THE NEW RONIN
Ronin: A trained samurai warrior set adrift after the death
of his lord. Few such professional fighters were able to adapt to civilian
pursuits. The majority of ronin were not assimilated into established regional
armies. Without a master to serve, a ronin was apt to become a mercenary,
a soldier of fortune or a bandit.
United Artist’s “The Magnificent Seven” was an adaptation
of Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”, all ronin. As in “Seven Samurai”, the magnificent
seven were fighters for hire on a freelance basis. They had also previously
served as violent protectors of their respective land barons’ interests.
SYNOPSIS
Ishida Kuwahara is an old Shinto priest who had served
as a supply officer during World War II on a tiny island six hundred miles
off the Japanese mainland. The island, Supply Base Three, was hollowed
out and used to store hundreds of thousands of tons of war material intended
for ships which had been sunk before they could pick them up.
Near the end of the war, Kuwahara had left the tunnels
to observe the damage during an American attack and sustained a head wound
in a barrage. Returned home after the war, he was shattered and confused
for years.
He imagined that his seven comrades who had died on the
island would return to help him fight the crime czar, Namoto. Namoto ran
a karate school which was a cover for the training of ninja and other criminal
operatives in his drive to control Japan.
During a confrontation with two of the karate school hoodlums,
seven young college students on motorcycles come to his aid. He recognizes
them as his comrades, reborn and ready to resume their careers as warriors.
Kuwahara takes them to the island where they see the war
material in a state of perfect preservation. They also see the seven mummified
bodies of Kuwahara’s comrades and note the resemblances to themselves.
Kuwahara has each take the diary, helmet and sword of
the mummy most like him. With the help of Isoroku Jones, half Japanese,
half American, two of the young men redesign and rebuild their motorcycles.
They are silent at cruising speeds and can reach speeds of two hundred
and fifty miles per hour with their mufflers disengaged. They are also
equipped with gyro-stabilizers so they will self-correct if turned too
sharply.
Kuwahara outfits the seven with Kevlar bullet-proof motorcycle
uniforms and gives them their Army helmets painted black. He tells them
that five hundred years ago they were ronin. They were black-armored mercenaries
under the tutelage of himself as a black robed warrior-priest. The group
was known as the priest of death and his seven ronin from Hell.
At that time they had prevented Namoto from becoming Japan’s
emperor. In this life they were again to keep the power-mad Namoto from
taking over Japan.
While wearing the helmets, they are able to see one second
into the future so they can dodge any blow and go through traffic on their
motorcycles with incredible speed and maneuverability. Moreover, the helmets
cause their features to alternate from motorcyclists to black-armored samurai
of hundreds of years ago. In one second they are themselves and during
the next few seconds they appear as black-armored warriors on charging
war horses and bathed in a reddish glow.
As a test of their powers, they attack the karate school,
beat up its students and take away the records of all Namoto’s associates
and connections. They intend to use these against Namoto. With the wealth
from the island sold through Max Morrell, an American gun runner, they
pose as playboys. Their real function is as seven Japanese James Bonds
with an anti-crime organization rivaling Namoto’s and unsanctioned by their
country’s police.
While Isoroku Jones is in the U.S. promoting the new motorcycle,
“The Ronin”, the seven go to the aid of Kuwahara as Namoto attacks his
home. Namoto blows up the karate school and sets the town on fire as a
diversion to keep the police away while he and his underlings search the
house for the records.
Kuwahara kills four of the karate students with his sword
before being disarmed by Namoto. As the seven are speeding to his rescue,
Kuwahara is beaten to death. Before he dies he defiantly tells Namoto that
upon his death the seven will become the new ronin. A few moments later,
the seven burst into the house and cut down all the attackers but Namoto.
During the slaughter, Namoto escapes out the back door
into a wooded area. He reaches a clearing and believes himself safe. Then,
before his terrified eyes, there floats a reddish, glowing ball of light.
From the light comes the voice of the old priest, “They will find you.
They will destroy you. They are the new ronin.”
The Characters
(In the English version the given names are first and
the family names are last).
The Ronin
Saburo Kurita: Senior of the seven. Intellectual. Journalist.
Yasuo Sugiama: Poet. Actor. Artist.
Tadashi Yoritomo: Political genius. Hopes to become prime
minister.
Yoshi Orita: Computer Expert. Has the ability to tap into
any computer system in Japan.
Hideki Nishima: Detective. Arthur Conan Doyle’s greatest
fan. Wants to be another Sherlock Holmes.
Minoru Watanabe: Brilliant financier. Business manager
of the group.
Takeo Sato: Unemotional. Robotic. Mechanical wizard. Chief
designer of the ronin motorcycle.
The Men
Henry Wolff: Ex-American Army Ranger. Illegal martial
arts teacher. Trainer of the seven. Kills ninja for relaxation.
Max Morrell: Gun runner and main marketer of the weapons
from Supply Base Three.
Billy (Pig Iron) Jones: Brother of Max and father of Isoroku
Jones. American gun show promoter and main mover of weapons from Supply
Base Three.
Isoroku (Rocky) Jones: Martial arts expert. Gunsmith.
Gun runner. Totally American when in the U. S.; completely Japanese when
in Japan. Closest friend of the ronin.
Yataka Okano: Ex-Imperial Marine. Head of the Okano import-export
empire. Best friend of Max and grandfather of Isoroku.
Hirada: Ex-sumo wrestler. Namoto’s friend and bodyguard.
The Women
Kemiko: Intelligent. Quiet. Girlfriend of Takeo.
Hatsuyo: Ex-wife of Billy Jones. Mother of Isoroku. Volatile.
Stubborn. Imperious.
Suzuko: Daughter of Japan’s greatest kendo expert. Actress.
Receptionist at Saburo’s and Yasuo’s publishing office.
Mrs. Okano: Matriarch of the Okano clan. Mother of Yutaka,
grandmother of Hatsuyo and great-grandmother of Isoroku.