Musashi Gundoh

Musashi Gundoh (MUSASHI -GUN道-) is a Japanese anime television series, based on the story by Monkey Punch. 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 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.

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", 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 of Japan, where the Toyotomi Shogunate (instead of Tokugawa) governs the nation. The anime tells the story of Musashi, a young practitioner of "gundoh" (GUN道), a martial art involving the use of guns. The series deals with Musashi's battles against a group of monsters called "Ayakashi".

Musashi side
Musashi Miyamoto (ミヤモト ムサシ) (Seiyū: Daisuke Namikawa (浪川大輔))
 * He fights against the Ayakashi using two guns. He practices Gundoh in "ma' own style". His character is based on Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵), a legendary swordsman.

''His notable line: "Wow, it's dazzling!" (うおっまぶしっ!)''
 * 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.

Ronin (ロウニン) (Seiyū: Jin Horikawa (堀川仁))
 * 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 ronin (浪人), meaning "a masterless samurai".

Ninja-Taro (ニンジャ太郎) (Seiyū: Yu Kobayashi (小林ゆう))
 * A clumsy ninja boy who claims to be "Musashi's first disciple" or "the ninja of ninjas".

Priest Takuan (タクアン和尚) (Seiyū: Soichiro Tanaka (田中総一郎))
 * A priest in Daitokuji 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 Takuan Sōhō (沢庵宗彭), a priest in the real-life Daitokuji temple, who taught the real Musashi Miyamoto.

Desperado (デスペラード) (Seiyū: Mayumi Yanagisawa (柳沢真由美))
 * She is a sexy foreign woman who seeks revenge against Musashi for the murder of her father. Musashi, however, denies responsibility for the killing.

Kaguya (カグヤ) (Seiyū: Shiho Kawaragi (河原木志穂))
 * She is the stepdaughter of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the princess of Osaka Castle. 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 different from our own. Her name possibly comes from Princess Kaguya (かぐや姫), a character from the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a well-known Japanese folk tale.

Dabi-no-ji (荼毘の字) (Seiyū: Kosei Hirota (廣田行生))
 * He is a master of karakuri, who owns a mechanical goods shop. He sells merchandise such as onmyo-dan (オンミョウダン), 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 of the same name.

Sasuke Sarutobi (猿飛佐助) (Seiyū: Yu Kobayashi (小林ゆう))
 * A "ninja monkey" bred by Dabi-no-ji. His true identity is that of Sasuke Sarutobi, one of the Sanada Ten Braves. 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
Yasha (ヤシャ) (Seiyū: Rei Igarashi (五十嵐麗))
 * 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 Yashiya (ヤシヤ) more than once.

Ryogen (リョウゲン) (Seiyū: Shiro Saito (斎藤志郎))
 * He is actually Tokugawa Ieyasu. 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.

Jijouda (ジジョウダ)(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 "OCHINAGARA TATAKAU (落ちながら戦う)(fall fighting)" of the killer shot of the Priest Takuan.

Gandadarn (ガンダダーン)(Seiyū: Keiko Nemoto (根本圭子))
 * 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 "Kumo no Ito (蜘蛛の糸) " of the Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, 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 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

 * GUN-Ki no Juu (ガン鬼の銃)(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 "GUN-Ki no Ten (ガン鬼の天) (Ten(天) means sky →Sky of demon of gun)" and "GUN-Ki no Chi (ガン鬼の地)(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.


 * Onmyou dan (陰陽弾)(Bullet of Onmyōdō)
 * Bullet only for Ayakashi that Musashi bought from Dabi-no-ji. Dialog ""Wow, it's dazzling!" (うおっまぶしっ!)" of Musashi when the Onmyou dan is shot is a word that symbolizes this anime.


 * Enkabou dan (エンカボウダン)(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.


 * "Wow, it's dazzling!" (「うおっまぶしっ!」)
 * 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.