13 Assassins

The beginning of 13 Assassins shows us how evil our bad guy is, and because it’s shogun Japan there is the rape- we see him dragging her off and see her clutching her robe to her afterwards not the actual act. So our bad guy is a bastard and we want him dead, but he is the brother of the Shogun.
This is where Bushido comes in because he needs to go down, but Bushido must be maintained. Again you don’t follow Bushido you pretend to follow it and are a backstabbing ass or you are Bushido’s bitch.
We see several times where samurai stand by and do nothing while innocents are hurt because they cannot go against the man they vowed to follow.
However they do manage to find a way around it, and plan a battle. This group of 12 samurai and one crazy mountain man get their ninja on and seriously the big battle at the end is awesome. What these men are able to do is amazing!
Also there is a bit near the end that makes me believe Joss Whedon has seen this movie as Captain Hammer has a similar experience. Come back and let me know if you find it 🙂
If you enjoy Shogun Japan and insane sword fights watch this movie.

Ichi
The story of the blind swordsman is a classic in Japan. It’s such a popular story Rudger Howard even made a version of the story called Blind Fury.
What makes this one different is the swordsman is a girl. It’s beautifully filmed and we get to see many different parts of life as she searches for her teacher.
While on her journey she meets a master swordsman who can’t draw his swords, gets kidnapped, slices many people into pieces, and falls in love.
People who meet her are changed, by her music and her sword. It’s a wonderful story with some fun Japanese drama. Of course there is rape, it is more graphic then in the other movie. I couldn’t find a trailer with sub-titles, sorry.

Hana
THERE IS NO RAPE IN THIS MOVIE!!!!!!
It’s a wonderful story, where we get to see how the peasants lived. Not being beaten down by the higher ups but the day to day life of cleaning, working, cooking, and laughing.
Our hero Soza is torn, has sworn vengeance for his father’s murder. Being a samurai his honor is at stake and he must complete his mission, but the longer he lives amoung the peasants the harder it becomes for him to stay focused on his mission.
Even though these people live in poverty this is the only movie that makes me want to live in Shogun Japan. The characters are so fun and quirky.
There is forgiveness, redemption, letting go, a love story, and deciding between Bushido, honor, and life.

I hope you enjoyed our Armchair Adventures. Please let me know where else you would like to visits, modern or a historic period. Is there anything else you would like to have on your Armchair Adventure?