Kyuzo (Japanese 久蔵, long-concealed) is a character of the highly acclaimed movie Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa.
A character of the same name appears in the homage anime movie entitled Samurai 7; that Kyuzo is a bodyguard of a local businessman/merchant and is the rival of Kambei.
Character history
Film version
Kyuzo is unmatched in swordfighting and wants nothing more than to perfect his craft. He is quiet and not very social.
He is killed in the movie when an unseen gunman shoots him. He throws his sword away in an attempt to indicate the location of his assassin as he falls dead into the mud. The young samurai Katsushiro is particularly affected by his death.
Anime version
He is the mysterious and quiet bodyguard of a wealthy merchant family where he appeared only as a background character in the early episodes. He is a blonde man with red eyes and wears a red coat and sometimes has the bottom half of his face covered. He is a rare master of the twin sword style of fighting. Highly skilled and strong, the only true challenge for him is to kill his rival/comrade Kambei. It was proven that he is determined to fight and kill Kambei many times and slowly builds up a protectiveness to Kambei like a wolf who guards his prey. Even though Kambei is not as strong than Kyuzo's former comrade Hyogo, he is determined to the death to kill Kambei himself and kills Tessai in an instant. Though the anime has a longer and more complex storyline, it hasn't altered much of the original story. Kyuzo is still one of the 4 samurai to die. He is killed in episode 25 by accident when Katsushiro gunned down an enemy imperial guard who was about to kill Kambei, and the bullets went through, unknown to Katsushiro that Kyuzo was standing at the back of the enemy. He will wait for Kambei in the afterlife to "settle a score" with him.
Trivia
James Coburn, a self-confessed fan of the original Seven Samurai when it was first released in the U.S., has said that he made a conscious effort to emulate actor Seiji Miyaguchi as Kyuzo in his portrayal of the knife-throwing Britt in The Magnificent Seven.
An early idea for the anime version of Kyuzo was to have the character be a woman, but the idea was scrapped fairly early (as stated in an interview with the creators in Anime Insider). Kyuzo's slightly androgynous appearance was likely influenced by this early idea.
A character of the same name appears in the homage anime movie entitled Samurai 7; that Kyuzo is a bodyguard of a local businessman/merchant and is the rival of Kambei.
Character history
Film version
Kyuzo is unmatched in swordfighting and wants nothing more than to perfect his craft. He is quiet and not very social.
He is killed in the movie when an unseen gunman shoots him. He throws his sword away in an attempt to indicate the location of his assassin as he falls dead into the mud. The young samurai Katsushiro is particularly affected by his death.
Anime version
He is the mysterious and quiet bodyguard of a wealthy merchant family where he appeared only as a background character in the early episodes. He is a blonde man with red eyes and wears a red coat and sometimes has the bottom half of his face covered. He is a rare master of the twin sword style of fighting. Highly skilled and strong, the only true challenge for him is to kill his rival/comrade Kambei. It was proven that he is determined to fight and kill Kambei many times and slowly builds up a protectiveness to Kambei like a wolf who guards his prey. Even though Kambei is not as strong than Kyuzo's former comrade Hyogo, he is determined to the death to kill Kambei himself and kills Tessai in an instant. Though the anime has a longer and more complex storyline, it hasn't altered much of the original story. Kyuzo is still one of the 4 samurai to die. He is killed in episode 25 by accident when Katsushiro gunned down an enemy imperial guard who was about to kill Kambei, and the bullets went through, unknown to Katsushiro that Kyuzo was standing at the back of the enemy. He will wait for Kambei in the afterlife to "settle a score" with him.
Trivia
James Coburn, a self-confessed fan of the original Seven Samurai when it was first released in the U.S., has said that he made a conscious effort to emulate actor Seiji Miyaguchi as Kyuzo in his portrayal of the knife-throwing Britt in The Magnificent Seven.
An early idea for the anime version of Kyuzo was to have the character be a woman, but the idea was scrapped fairly early (as stated in an interview with the creators in Anime Insider). Kyuzo's slightly androgynous appearance was likely influenced by this early idea.
A character in the Akira Kurosawa film, The Seven Samurai and the anime adaptation of the film, Samurai 7.
Overview
Kikuchiyo, played by Toshiro Mifune: A farmer's son who attempts to jump his place in society by calling himself a Samurai.
In the first half of the film he is used largely as comedy relief, featuring such events such as his illiteracy and his inability to ride a horse. His over-the-top mannerisms eventually garner him a fan club, consisting of the small children of the village. One of his main identifying features is the oversize sword he carries (a nodachi). Rather than sheathing his sword, he saunters around while resting it over his shoulder. His heritage as a farmer's son is revealed after he lambastes the other Samurai for their perceptions of the farmers, as well as a speech concerning the social hierarchy and the treatment of peasants by Samurai. His death in the end of the film provokes mixed responses. He is the only character in the film to be given the "hero's death" in the Hollywood style, as he dies from a bullet wound after killing the leader of the bandits.
Symbols
*The excessively large sword Kikuchiyo carries; a representation of his overcompensation and inexperience. Casting away the sword in the final battle for another sword was his becoming a “Samurai”, the fruition of his attempts to change his lot in life.
*The banner under which the samurai fight, consisting of six circles, aligned much as they would be on a dice, to represent the samurai, with a triangle on the bottom for Kikuchiyo. Simultaneously a joke about his not being a Samurai, and a representation of his being an individual apart.
Context
While Kurosawa's characters' eccentricities as well as the emphasis his stories put on changing of roles and standing out may seem commonplace, this was far from the case in 1950's Japan. The character of Kikuchiyo was one of the first obvious examples of Akira Kurosawa's emphasis on individualism which marked much of his later career. It was Kurosawa's emphasis on characters like Kikuchiyo that helped lead to criticism of Kurosawa's being too “western” alongside his different directorial style.
Anime
In the Anime adaptation Samurai 7, Kikuchiyo is a former farmer who had most of his body replaced with a mechanized one in an effort to become a Samurai. The distinguishing oversized sword (here with a mechanized chainsaw enhancement) is carried over to the Anime. He dies a hero's death during the final battle: Instead of seizing an opportunity to escape, he trades his sword for an enormous Nobuseri one and digs in his feet, standing the sword up and uses it to stop the crushing capital city-ship from hitting the village. The capital ship stops just short of the village, but Kikuchiyo is destroyed from overheating, leaving nothing but his smoking boots.
Overview
Kikuchiyo, played by Toshiro Mifune: A farmer's son who attempts to jump his place in society by calling himself a Samurai.
In the first half of the film he is used largely as comedy relief, featuring such events such as his illiteracy and his inability to ride a horse. His over-the-top mannerisms eventually garner him a fan club, consisting of the small children of the village. One of his main identifying features is the oversize sword he carries (a nodachi). Rather than sheathing his sword, he saunters around while resting it over his shoulder. His heritage as a farmer's son is revealed after he lambastes the other Samurai for their perceptions of the farmers, as well as a speech concerning the social hierarchy and the treatment of peasants by Samurai. His death in the end of the film provokes mixed responses. He is the only character in the film to be given the "hero's death" in the Hollywood style, as he dies from a bullet wound after killing the leader of the bandits.
Symbols
*The excessively large sword Kikuchiyo carries; a representation of his overcompensation and inexperience. Casting away the sword in the final battle for another sword was his becoming a “Samurai”, the fruition of his attempts to change his lot in life.
*The banner under which the samurai fight, consisting of six circles, aligned much as they would be on a dice, to represent the samurai, with a triangle on the bottom for Kikuchiyo. Simultaneously a joke about his not being a Samurai, and a representation of his being an individual apart.
Context
While Kurosawa's characters' eccentricities as well as the emphasis his stories put on changing of roles and standing out may seem commonplace, this was far from the case in 1950's Japan. The character of Kikuchiyo was one of the first obvious examples of Akira Kurosawa's emphasis on individualism which marked much of his later career. It was Kurosawa's emphasis on characters like Kikuchiyo that helped lead to criticism of Kurosawa's being too “western” alongside his different directorial style.
Anime
In the Anime adaptation Samurai 7, Kikuchiyo is a former farmer who had most of his body replaced with a mechanized one in an effort to become a Samurai. The distinguishing oversized sword (here with a mechanized chainsaw enhancement) is carried over to the Anime. He dies a hero's death during the final battle: Instead of seizing an opportunity to escape, he trades his sword for an enormous Nobuseri one and digs in his feet, standing the sword up and uses it to stop the crushing capital city-ship from hitting the village. The capital ship stops just short of the village, but Kikuchiyo is destroyed from overheating, leaving nothing but his smoking boots.
Miles Powell (born July 2nd, 1994 in Washington D.C.) is an American Backyard wrestler for the XWG. Along with his cousin, LB Briscoe, he is the CEO of XWG. XWG is a spin-off of the XWF (which is on Youtube) As of currently, Powell and Briscoe are still constructing the format for XWG, hiring superstars, purchasing trampolines, setting up stage, etc. It is likely that they will start up XWG in summer 2008.
Finishers
-Direct Effect Sideslam
-Moment of Silence Spinebuster
Signature moves
-Swanton Bomb High-Angle Senton Bomb
-Spear
-Jump-Off Springboard Crossbody
-Stay Down Frontfilp Legdrop
Accomplishments
Soon-to-be XWG World Champion
Finishers
-Direct Effect Sideslam
-Moment of Silence Spinebuster
Signature moves
-Swanton Bomb High-Angle Senton Bomb
-Spear
-Jump-Off Springboard Crossbody
-Stay Down Frontfilp Legdrop
Accomplishments
Soon-to-be XWG World Champion
The Kala Church is a religion that was funded in 1985 in Los Angeles, United States. It was named in honor of Ellsworth Kalas once president of the Asbury Theological Seminary and famed American theologist. It is a form of Christianity based in the natural principles of life and sustains that life was created by God in phases identified as "days" in the Bible.