Samurai Shodown
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For a detailed overview of this movie, click here.
The holy warriors must stop Amakusa.
Original Japanese broadcast date: September 8th, 1994
Contents
1) Synopsis
2) Notes
3) Deleted Scenes
4) Voice Cast
Synopsis
100 years ago, Amakusa broke the seal of Ambrosia, and betrayed her own group: the holy warriors. She killed the other members, and attempted to trap their souls, but was unable to stop them from escaping. She knows they will be reborn 100 years later, so she decides to wait for them -her, and her God Ambrosia, the lord of darkness. In the present, the holy warriors have been reborn, but Haohmaru does not remember his past life. Instead, he goes around to other dojos, defeating other samurais and taking their dojo signs. The other holy warriors observe him defeating a dojo master, but don't believe he is the one they're looking for. Meanwhile, Amakusa plans to take over the world, and already has the Shogun working for her. She has her forces move out, to kill the holy warriors. |
Hanzo, a ninja who spied on Amakusa, reports to his friends Kyoshiro and Jubei about what is happening. They intend to attack Amakusa, but their forces are weak. Hanzo reveals Amakusa fears the holy warriors, so they decide to try and find them. Meanwhile, Haohmaru returns to his village, only to find that it is under attack by Amakusa's forces. He gets to it, and finds the enemy leader: Earthquake. The two duel, but Haohmaru has a vision of the holy warriors. He becomes enraged, and kills Earthquake. |
Haohmaru finds his mother, who has been fatally injured. She reveals that she isn't his real mother, rather she just found him as a baby left in a basket, with a sword placed next to it. Before she dies, she tells Haohmaru he has to seek out and find his destiny. The other holy warriors, having heard the disturbance and seeing one of the techniques Haohmaru used against Earthquake, realize Haohmaru is the one they're looking for. They find him and try to explain what is going on, revealing that Amakusa betrayed them. Upon realizing this, Haohmaru becomes enraged again, blowing the other holy warriors back. |
As Haohmaru runs off, the others go after him. They encounter Genan, one of Amakusa's underlings, but Galford and Poppy make him retreat. Jubei then appears and introduces himself, saying he's looking for the holy warriors. Meanwhile, Haohmaru arrives at Amakusa's fortress, and saves a woman and her child from some of Amakusa's soldiers. The woman points out where Amakusa is, but as they enter the fortress, she vanishes. Charlotte finds Haohmaru and tells him he can't defeat Amakusa by himself. He tries to fight her, but the two then get teleported to where Amakusa is. The other holy warriors also get teleported, but get restrained. Haohmaru is about to fight Amakusa, but she tells them to feel the power of Ambrosia. |
Amakusa's fortress rises out of the ground, protected by a invisible barrier of energy. Haohmaru uselessly tries to attack Amakusa, who avoids all his strikes. Haohmaru loses himself to rage again, so the holy warriors use their energy to create a hole in the barrier which has a warp in it. Charlotte shoves herself and Haohmaru into the warp, sending them both back to Haohmaru's village. Haohmaru is unconscious, but Charlotte meets the village kids, who help her move Haohmaru to a safe location. |
Amakusa enters Haohmaru's mind, taunting him and trying to get him to side with her. She tells Haohmaru about how, 100 years ago, she was fighting at the Battle of Shimbara, but was critically wounded by one of her own generals. She released Ambrosia and was revived. Charlotte then appears in Haohmaru's mind, telling Haohmaru not to listen to Amakusa. As this is happening, Amakusa's forces head towards the village, but are confronted by Hanzo and his ninjas. Charlotte continues to tell Haohmaru to not give in to Ambrosia. |
Haohmaru remembers who he really is, and awakens. He defeats and kills Genan, slicing him in half. He and Charlotte then fly back to Amakusa's fortress, and he uses a technique to shatter the energy barrier. The other holy warriors are freed, and the group attack Amakusa. Amakusa proves to be more than a match for them all, but they then see that Hanzo, Kyoshiro and Jubei are fighting down below, with their group fighting against Amakusa's forces. The people have risen up against Amakusa, and Haohmaru uses this opportunity to fatally stab Amakusa. |
Amakusa and Haohmaru are teleported to Ambrosia's shrine. As the other holy warriors arrive, Amakusa says she is now free, but she then dies. Moments after this happens, the spirit of Ambrosia leaves her body. The holy warriors try to fight Ambrosia, but as they're a member down, they lack the power they once had. The spirit of Amakusa present Haohmaru with her weapon, a holy sword which holds the power of her life and soul. Haohmaru uses the sword to stab into Ambrosia's head. |
The monster explodes and the fortress shatters, as everyone down below starts to celebrate. The holy warriors congratulate Haohmaru, but he thanks them. Later on, a village is being rebuilt. Hanzo and the Shogun are watching. Hanzo tells the Shogun that the evil that threatened them has been defeated, and they must rebuild. What happened here could have happened anywhere, anywhere people allow evil to flourish in their hearts. The Shogun can only wonder about the holy warriors, and hopes that they will always be out there, somewhere, waiting to protect them. |
-In the games, Amakusa is male. In this anime however, Amakusa is female, is both the Japanese and English dubs. It is believed that this was a mistake by the production staff, as in the anime's novelization (which I believe was only released in Japan), Amakusa is male. -The secret move Haohmaru uses to destroy the energy barrier shows a series of symbols just before he does it. The symbols are actually joystick directions, followed by the letters B and C. It's how to use the move in the Samurai Shodown II game. This anime aired around a month before Samurai Shodown II was released in arcades, giving players with good eyesight an advantage.
The command is down-forward, half circle forward, back, down, down-back plus the medium slash (B) and weak kick (C) buttons together. |
The credits for the Japanese version reveal numerous scenes which were cut from the film, including Ukyo's entire role. Read about them here. |
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