| [site home] | [reel opinions home] |
I want to write about The Dagger of Ka Mui, but I will first dispense with "Revenge ..." as it is a subset of "Dagger ..."
Revenge of the Ninja Warrior was released in the U.S. before The Dagger of Ka Mui became available. "Revenge ..." was a part of Celebrity's "Just for Kids" series, which was an admirable attempt to present serious content to children in animated form (Other videos in my collection that were from this series are Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, both good adaptations, considering the medium.).
"Revenge ..." was, I believe, a daring choice, given its complex story line and violent content. What I think those who made the selection saw in the story was that it had an undercurrent of noble behavior and perseverance in the main characters that ennobled the tale and made it worth the viewing. This version is dubbed in English and is edited somewhat, possibly because of time considerations, and to trim a bit of the more edgy content. Even so, the editing has not diminished the adventure and this version holds up very well on its own, though I of course prefer the complete episode.
The Dagger of Ka Mui was later released in complete subtitled form and there was a subsequent dubbed release called, The Blade of Ka Mui.
"Dagger ..." is the story of Jiro, a young boy growing up in a small village. He is a foundling and lives with his adoptive mother and sister. One day, the mother and sister are found tragically murdered. The villagers immediately accuse Jiro and he escapes their clutches only to encounter an itinerant monk, Tenkai, who tells Jiro that he knows who killed his mother and sister. In fact, the perpetrator is at that very moment in a life-and-death struggle with a band of ninjas (aka shinobi). Overwhelmed, the killer is delivered the death blow by Jiro himself who is then taken in by Tenkai and trained in the ways of the ninja.
Several years pass as we observe Jiro's training until, as a young adult (they do not give his age but you may surmise that he is about seventeen), he is sent on a mission to discover the secrets of a treasure.
If we have not already guessed we soon learn that Tenkai is not the benevolent monk he appears to be but is, in fact, the sponsor of the death of Jiro's mother and sister. In fact, the ninja that Jiro had earlier helped kill was not the murderer at all but Jiro's father, Tarouza. Tarouza had once been a ninja himself, sent on a mission for treasure. During that time, he met and married an Anu woman (Anu are the indigenous people of northern Japan, especially Hokkaido which was called Ezo at the time of this story.). Abandoning his mission, Tarouza intends to settle down with the woman but they are hunted by his former ninja band, and the family is dispersed, Jiro being set adrift in a boat where he is eventually found.
Tenkai's theory is that, given the resources and the same mission, Jiro may instinctively retrace his father's footsteps and complete the mission.
Jiro eventually pieces together the elements of his betrayal and meets a number of persons along the way of this epic story that takes him from northern Japan to America, including the Nevadan desert and the California coast. In his travels, he meets a young boy who leads him back to the village of his birth where he finds his real mother. Later, he meets a hermit scholar who teaches him a little about world geography and hints at the coming events.
I should note that the story takes place in the 1860's and is very near the downfall of the Shogunate which has ruled Japan through an unbroken family line since about 1600. Foreign ships sail the waters off of Japan and their are pressures from Russia, the United States, France and others for Japan to open up her ports and markets.
Jiro finds passage to America, befriending an African-American slave in the process, and also forming an uneasy alliance with a female ninja whose mission it is to kill Jiro. Because of an incident on the ship, all three are put off in Russia, and they fight bitter cold and near starvation in their attempt to find another route to America. After an avalanche separates them, we later join the characters in America without being given details on Jiro's escape from the avalanche, nor how Sam (the former slave whom Jiro has purchased and freed) and Oyuki (the female ninja) have made the crossing.
In America, Jiro finds himself in Nevada (we're never told how he has ended up here as it was already known to him that his ultimate destination was Santa Catalina island off the California coast). Near death, he nevertheless saves a native American girl from being savagely raped by some desperados. He is taken to her village where we later learn that she is in fact a French girl whom the tribe took in as a baby. Her tribal name is Chico while her birth name is Julie.
Jiro and Chico travel to a nearby town as he has revealed he is searching for Santa Catalina and she tells him the saloon in town has the same name. Perhaps the owner knows where the real Catalina Island is. In the saloon, Jiro and Chico are humiliated by the locals and Jiro is forced into a duel with two of the thugs, resulting in their deaths. Having fled the town, Jiro and Chico are approached by a lone rider. It's none other than Mark Twain! Twain has been a witness to the incident in the bar and subsequent duel. He explains that something about Jiro's spirit reminds him of an ethic that is fading as America enters the industrial age. He tells Jiro how to get to Catalina island and relates that there are stories of treasure buried there.
Meanwhile, Oyuki, Sam and the canine companion they had befriended before leaving Asia have made their way to southern California. They too are weak and penniless, and Tenkai, Oyuki's employer has caught up to them as well.
The story comes to a head as Jiro follows the clues to the treasure and the principles confront each other over the booty. Certain plot twists are revealed and death pays a visit to each side in what might well be the end if this story were crafted in Hollywood.
More adventures lay ahead for Jiro and what's left of his companions as they race to meet with the forces that will change Japan forever, and the true climax of this story has yet to occur.
As much as I have told you about the story, there is a wealth of plot twists and story line that I have omitted. It is truly an epic tale done in classic anime style.
The video is available through AnimEigo which does an excellent job on production. Their subtitling is thorough and they include detailed liner notes with their product. They can be found at http://www.animeigo.com.
3-11-2001