Mibu gishi den (2003)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Yôjirô Takita

Writers:

Jiro Asada (story)
Takehiro Nakajima (writer)

Release Date:

18 January 2003 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the...

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Honor | Loss Of Father | Rival | Greed

Awards:

4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Kiichi Nakai	...	Kanichiro Yoshimura
Koichi Sato	...	Hajime Saito
Yui Natsukawa	...	Shizu / Mitsu
Takehiro Murata	...	Chiaki Ono
Miki Nakatani	...	Nui
Yuji Miyake	...	Jiroemon Ohno
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yoshinori Hiruma	...	Shinpachi Nagakura
Keisuke Horibe	...	Yasunoshin Shinohara
Atsushi Ito	...	Young Chiaki Ono
Hideaki Ito	...	Yoshinobu Tokugawa
Ryo Kase	...	Shuhei Kondo
Momo Nakayama	...	Young Mitsu Yoshimura
Eugene Nomura	...	Toshizo Hijikata
Ayumu Saitô	...	Ito
Masato Sakai	...	Soji Okita
Sansei Shiomi	...	Isamu Kondo
Sora Tôma	...	Kaichiro Yoshimura
Kôji Tsukamoto	...	Sonoyama
Dai Watanabe
Tatsuo Yamada	...	Sasuke

Also Known As:

When the Last Sword Is Drawn (International: English title)

Runtime:

Japan:143 min | South Korea:104 min (heavily cut)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 (heavily cut) | UK:15

Company:

TV Tokyo

Trivia:

The title "Mibu gishi den" literally means "Story of the Righteous Samurai of Mibu," and alludes to the "Ako gishi," better known in the West as the 47 Ronin.

The real last Samurais

This movie is about the "Shinsengumi" (New Group) a famous group of Samurai in the last days of Tokugawa-shogunate that really existed.

At first they were a kind of police-company in Kyoto. Later on this group was fighting on the shoguns (Military head of state) side against emperor Meijis forces who stood for a modernized Japan. It is about the samurai system and their way that could not survive Japans transition into a modern state. But foremost it is a about people, emotions and honor.The characterization is fantastic and always believable and the swordplay is great.

If you have never heard anything about the Wolfs of Mibu (mibu no ogami(In Japan every child knows them)) you should not miss this movie, and if you know them, even better.