Samurai Champloo (2004–2005): Season 1, Episode 5 - Bajitôfû - full transcript

The year is 1 888.

A lone painter who held a deep admiration

for an ukiyo-e print that
he had encountered in Paris

made his way to Arles, Provence in search of
the Japanese sun that he saw in his mind's eye.

His dream was to live and work
together with many artists there.

However, only one artist turned up,

and their communal life
didn't even last two months.

The name of the second artist was Gauguin.

The name of the man who was
fascinated by the ukiyo-e print

and continually painted
sunflowers was Vincent van Gogh.

"Artistic Anarchy (Falling on Deaf Ears) "

Anyway, let's set aside this part
of our tale for the time being...

No way! Are you serious?!

It costs that much?

Well? Are you getting on board or not?

Give me a discount?

Forget it. If you can't pay, why don't
you start swimming your way across?

Tightwad!

And now, the hands of the clock turn
back more than one hundred years.

My name is Manzou Sakami.
I'm a secret policeman.

I slice away with no concern
for the edge of my sword.

Because of that, people
call me Manzou the Saw.

The reason I'm here is because
of a rash of disappearances

of adolescent girls that has
been taking place in this area.

That's right... Girls a lot like this one.

You're such a lifesaver!
Seriously, though? You're paying?

Of course. Go on, eat up.

Excuse me! Twenty grilled
squid with tea on the side!

Coming right up!

That's quite an appetite you have.

--Thanks, buddy.
--We're in your debt.

Give this guy the tab.

--Right!
--Hey, you two!

Get out there and earn our boat fare! Got it?

--Yeah, yeah...
--Right.

Just like that! Right there, don't move...!

What're you doing?

I was just thinking that you're
truly a beauty looking backwards...

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Moronobu Hishikawa.

I'm an artist who hasn't
quite made the big time yet.

Pleased to meet you.

"Oh, my!. What a wonderful smile he has! "

Or so these maidens think
as they're so easily deceived.

--It's the girls' soft skin that they're after.
--Oh, no!

Oh, no!

--Oh, no!
--Oh, no!

According to the information
I've uncovered on my own so far,

the vanished girls all have
something in common.

They were all amateur
models for ukiyo-e prints.

--She's so hot!
--Hey, move your damn hand!

Who are you?

You're in our light! Move it!

Mess with us, and you're a dead man!

What's your problem?

Draw, you bastard!

No thanks. Against you guys,
these are all I need.

Say what?!

One, two, three...

Damn, this ain't much.

Start jumping.

I-I'm so sorry...!

Aw, that's sick...

One, two... There's a hair!

We'll remember this, you moron!

Look, this one is mine, too.

I believe that in the future,
ukiyo-e prints will feature amateur models,

not just the star kabuki actors
in the ones we see today.

Hey, did you paint this one, too?

Yes, of course.

The sunflowers are so pretty...

Unfortunately, ukiyo-e are still treated
as cheap pop posters bought by kids.

I swear, this country
doesn't understand art at all.

It's enough to make me want to
try my hand overseas one day.

Which brings me to my point.

Would you be interested in joining me
and entering into the world of art?

--What do you mean?
--It's simple, it's simple.

All you need to do is pose for me.

I'll pay you for your time, too!

Ever since I met you, I've had
a chill running up my spine.

I want to paint you, no matter what.

Well, I don't know...

It's okay, it's okay!

Haven't you seen ships like those before?

I was under the impression that
European ships could only dock at Nagasaki.

They grease the palms of the local governor.

Even if a governor is taken to task for it,
he can say that they were shipwrecked.

For one thing, banned European goods
fetch a high price everywhere.

Three-one, Silver General.

My apologies. That was presumptuous of me.

Wait!

What do you say? Care to join me in a game?

Thank you, but I'm in a hurry.

How about if we played for stakes, then?

I'd like to, but I don't even
have money for the ferry.

If you've got no money to bet,
how about putting your life on the line?

If you win, this money is yours.

If you lose, you pledge your life to me.

I doubt that you're in your right mind.

It's a little joke from an old man
whose life has been spent in the grip

of shogi pieces so light that the
slightest wind could blow them away.

On the other hand,
these gold coins are the real deal.

I will face you, then.

Gimme as many as these will buy.

It's a pleasure doin' business!

Welcome to the shop.

Please feel free to take your time and browse.

I-I'm sorry, ma'am. There's been some trouble...

You three are yakuza!
You're telling me that you were mugged?

I-I'm sorry, ma'am!

Don't get robbed again!

Pick it up.

I'm sorry, ma'am! I'm sorry!

The next time you see that guy,
make sure you redeem yourself.

Yes, ma'am!

Oh, crap. The boat fare...

Hey.

Long time, no see.

Hey, hold it!

No way, you bastard!

This is my studio.

Come back here, damn it!

What kind of trouble are you causing this time?

Look who's talking. Why are you
messing around with loverboy here?

You've got it all wrong. I came
here to do a modeling job.

Crap, he got away.

It's not quite right...

A little further down... About here.

No, no, I'm not saying that to be a pervert!

This is all for the sake of art.

See? You can't see anything from over here.

It's okay, it's okay...

I've been working this stakeout because
I suspected that these incidents

were somehow connected to
the European ships in the harbor.

By the way, this is my truncheon blade.

They're normally used as a truncheon,
but when you combine them like this,

they make an excellent weight-loss tool
that you can use in your spare time.

As we thought, it looks like a big
deal is going down tomorrow.

Really, now? Good work,
keep up your investigation.

Yes, sir.

--Sir...?
--Well, blow me down!

Who's there?

You're pretty good, son.
Where did you learn how to play?

In the dojo.

In both shogi and swordplay,
the key is to read ahead.

The battle is decided by whether you can
think farther ahead than your opponent.

That was what my master taught me.

I see. It sounds like your
master was a skilled player, too.

Yes. I was never able to
defeat him in shogi even once.

What about with swords?
Did you beat him there?

--Finished.
--Really? Let me see!

Great, thanks for your hard work!

What? What's going on?

I'm sorry. This is part of my job, too.

Job? What's that supposed to mean?
You tricked me, didn't you?!

Did you have this planned all along?!

Hold still.

Oh, the sun's gone down. Let's pick up tomorrow.

Oops, how clumsy of me!

My, that's quite some memory you have.

But this Gold General... Wasn't it up here?

Relax. You'll be out on the sea tomorrow.

Get 'em to take real good care of you.

Hey, did you hear an animal
or something just now?

C'mon, let's go.

You're just imagining things.

Where are you going in such a hurry?

Um, I...

You've been so busy with this art nonsense
lately that you never stop by to see me.

Who do you think is letting
you live the way you do?

I'm... I'm sorry.

I won't let you go home tonight.

W-Wait a moment!

M-My stomach has, uh, been bothering me all day!

I don't think I'm up to it!

Tomorrow! I promise I'll come see you tomorrow!

I'm getting you out of here.

Okay...

How many girls have you conned so far?!

Answer me! How many?!

At first, I didn't know.

I suspected something,
but I looked the other way.

I mean, an ukiyo-e artist could never make
ends meet without doing things like this.

You're just making excuses for yourself.

How could you do that to me?

Oh, now I see. You prefer
girls this young, do you?

You know what happens to people who
fool with my merchandise, don't you?!

Hey, where is she?

I don't know.

Well, it's not like I care or anything...

Gin.

Man, this won't buy me anything to eat...

Well, well. I still can't capture your piece.

Thank you for your continued patronage.

So, which would you like to buy?

My, you have an eye for quality.

Whoa, check it out,
she's doing it with a squid...

In you go!

Geez, if you weren't the boss' young stud,
you woulda been fish food a long time ago.

Try anything like that again, and we'll break
your right hand for real. Remember that.

Wakey wakey, loverboy.

Hey. Where'd this girl go?

Help her! If we don't do
something, she'll be sold!

Just accept it, will ya?

Hey, you ready yet?

What the hell? This thing weighs a ton!

That one isn't on the list!

If we don't hurry it up,
she's gonna chew us out again!

When I put a young girl into an ukiyo-e,

the print goes up in a book
rental shop by the harbor.

But the rental shop is just a front.

They use the ukiyo-e prints as a slave trade
catalog to sell girls to the Europeans!

We're too late...

She's already been taken away.

Well, blow me down!

Something just popped out.

Who are you?

I must have missed them by just a few seconds.

It's that guy!

Stay away!

Not again!

--Boo!
--S-Spare me!

W-What in the world?

Hold it right there!

You're under arrest!

What's the meaning of this?!
I'm a law-abiding book lender!

Well, blow me down!

As if there could be a
messed-up bookstore like this!

I saw through your little scam long ago!

W-What are you talking about?

You've got guts, using your store as a front
to traffic in humans with those foreign ships.

This girl and this book
are irrefutable evidence!

Sir...?

Well, blow me down!

Using ukiyo-e prints as a
catalog was clever of you,

but instead it's proved to be your downfall!

Checkmate.

Face the facts and turn yourself in!!

Well done. Now I can go with no regrets.

Anyhow, we'll be taking you in now.

Boss!

Darling...

Oh, right. I almost forgot.

As we agreed.

So after all that, it was Jin who earned
our boat fare, even though it looked like

he hadn't been doing anything this whole time.

Hey, I came away with some booty of my own.

Gross! What is this, porn?!

Darn it, you two! Give it a rest!

Hey, backwards beauty!

Now look here--

I'm sorry! I really am sorry for tricking you.

But please believe this one thing.

That thrill I felt when I saw you,
that was the honest truth.

You were the first. No other girl looked at
my sunflowers and said they were beautiful.

And so!

That makes you my number one fan!

I'm on my way to sneak aboard the European
ships and go to the country of Holland.

I won't return to this land until the day
my paintings are recognized as great art.

But I'll never forget about you!

Oh, right. Don't tell old lady Sawa
where I'm headed, all right?

I appreciate it!

Jerk!

This is ridiculous...

You sure you want to let him go?

Yeah, it's okay. I mean, he did
draw me with big hooters.

--Hooters?
--Hooters?

After that, the artist who had
attempted to travel to Holland

was caught immediately and deported.

However, the ukiyo-e he had with him
was the one thing that they confiscated,

and it eventually crossed paths with van Gogh.

This, they say, is what provided the inspiration
for his series of sunflower paintings.

This incident is just one more page
that is missing from the history books.

Well, blow me down!

"To be continued "

Spring is announced when the
wild plants break out in a dance

Summer comes to Uji, and in the fields
are patterns of grass set out to dry

The autumn moon rises,
let's celebrate its fullness

Winter passes by, and I count off
the days and months again

I can still see the too-distant blue sky
when I close my eyes (It was so warm)

As I reminisce, I take your hand
as I pluck flowers and sing

Within the memories that
are now coming back to me

I'm setting out to find my way back to you

Spring is announced when the
mountain leaves break out in dance

Summer comes to Uji, and textiles with
plains grass patterns are set out to dry

The autumn moon rises,
let's celebrate its fullness

Winter passes by, and I count off
the days and months again

Dawn comes, and we part ways once again

My dreams becoming distant apparitions

I turn to the warm wind for help,
the wind I felt every time you held me

As I was bathed in the light
that followed on your heels