Original subtitles

It wasn't supposed to go like this.

I'm sorry, Soji. This operation is a failure.

What's a woman worth?

Beauty goes without saying.

But it comes down to whether she's got lead at her core, don't you think?

Yes, I do.

But doesn't the same go for men?

You and your word games.

One thing worries me.

As Niimi saw it, you can't afford to get so much as a scratch on you.

So what if you're so scared, you can't fight at your best?

No, that won't be a problem.

Now that's what I want to hear. A wound or two is a badge of honor.

That's not what I mean.

We'll see this through without a scratch on us.

Sounds like you don't think much of me.

Blue Miburo

What I can't understand is, why is he using two swords here? Is he desperate?

Well, fine. I'll play his game.

Two swords are good for defense, as they keep the opponent at a distance.

But what if...

I slip in close before you can stop me?

Exactly. You stop my strike with your long sword,

and try to finish me off with the short one.

But I won't let that happen.

I even amaze myself.

Your makeshift two-sword style bores me to tears!

Now we're even. Long swords only.

Assuming no one butts in.

But I guess I needn't worry.

I don't mind. Feel free to sit back and wait.

I'll take care of this.

Sorry...

but it'll take more than that.

I know what to expect.

Now that's impressive.

You'll do anything to win.

It's not cowardice. Inspiration keeps coming to you in battle.

Truly a child of the sword, battle made flesh.

But troubled times are coming.

Guns and cannons will carry the day.

Yours is the last generation who can walk proud with swords at your side.

If you'd been born later or earlier, your talent might never have blossomed.

Okita!

You, at least, ought to be grateful that you were born in this era.

But sadly, you have no ego.

You're out here wielding your sword for other people.

You had a chance at the dream of all swordsmen:

Mikazuchi, god of the blade.

The same goes for you.

What?

If you'd sought only strength, you could have been a god of the sword.

The Miburo couldn't have gotten on track without you.

You chose the group over yourself,

and you've done a wonderful job setting the stage.

What are you blathering about?

I knew I couldn't get to you if you knew where my strikes were coming from.

So...

What?

The short sword?

Don't tell me he planned it all.

He truly is Mikazuchi incarnate.

Serizawa-san, I have great respect for you.

Don't stop. Keep walking.

I can't. M-My legs won't stop shaking.

You must walk.

Don't touch me, murderer.

I won't take orders from you.

Listen closely. You are free.

You needn't return to Shimabara.

Just leave Kyoto.

Then take me with you.

I can't do that.

No!

I'm ready to die. I have no regrets.

I cannot call suicide wrong.

A friend of mine died.

Yamanami, I want you to complete it.

If your death leads to the future...

So this is why you switched to two swords?

You used my bad eye's blind spot to attack with your dropped short sword?

Prepare to die.

This fight is over. Don't draw it out.

Not yet.

It's not over yet!

I won't die yet. Not yet.

This isn't where I die.

Hijikata-san! Don't let him into the passage!

Stop him!

I know that.

So why?

Why can't I move?

There's a man called Serizawa.

He's a true samurai, I guess.

What's a "true" samurai?

One who is born to a samurai family and who has a samurai soul.

A samurai with the soul of a samurai?

That doesn't sound very unusual.

You're wrong.

Samurai are fakes. There aren't any like that.

Dojo

What domain do you serve? What's your school?

Challenging dojos.

And doing business.

Ishida's Medicinal Powders

Want something for those bruises and sprains?

I offer a discount on bulk purchases.

Won't you buy some? I can see you're hurt.

I hear you're a farmer's son.

You've got some nerve, making fools of us samurai.

Ganging up for payback with your faces hidden?

How are any of you samurai?

Don't you know we can cut you down for insolence?

Get him!

Peasants don't get to stand up to samurai.

Know your place now?

This doesn't hurt. It doesn't even tickle.

You're all a bunch of fakes.

Who kept this country going in the age of peace?

Who tilled its soil?

My mind was made up.

Samurai no longer had the souls of samurai.

If anyone did, they'd come from the peasantry.

My pet theory turned to certainty because of him.

I'm proud I was born a peasant.

2nd month, Bunkyu 2 (March, 1862) Denzuin Temple, Edo

Or I thought I was.

Is this where they're recruiting ronin?

I hear they pay good money to cover travel arrangements.

Are you after a payout from the Shogunate, too?

Don't assume we're all the same.

I'm going to do something about the chaos in Kyoto.

Oh? I like the look of you.

Say no more.

We'll go together. For our country.

If there's no inn, we sleep outside.

Which means we need to keep warm.

Traveling together, I realized what a ruffian he was.

I want the finest of women.

I want a castle.

I want my own country.

In Kyoto, I got sick of his greed.

But he led the Miburo with courage, strength, and occasionally, guile.

He had both daring and subtlety.

He was always a danger,

but he had charisma, too.

He was everything I imagined a samurai to be. A true samurai.

I can still fight.

Do your worst, Hijikata.

Years of pent-up resentment and jealousy...

Are you sure you don't have a more personal reason?

What right does a lowly peasant have to cut down a proud samurai?

Hijikata-san?

As long as you live, I can't help feeling pathetic!

You grubby peasant!

What was that? There was no spirit in it.

You'll never get me to die that way.

No one trusts a man who talks a good game but hesitates when it counts.

Hijikata, I'm disappointed in you.

In the end, you couldn't become a real demon.

Where am I going to die? Not here, that's for sure.

D-Damn it all.

That's enough! I'll do it!

We made up our minds! We have to see it through!

Wait, Serizawa!

I'll end this. Right here.

Okita.

You can't fight like you did earlier in this narrow corridor.

What will you do?

A Tennen Rishin-school thrust? Yes. That would be your answer.

Is that your famous "Triple Thrust"?

I heard the grunts fussing about how "Okita-sensei does three thrusts in one."

I've never done it with a real sword before.

Let's see it. I'll parry all three.

We'll see about that.

To begin with...

Here it comes!

...everyone miscounted.

One.

Two.

It seems like they didn't count the short thrust after the first one.

Three.

I did it!

Four?

See that?

Actually, everyone goes down on the fourth hit,

but in reality...

there are five.

He parried them all?

That was fun.

Don't you have any weaknesses?

Of course I...

...don't!

Come here!

C-Crap.

I'm totally helpless.

Caught your leg on a writing desk? Luck sure turned its back on you.

It's over, Okita.

Yu-bo!

A kid?

Tsuguji.

Tsuguji, you're incurably wild,

but there is one good thing about you.

You care for those beneath you.

You're kind to children.

Shove it, old geezer!

You want a piece of this?

That was my weakness.

It's a little thing, but it bothers me.

I have the makings of a leader among samurai,

but I can't ignore a chick that can't get back to its nest.

Like that time...

Look how dirty he is.

Couldn't he go somewhere else?

I wish he'd give it up.

Something came over me, and I ended up talking to him.

Why do I care about kids so much?

Because that's your true nature!

It is not!

It is not!

The lintel?

What a beginner's mistake.

Shit.

How did I miscalculate?

Protecting the city of Kyoto is the ideal we Miburo strive for.

We needed to fight this battle to achieve it.

Serizawa is too dangerous. Too uncontrollable.

Sooner or later, he'll cross a line we can't come back from.

We need to protect the Miburo from fracturing.

And let's not forget the secret order from Aizu. That gives us an excuse.

What is the way of the sword to you?

It's a delusion.

I sounded so sure when I told him this samurai stuff was all fake.

But now I'm faced with a real samurai.

Am I wrong?

Am I making a terrible mistake?

Is this man a true hero the Miburo can't do without?

Is he one of a kind? Is he the great man the nation needs in these desperate times?

And look at me, trying to kill him in a drunken sleep.

How could I not be disgusted with myself?

But...

Even I have things I can't give up.

I can't let him die.

You came here for this stupid plan of mine

without a doubt or a word of complaint.

Soji.

We first met when you were nine.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

You're giving lessons?

You sure you can teach people without Kondo-san around?

Worry about yourself, stupid.

Begin sparring!

Yes, sir!

People were already calling you a prodigy.

Watch my example.

That's how it's done.

I knew you'd make a name for yourself.

But you seemed bored somehow.

A fight? You're such a child.

Quit following me.

I'm watching to make sure you don't run.

We can't have anyone who says they practice the Tennen Rishin school losing.

I don't know what made you change,

but I felt I needed to support you.

I didn't expect you to volunteer for that band of ronin first chance you got.

What's wrong with helping folk now and then?

I'm going, too.

Forget it. I won't protect you.

I'll stick with you wherever you go.

I bet you think you're keeping an eye on me.

But the truth was,

you were always guarding me from behind.

You always believed in me and followed my lead.

Look at you now, covered in blood.

You're getting your own hands dirty.

I know I'll make more mistakes and regret every single one.

This still has to be the biggest mistake of my life.

But even so...

I can't let Soji die!

I'll admit it. You're a genuine samurai.

The child of this era. The man it needed.

Hijikata.

My name isn't worth preserving.

Serizawa Kamo, first commander of the Mibu Roshigumi,

I'll make sure generations to come know your name.

I'm no one important, but he... he's a real treasure.

So die!

So you can strike without hesitation when it's for a comrade?

Not for a cause or an organization, but for a petty, personal reason.

Hijikata, what a small man you are.

You ought to get rid of that weakness.

You need to close your eyes to the little things to do something great.

You don't have Okita's beauty, nor his edge.

That was a clumsy, brute-force strike.

But...

But somehow...

Your strike hurt more than all the others.

Die.

Please die.

Die. Die.

Die.

S-So you do have it in you.

That's it. That's the way, Hijikata.

Only...

You need to make sure.

D-Damn it.

Wait, Serizawa!

Circle around back!

Right!

The inner room?

He wasn't here.

That can't be. Where did he go?

Don't tell me he ran outside.

This is bad, Hijikata-san.

In his condition? Impossible.

Did someone help him escape?

This way.

A Clumsy Strike

Next time

This is Hijikata Toshizo.

Serizawa-san, remember that drinking contest we had?

And the story about the tortoise.

You said you'd keep fighting wherever you'd gotten to.

You'd keep shouting, "Here I am!"

That was what made a real man.

I feel like I can still hear you saying all those things now.

Next time: "Serizawa Kamo."

Serizawa Kamo