, so got that teen appetite.
Bottomless.
How I missed those days.
I never had those days. I was a bottomless pit. But I didn't stay thin. Like, who did?
So, yeah, Jean is pissed that the swords were lost, but this champion walks up to them to sort of congratulate Foo on lasting so long. And then without the hat, we see. He's big, has blue eyes, pale skin, and speaks with a Dutch accent, red hair, because, yeah, he is very European.
No, he is from Japan. His name is jinjo or joji.
Oh, man. I can make a really fun joke later, but neither of them will get it. Keep going.
Yeah, I misheard him, so I wrote it down as georgie.
I like that, too.
He tries to come off as Japanese, which he literally is not.
His name probably is georgie.
Yeah. So he wants the swords back, or Gene wants the swords back, and he's like, oh, no, but I won them, or Sorry, buns them. But he promises to return the swords to them if they will act as tour guides. Because he is here visiting to sightsee. Because, yeah, he is a tourist visiting Japan. And Mugen and fu are like, hey, we don't know anything because we're also visiting. But Gene just needing them blades back. He's like, oh, yes, I was the former master tour guide of this town. I will show you everything. Please follow my through his teeth. So, yeah, we get a fun montage of them looking around, but we also established that the guards are on the lookout for a European who snuck into town.
I wonder who it could be.
This is still around, like, an overzealot, like, isolation phase of Japan where they didn't really take kindly to strangers or foreigners from different countries.
Yeah, so on the tour, we see them just making up all the facts, and they end the day at a restaurant. And jean's like, okay, you got your tour. Give me my swords. And he's like, oh, no. We barely scratch the surface. Tomorrow we pick up again. So at this point, the guards come into the restaurant looking for this European. And while they're cornered, mugen causes a stink by back talking to them, and it leads to a fight, and they are able to escape and run away.
I think these might also be the only police force we see in the show actually doing their job and not being skeezy criminals. Terrible. They don't want to fight, especially in the restaurant. They're like, Please, let's just go outside. And Mugen is the one that stirs everything up.
So they escape, they hide out, and then the next day, they're still on the loose, looking out for all of them. But georgie wants to go see a Japanese beauty show. Just all the reputation of all the beautiful women in Japan. He needs to go to this display, and he promises that this is the last stop and he will show or he will give the swords back after the show. So they go in. He's absolutely loving it. All the others are concerned because they don't think georgie knows that it is a drag show and it is men dressed up as women. But when he goes backstage and sees the performer out of costume, he freaks out, but falls in love even more because Brendan knows how to pick episodes all like, I'll be honest with you.
I totally forgot about this plot point. I just remembered this episode. It worked out, though.
I'm the one who delivers the gay.
Everyone know your boundaries.
Hey, it works out.
Yeah, but here's where I can make the joke. If anybody knows Legally blonde, the musical. He's gay and European. Okay, camille gets it.
Please, for the love of God, get put someone please.
We need this. So, yeah, we get a little flashback of georgie living in Holland, where he is unaccepted because he loves men. But then he reads a book from Japan depicting life of a group of men who love each other and how it's more accepting and open. So he goes to visit because he wants that acceptance that he doesn't get it.
It's a book about, like, Bushida lifestyle and how men following the way samurai isolate themselves from. Women intentionally, and then that develops into a kinship among men they're living with, and then that can lead into different kinds of love and it's more embracing of a thing, like, yeah, it's the way Japan lifestyles are set up now. It's not too uncommon, but I think this book may be a bit of an outlier from what we've seen.
So yeah, well, they're backstage. The guards finally corner them and come in to arrest them. They're also followed by these basket heads. That feels like a foot when they basket heads. Get out of my country, you basket heads. But that works because they are also European.
Their clogs gave it away.
They're also from Holland. So, yeah, this leads into a chase. They end up running out onto the stage where all the crowds like, is.
This the next hacked? What that'll determine?
But yeah, so they're about to attack, but the basket head people are there because they are all a part of the East India Trading Company. And they have a pass saying that georgie is a sort of ambassador and he is allowed to be in the country. I watched all of these dubbed me too. Brendan, did you watch? I watched. Okay, so they speak to each other in Dutch. Did it have that translated for you?
Yes. Oh, did it not in the dub.
We had no translation. I want to check in because I may have missed something.
They basically explained that georgie is actually their leader of that branch of their division. And yeah, they're in Japan for business and are allowed to be in this country. And they were hunting him down because he kind of broke off on his own to try and find more of a way he could live there. He was planning to stay in Japan and live there because it was more accepting of a country than Holland. But when he's talking, he's basically saying the other trader is basically saying, like, hey, you can't just break off from all your duties. You got to come back and at least finish the deal we have set up. And George is kind of like, okay, kind of reluctant, but he's like, he's still loyal to his guys.
Okay. Yeah. Since it was so vague, I couldn't tell if they were just, like, covering for him. And they were also like, yeah, we also just want Japan. These are fake papers. You're cool. Just hang out with us.
Weaves.
Love it.
But yeah, that checks out. So, yeah, they go their separate or they meet up about to leave, they finally get all their stuff back. And before they go, Foo asks georgie about the sunflower samurai. And he's like, I don't know anything about that, but I know the Dutch brought sunflowers to Japan, so probably related to the Dutch trading somehow. And she also shows him, like, a little skull charm that she has. And he's like, oh, this is super secret. Don't show this to anyone, but go to nagasaki. There's probably more of a chance of finding him there. And that's about where we end off this episode.
And that leads us right into episode nine. Well, not right into like three episodes later. Leads us to episode nine to work.
For our purpose, for the purposes of this show.
And it opens up with a little old man in a little hut talking to, I guess, a younger co worker. And we find out this old guy's retiring the next day. Today is his last day. He's getting off the force. He's done. And I'm too old.
I'm too old for this.
And the younger guy is kind of saying, like, you're such a prominent checkpoint guard, and you never let anyone escape. You always did a great job. And he's like, oh, yeah, get back to work. And the old guy starts reminiscing. He's like, well, there was that one day 30 years back. So this is actually like mugen gene foo's timeline. So it's the present for them, passed for. It's confusing. Anyway, we go back past for the old man, and we see the gang just on a roadside shop talking about getting tea and talking about travel permits, saying like, oh, there's a checkpoint coming up, and we'll need to have travel permits to get through that point. Is it really that important? Yeah, it's kind of like the hardest checkpoint in the country. They're pretty legit, and they will just kill you outright. They don't really take prisoners, and they're pretty brutal. So we'll need to find permits. And conveniently, at that moment, a man walks by saying like, hey, I got some travel permits. I'll sell you. Great. And as it usually is with this case, they're fake because don't just trust people who just give you whatever you just conveniently needed at that moment.
Yeah. Also, don't trust the guy who is also selling good luck charms with the papers that will lead to your death if they're not good.
What's the worst? I'm surprised he didn't have a big old gold tooth. And when they go to the checkpoint, they find out they're fake. And of course, they immediately are arrested. And the punishment for fake travel passes is execution. It seems like that's the punishment for everything at this time.
Yeah. Also, they're trying to be like, yeah, doesn't matter.
It's still going to kill you. All right, that's a bit much. And while Foo and Gene are kind of just like, yeah, you caught us, we didn't know. mugan is still trying to fight the guards off even though they're arresting them. And when they time all up, they wrap them up in straw mats, which is initially a way of restraining somebody. And they bring them to I guess this is just another division or like the prison of this checkpoint. And we see a bunch of other guys tied up in the straw mats just thrown into a pile laying on top of each other. Man, that's brutal. And the old man from the beginning is kind of the narrator for this episode, so he gives us little insights, saying, like, oh, this guard, this guy who monitoring all the prisoners we arrested at the checkpoint, he's your typical corrupt government official. He brutalizes the prisoners, he'll kill him sometimes, and every now and then we got to check to make sure they have a bounty on them, because that way we can get some extra money. And if there is a bounty, we send them back to the place where they have the warrant out for their arrest. And it's at that time we see one guy had a bounty on them, and they're going through the pile of all the guys wrapped up in the mat. No. Is this him? No. Just throwing them aside. And they find them and they're like, oh, shit, we're killed him. Well, we can still get some of the bounty. And they cut off his head. We don't see it, but they cut off his head. And then they give it to Mugen, kind of saying, like, hey, if you can run this back to the village nearby and then come back before sundown, we'll let you and your friends go. If you don't, we'll kill them. So do it. And we also see oh, man, I jumped on my notes a bit. Sorry. He also warned them the village they're going to is kind of like exiled a bit, and people don't like going through there. They say there's weird tengu, which I guess I don't know the exact translation, so I guess it's like kind of like monsters or demons or something. And they're kind of like even soldiers don't like going through there while they're changing stations and stuff. So it's a very isolated village that's kind of got a bad reputation around.
Tengu are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion and are also considered a type of shinto god. Okay.
Damn, you beat me. I was also trying to Google it.
That's what we've had.
Wow, it's almost as if we have a thing at our disposal that can tell us anything we want. If we just looked things up, right.
We should probably use that more often.
And we will never use it again. Don't expect us to ever be right.
At one time point. And mugan takes off, and while he's running to the village, he gets a little suspicious. He's like, I think so much. Trying to sell me something now, trying to follow me. And he hides behind, like, a buddha statue and then jumps out when he tries to catch the guy following him. And we find out it's just some guy, he just offered a jog. He's just trying to live a healthy lifestyle and goes on jogs every now and then.
That's all, boy, it's my damn regal.
And he's like, okay, I guess I'm not being followed. It starts running, and then the camera pants back to where it was, and we see the old guy from the beginning. It's him as a younger guy actually following him. He was sent to follow mugan to make sure he did everything right.
I told you he was onto us.
And as Mugen keeps running, he's like, no, I'm definitely being followed. And then he kind of sees, I guess the camera pans back, or rather, they run up forward and we kind of see it's a bunch of ninjas, or they're all dressed in black wearing these masks on the big, long nose. And I suppose that's what the Tengu looks like. I'm not too sure.
Yes, from the Google, that image came up. Those, like, masks are symbols of it.
So the Tengu of the village nearby, the rumored monsters, are actually following them. And it's like, all right, time to lose these guys and just start going crazy, jumping around their trees and swinging and jumping through ru rivers and stuff, trying to lose them. And he loses some of them, but then he ends up jump off a cliff. Is that the biggest thing he did.
To, like, he, like, ends up he doesn't know where he is. And then he, like, sees a clearing, and I think he, like, falls down in as opposed to, like I don't think he would just walk off of.
Well, I thought he jumped off, like, a big cliff and then swung off a branch or something to break his fall. And that was, like, the big way of cutting the trail. So they weren't following him. Remember a cliff for some reason?
I think so.
I thought you meant after he yeah.
Then once he lands, he's like, all right, I lost him. Wait. Where am I? And then it cuts back to Gene and fu in their jail cell while they're being hunter, like, man, I hope Mugen didn't get lost. And the whole time, it just keeps cutting back to them in a jail cell. And fu is just saying, like, I hope this doesn't happen exactly as it happens to Mugen. So very predictable. And as morgan's walking around in this strange field, he's like, these plants are kind of weird. Falls into a pitfall trap and got you. It's the tengu. They caught him. You busted. And we find out this is at the same time, the old young man official is also los mugan. So he's kind of, like, wandering around on his own. And so when he stumbles upon a big he hears, like, drums. And as he follows it, he finds a big field of or not a field, but a big gathering of the tengdu all together. And they all have their mask off. And he's like, oh, these are the warrior priests. They're back from old times, back when there was wars. I guess they would be kind of like militias. They'd be calling small town militias that would kind of help the villagers of that area when the government couldn't during war times. And they're kind of a relic of the past. They aren't around anymore because we aren't at war anymore. So the war priests shouldn't be around but I guess they still are. And there's this big purple haze going around everybody. And this is when, like, the drumming is happening. And we see the leader of the tengku come out and he gives this big speech and he dresses a whole crowd, kind of saying, like, their motives and saying a stray dog has the freedom to do what they want. Where a lap dog is obedient to the government and stuff like this. Basically saying they're going to try and lead a rebellion against the government and bringing back those war times they love so much and they say with their special grass they will end all violence. Yeah, they will bring out mugan up on stage saying like, hey, we caught one of the government dogs even though he's not he's doing an errand for him but they think he's part of the government. And mugan basically says in a roundabout way of saying like, hey, if you're really so free and you really think you're hot shit, why do you need this big crowd? Kind of saying like fighting in crowds is for coward. Just fight me one on one and I'll take you down old man. And the leader just kind of knocks him down saying like oh, you got a little spunk in ya. I like that. I'm gonna kill you tomorrow. Cause execution, you gotta do it. It's a staple of the show.
Yeah, that I love this trope of we need to execute you. Let's give you 24 hours.
Nothing bad will happen within that time.
What can go wrong? This is like the third time they're like we're going to execute you after several hours where you can either escape or run away.
Also only in the three episodes we flash. That has happened that much. It happens more times in the other episodes, I can assure you. So that is kind of one thing that just keeps happening. So the leader now Seal executive tomorrow and they wrap them up in another straw mat and throw them into a storage house because they don't really have a prisoner cell, they're not prepared for that. So they just throw them in the storage room and put a guard outside. And it's around this time the young official that was following movement finds him and goes up to the storehouse and breaks in and trying to help him out, trying to get this guy free so he can finish his delivery and they can both get out of here. And he's caught, busted. He's also thrown into the swords room all rolled up in a mat. And they talk for a bit, they kind of introduce themselves and say why were you following me? He's like, oh, just making sure they did the job and they just bail on your friends. And it's around this time the official was able to dislocate his shoulder, or at least maybe both of them, and kind of squeeze his way out of the mat and get out of his restraints. And he takes Muogan, and I believe he's also the younger one, is voiced by Liam O'Brien. And he takes mugen's flip flop, sandal. And he's like, flip flop, flip. They're the same to me. He takes it, he's like, oh, I'm going to need this for a bit. Sorry to kind of leave you here, but I got to get out. And starts a fire in the storage room where do they keep all of their supplies and stuff and does a little trope of like, oh, fire, fire, help. Somebody in the guard sees it, runs in and then the official knocks out the guard and this is his way of escaping. And he goes back and helps move him out too.
I think the best part of this is to make it seem like that he is still in the mat. He uses the severed head and lays it next to the mat so it looks still there.
Good attention to detail they had. And when everyone's freaking out about this fire because it's spreading, because they have a bunch of crops round by and Mugen and the official are trying to sneak through the fields, since the fields are chest high, maybe about that. So they're able to duck down a bit and try and sneak through without being caught. But they don't. They're caught yo busted. And the leaders there with a bunch of the other tengu warrior priests basically saying like, well, if you wanted to speed up your execution so much, you should have just told us. We could have just killed you tonight. Well, I guess that's what's going to happen. And movement starts fighting them all and just diving in and out of the grass, like popping up like a gopher and just taking guys out left and right and right. When he's about to fight the leader, the leader's going on and on about this rant, about like, you wrote our plans. Our grass is going to destroy all war. Like no one was going to fight anymore, who's going to pacify everyone. And while he's going on this rant, he's kind of just the colors are kind of getting weird and the animation is getting real loose and sloppier and it's just like psychedelics.
And I'm realizing these guys are just hippies. Yeah, they just want their grass.
They just want to help people with.
Their grass, help stop the war.
They do also want to kill the government, but they do also want to kill the government.
They want to get their downfront. I mean, anarchist hippies that works. There's some like sure. I think there's a documentary on Netflix actually about that. There's a group in like anyway. And.
We love a cult.
And at the time, Gene and Foo are back there and just like, well, it's sundown. I hope he's coming so we don't die. That would suck. fu is just kind of like, yeah, just give him more time. Like he's coming. Maybe he just got a little turned around or something. I'm sure he'll come in, like, give him a few more minutes. And it's at that moment we see someone running up on the horizon in front of the sunset. movein. He's back. He saved us. nope, it's the jogger again. He loves jogging. He just loves running around.
He just got to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Can I get help?
Yeah.
She's kind of like, well, shit, I guess mugan is not coming back. And they throw up Gene and Foo up on the cross because they're going to get executed and they crucify them. I guess that's their go to method. And it's around. Yeah, that was the choice we did a few times. But yeah. So they're up on the cross and they got all the spears and they're ready to execute them, I guess with the guards and I guess lead guard, who is kind of the corrupt dog we saw earlier. Your friends never come back. You wasted your time and kind of gloating. And she's like, you dumb idiots. And it's like really laughing and just really just going at it and just like, oh, wow, this guy is kind of losing his mind. And we see all the other guards dropping their spears and they're kind of laughing too. And everyone's kind of just like dancing and freaking out, just kind of like really going nuts. And we see the purple haze from the fields kind of billowing in over the checkpoint. And it's kind of getting everyone real loopy. And we hear the narrator saying, like, oh, yeah, everyone had a good night that time. Everyone went through the checkpoint. This is the night that was ripped out of the documentation book. And everyone got through, peasants and thieves alike. And the guards were dancing. The prisoners were dancing. The frogs were dancing.
Full frogs.
Yeah, they're all equal.
We all had a good time and really just going nuts. And Foo and Jean, I guess, weren't as affected. And they're kind of like, oh, all right.
I think the logic is that they were like above the smoke because they were up on those.
Or maybe they just got down and we just didn't see what they did that night because it's the next day. And we just see Jean and Foo leaving and they're just like, god, can't believe mugan screwed us over like that. I can't believe he left. It's like, what a dick. Well, hoopy is far away. I hope we don't find him because I don't know what I'll do if I find them. I'm so mad. And as they're saying that, they stumble upon all the warrior priests and moved in who are still just high off their balls. Just late movie because it turns out that special grass, it was weed. This is our 420 episode.
I'm so mad.
So some reason I've picked this show because it's one of the very few that actually has drug paraphernalia in it. Especially weed. Because it's so strictly regulated and moderate in Japan. To the point where I think a guy there's a guy in a yakuza game that's all about criminals, was arrested on drug charges. So they recalled the game and are recasting him and are getting him out of the entire game. That's how serious they take any drug offenses in Japan. So it's very hard to find a weed anime. And this is the one and it's a good one. Pretty much upset.
I can't be mad.
I'm glad you got you.
That's the thing. I feel smeckled. That's not even a word. And I agree with you.
Yeah. You know how to pick a show.
I just choose not to.
Why don't you ever do it?
I know what you like and I just go against it all the time.
But got to make me wait for it.
But it's also just a good show.
Yeah, we're at that point I was really liking the show.
We are there.
Leave it away.
I'll edit some minutes.
Yeah.
Even beyond the weed and gay stuff, just some justice. I really like when historical shows don't take things too seriously. Like one of my favorite movies is A Night's Tale because it's just medieval knights, but they have queen and all the modern music playing because you need some examples. You're not going to get jazzed hearing some Arm decord.
You can only hear great sleeves.
Might as well have some fun with it.
I was thinking about that recently with just movies and stuff. And they complain to hear a lot of stuff. It's like, oh, it's so unrealistic. It's like that's kind of what I love about Bollywood movies of like, this is going to be ridiculous and we're going full forced into it. It's like, hell, you have tongue, pal. And those movies, this is insane and I love it. You just want to have a good time. And not everything has to be a realistic depiction of what that scenario would be. So this is a show where they have that disclaimer in the beginning of like, this isn't what really happened. We're not even going to pretend like it's what really happened. We're here just to have a good time and tell a fun story. Yeah.
Because even all the details we think we know are fake. And for A Night's Tale, I wrote a paper about this in college. But the director was like, yeah, people always they're like, hey, just throw on some violin music for medieval stuff. And it's like violins were invented 200 years after medieval times. So even that's fake. So if the go to thing is still wrong. Might as well lean into being wrong and make it fun.
Yeah, use that word again. Style stylize.
Like Harry Potter where hogwarts is invented before indoor plumbing. So they're just like yeah, they just poop everywhere that they want. Make it disappear. It's like, hey, JK rowling, we don't need to know that. Hey, he knocked it off.
Hey, JK. rowling, you just stop talking for like a minute. What I found delightful, at least in the episodes we watched, is how unsexualized foo is.
Yeah. And the one time they do do it, it's because she's smuggling moms.
And even when that guy is like, oh, you'll have sex with me, she's like, no. And she like, beats him up. And I think what I especially like about it, thinking back all the way back to gurham magan, yoko does that, too, where if people vocalize their sexualization of her, she's like, fuck off. But the show sexualizes her, so it's like, still icky. But with this, the show doesn't sexualize.
Yeah, I believe and I have I believe there's only one episode where she's fairly sexualized because she's undercover as, like, concubine for in a red light district or something. So it is relevant to the plot, but even then, it's not grotesque. It's not to, like such a gross level to the point where girl just does, by default, like, just have Yoko standing around. She's very sexualized.
Yeah. Just like all the shots the shots of her ass and stuff. She can be wearing whatever she wants, but it's the drawings and the way she's animated.
Yeah. It's not for fan service. It's for plot.
When it comes up and Kelly Beabop does the same thing. It's pretty respectful.
Yeah, I knew it, too. This was a good ship. Good podcast.
Yeah, well, I'll debate you on that.
We'll see. We're still young.
Our own podcast.
But yeah, that's what we have for this week. Thank you for introducing this to me because I've heard such good things about this in cowboy bebop, so it's nice to have adjusted.
And it's pretty short, so you could probably just burn through it in, like, a week or two.
Yeah, it's like, what, 36, 26 episodes?
Maybe? It's not as short as I thought it was.
Yeah, it's more than twelve, but it's still fairly quick.
More than twelve, but less than 900.
Yeah, not too bad.
Somewhere between fooly cooley and One Piece.
800 some. I will also say as a teaser, it's not much of a spoiler. There's a baseball episode and it's very good.
Wow. This show's got it all. I also like that in the episodes I didn't feel lost. Like, I feel like in the past, when we jump around, I felt lost. But because they are like their own storylines, I could understand what was going on.
Yeah, it did help how episodically plot oriented it was, rather than an overarching narrative.
Yeah, we do get a little development with, like, Mugen and Gene in some episodes with their back stories, but it's pretty much the search for the sunflower. samurai is like, the only real multiepisit plot. And like we saw in these episodes, it's kind of just like, hey, do you know this guy? No. All right. Point me in the right direction. And that's it. That's the most we get. So it's it's easy to skip around.
Get next lit. All right, so what do we have going on next week?
Next week we're watching a show that I've never seen but heard only good things about called bloom into you. We're going to watch the first take.
A gamble going and blind.
I mean, I know what it's about.
So I'm confident it has not paid off for us in the past. Let me rephrase that. It has not gone great for me in the past.
I have a good feeling about it.
All right, well, thank you for joining us this week. And if there is a show you the listener would like us to watch, feel free to tweet at us. Are we there yet? On Twitter and Instagram. Or you can reach out to our email are we there yet@gmail.com? You can find me on Twitter and Instagram at Mr. Patrick dugan.
You can find me on Instagram at queen. Period. Weebu and on Twitter at Queen underscore wubu.
Find me on Twitter at abts. Brandon stands for Almost Better Than Sounds, which is my other podcast about video games.
And thank you to camille ruley for our artwork. And thank you to Louisong for the use of our theme song stories off the album Beats. You can find all of Louis music at Louisong bandcamp.
Thank you, camille ruley, for getting the inner's reference earlier.
Yes, thank you. We need verification that you listen to her.
It's a test tweeted.
All right, well, thank you. And we hope you will join us next time as we learn to live with anime.
Samurai showed it. I got nothing. It's a hard segue.