is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 television series, based on the story by Monkey Punch

Monkey Punch

Monkey Punch is the pen name of Japanese manga artist Kazuhiko Katō , creator of the successful Japanese manga series Lupin III...

. It premiered in Japan on the satellite station BS-i on April 9, 2006, and is also set to be broadcast across Japan by the anime satellite television

Satellite television

Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...

 network Animax from October 2006. It is also legally distributed over the Internet by GyaO from May 13, 2006. According to the producer, there are also plans to broadcast the anime overseas, including broadcasts in North America and Europe.

Produced on a very small budget, the series has been infamous for hideously bad animation, and has attracted a cult following for this reason. It uses uncropped photos for backgrounds, and its sound effects are completely out of synch with the video.
Monkey Punch, famous for his manga "Lupin III

Lupin III

, also known as Lupin the 3rd, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Kato under the pen name of Monkey Punch. The story follows the adventures of a gang of thieves led by Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series of...

", spent 12 years planning the series. Musashi Gundoh is produced by ACC Production, a company for which Monkey Punch is an executive. In Japan the "non-edited version" DVD box set ranked very high on sales charts.

Plot summary

Musashi Gundoh is set in a fictional feudal era

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 of Japan, where the Toyotomi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

 Shogunate (instead of Tokugawa

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

) governs the nation. The anime tells the story of Musashi, a young practitioner of , a martial art involving the use of guns. The series deals with Musashi's battles against a group of monsters called "Ayakashi".

Musashi side

(Seiyū: )

He fights against the Ayakashi using two guns. He practices Gundoh in "ma' own style". His character is based on , a legendary swordsman.

His notable line:

In episode 2, Musashi scores a direct hit on an enemy, but it has no effect. After that, he abruptly shouts the aforementioned line. The line was not preceded by any bright scenes whatsoever, so viewers were left wondering why he said it with no provocation.

(Seiyū: )

A master swordsman who has special swords called Nenken and Meiretsu-ken (meanings unknown). He is Musashi's trusted partner. His name is probably derived from , meaning "a masterless samurai".

(Seiyū: )

A clumsy ninja

Ninja

A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

 boy who claims to be "Musashi's first disciple" or "the ninja of ninjas".

(Seiyū: )

A priest in Daitoku-ji

Daitoku-ji

is a Buddhist temple, one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. It is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The "mountain name" , who is known by the title Daitō Kokushi, or "National Teacher of the Great Lamp," that he was given by Emperor Go-Daigo...

 temple, as well as the pioneer of Gundoh martial arts. He is a very skilled Gundoh practitioner who can "fall fighting" from the sky. The BS-i website, as well as the DVD cover, describes him as a "worn-out old man", which doesn't quite seem to suit him. His character is based on , a priest in the real-life Daitokuji temple, who taught the real Musashi Miyamoto.

(Seiyū: )

She is a sexy foreign woman who seeks revenge against Musashi for the murder of her father. Musashi, however, denies responsibility for the killing.

(Seiyū: )

She is the stepdaughter of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the princess of Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle

is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan.Originally called Ozakajō, it is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.-Description:...

. She is an incredibly strong woman who can fight against Ayakashi with her bare hands, even whilst airborne. It is rumored that her existence is the "trigger" that makes Musashi Gundoh's history

Parallel universe (fiction)

A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...

 different from our own. Her name possibly comes from , a character from the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

, also known as , is a 10th century Japanese folktale. It is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative and an early example of proto-science fiction....

, a well-known Japanese folk tale.

(Seiyū: )

He is a master of karakuri, who owns a mechanical goods shop. He sells merchandise such as , special bullets that can harm the normally invulnerable Ayakashi. He can speak a little English, as demonstrated in his first meeting with Desperado. His pseudonym is "Dabi-no-ji" ("the Initial Dabi"), but his real name is Leonardo da Vinci. His character is based on the Italian maestro

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

 of the same name.

(Seiyū: )

A "ninja monkey" bred by Dabi-no-ji. His true identity is that of Sasuke Sarutobi

Sarutobi Sasuke

was a famous ninja in Japanese folklore. He is generally believed to be a Meiji period fictional creation based on the historical ninja ', although some argue for his actual existence.- In folklore :...

, one of the Sanada Ten Braves

Sanada Ten Braves

The are a legendary group of ninja that assisted the warlord Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....

. He was transformed by the gramary of Yasha because he learned too much about Yasha's plans. Although he is called a "genius ninja", his skills are only equal to that of Ninja-Taro.

The Horse

Kaguya's horse, which is well-trained, and always appears to be calm. Even when his master is kidnapped by crows, he remains calm and faces front, directly towards the viewers. This horse is arguably the anime's most popular character.

Ayakashi side

(Seiyū: )

He is the top of Ayakashi monsters. He knows the "true" unaltered history, and gives his power to Ryogen. Not much is known about him, including his sex. In a TV credit, his name is mistyped as more than once.

(Seiyū: )

He is actually Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

. Yasha tells him that in the "true" history, Ryogen is the one who owns the shogunate. Knowing this, Ryogen tries to take over Toyotomi shogunate, using ayakashi's power.

(Seiyū:unknown)

Ayakashi that attacks into Daitkuji temple by the 2nd story. It is a size at the same level as a man; there are two to three corners, and there is a wing like the bat on the back. This wing flaps, and the gust is caused. The bullet can be driven back by using the barrier. The weak points were eyes, and it had been defeated before "(fall fighting)" of the killer shot of the Priest Takuan.

(Seiyū: )

Ayakashi of spider that afflicts Musashi and Priest Takuan from the third story to the 5th story. It has spiders' legs, though it has the face of human. It can manipulate humans by vomiting a very strong Spider's Thread of magic from the mouth. Because the spider in the heavens has been changed into the Ayakashi, it is not possible to knock it down with arms for the Ayakashi. The model appeared in novel " " of the Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

Ryunosuke Akutagawa

was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story". He committed suicide at age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.-Early life:...

, and is a Spider’s Thread that leads the kandata of the criminal who landed in hell to the paradise.

GUNDOH(GUN道)

Gun martial art that Musashi, Priest Takuan, and Kojirou Sasaki

Sasaki Kojiro

was a prominent Japanese swordsman widely considered as a Kensei, born in Fukui Prefecture. He lived during the Sengoku and early Edo periods and is most remembered for his death while battling Miyamoto Musashi in 1612.-History:...

 use. The GUNDOH basic posture involves holding the gun in one hand and a sword in the other hand. Because Musashi uses two guns, people call him the "GUNDOH SAMURAI of two guns". It is said that the GUNDOH doesn't have regulations in the gun used, and the Kojirou Sasaki used a gun with a long pole.

History

It is assumed that the Priest Takuan made it known to the whole country in Japan though the birthplace and the initiator are uncertain. A lot of those who train become his apprentices, and the training of the GUNDOH is piled every day. Gundoh, despite being super-effective, has few practitioners due to fatalities during training exercises, which typically last less than 3 seconds. It is said the title character, Musashi, is a survivor of the training solely by virtue of his having never actually attended any classes. This is evidenced by his having been kidnapped by crows, foxes, cats, chimpanzees, koalas and the like, on an almost daily basis.

Other key words

(The Gun of "Gun Demon")

Ki(鬼) means demon.The GUN-Ki means the demon of gun.

It is a couple of revolver gun by two " (Ten(天) means sky →Sky of demon of gun)" and "(Chi(地) means Ground →Ground of demon of gun)". It is said that it transforms to the demon if the person who doesn't have the qualification obtains it though only the expert of the GUNDOH can use. In taking this gun, every GUNDOH SAMURAI has died up to now. The demon who is called a GUN-Ki is staying in the "GUN-Ki no Juu", and it is deprived of the body by the demon if willpower is weak. However, it is deprived of the body by the demon sooner or later if both guns are not obtained even if it possesses great inner strength.

The bullet shot with the "GUN-Ki no Juu" can defeat the enemy in the power of a usual 100 times. And it can shoot any bullet. Furthermore, the potentiality of the person who obtains the "GUN-Ki no Juu" can be improved from 10 to 100 times. It is a gun of the legend of a whole country invincibility strongest whole country.

Because the whereabouts of "GUN-Ki no Chi" was uncertain, the Priest Takuan sealed "GUN-Ki no Ten" in the artificial arm. However, the seal was solved to defeat the Gandadarn, and it entrusted it to Musashi.

(Bullet of Onmyōdō

Onmyodo

is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism. It is based on the Chinese philosophies of Wu Xing and Yin and yang, introduced into Japan at the turn of the 6th century, and accepted as a practical system of divination...

)

Bullet only for Ayakashi that Musashi bought from Dabi-no-ji. Dialog "" of Musashi when the Onmyou dan is shot is a word that symbolizes this anime.

(Bullet of flame)

Bullet that Dabi-no-ji sold Musashi to defeat Gandadarn. The flame like the flamethrower can begin to be shot continuously. Power decreases sharply when using it with a usual gun, the heat of the bullet cannot be endured, and the gun melts. If it uses a strong gun of the "GUN-Ki no Juu", this problem is solved.

Dialog that Musashi abruptly shot when not effective by use of Onmyou dan to Jijouda by the second story. The scene that shines dazzling immediately before is not found. As for the production person's intention, it is uncertain why to have made this dialog talked. The theory that wholly deletes the scene of a pertinent scene is thick from the delay of production.

See also

• Gundress (ACC Production, the studio of Musashi, photographed the movie.)
• Lost Universe
  Lost Universe
  is a series of science fiction light novels, running from 1992 to 2000, by Japanese author Hajime Kanzaka. It was later adapted into a 26-episode anime television series that ran throughout the summer of 1998 on TV Tokyo during the same time slot that the anime depiction of Kanzaka's previous work,...
  
  
• School City Valanoir
• MD Geist
  MD Geist
  is an anime and manga about a post-apocalyptic world. The series is extremely violent, often depicting graphic scenes of human dismemberment and evisceration....
  
  
• Gun Kata (Gundoh seems to be affected by this fictional martial art.)

External links

• Program guide by BS-i