Samurai Shodown RPG (drama)

Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden ~ Drama CD (真説サムライスピリッツ武士道列伝 -ドラマＣＤ-) is a dramatization of the first chapter in the RPG. It was aired on Game Dra Night, a Japanese radio show, before its Pony Canyon release on April 9, 1997. The story mainly focuses on Nakoruru as the protagonist and her party consists of Haohmaru and Galford. The tracks split to tell two sides of the same story; both sides end differently.

The writers for this drama are the same ones from the RPG.

Story
In the midst of a violent uproar, Amakusa notices Tokihime, one of his comrades, running to his side. He's surprised to see her as he ordered her to be by Tenhime's side of the rebellion. She tearfully reports that her sister committed suicide to save face for her lord's loss. He is anguished by the news and drops his sword in grief. They hear a voice laughing at his strife and it introduces itself as Ambrosia. Ambrosia states that Amakusa's grief and misery summoned it there and beckons to join him for revenge. Though Tokihime tries to stop him, Amakusa accepts and delves into the depths of hell.

A hundred years later, the scene shifts to Haohmaru resting at a snack stop and ordering another refill of his sake. The owner asks where he is going and seems pleased by Haohmaru's vague and carefree answer. Moments later, Nakoruru enters and asks for directions to Tokyo, which causes the owner to be horrified that she would even think of going there. Two bandits overhear her, see her as easy bait, and leave after paying for their food. The owner nervously tells her where to go and she cheerfully leaves. Haohmaru, who noticed the bandits' movements, readies his sword.

On the road, Nakoruru becomes worried about the peculiar weather patterns. Mamahaha asks if anything is amiss, but the priestess assures her companion that she is just thinking about her duty. While thinking about her home, she remembers Rimururu before she left her home. Her sister comes running up to give her a medicine bag with a bell attached to it. Though she came to her sister cheerfully, Rimururu begins to cry at the thought of her sister leaving. Nakoruru promises to safely return.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Haohmaru, who comes running up to tell her that she has been followed. The bandits confront them and Nakoruru tries to reason with them to leave peacefully. When one of them draws a blade against her, she defends herself while continuing her request. Haohmaru does his Seppuretsuzan when the others try to attack. Elsewhere, Amakusa and Ushiwakahime observe this meeting with interest. After judging the duo's worth, Ushiwakahime volunteers to end them.

After fighting off the bandits, Nakoruru is impressed with his honesty and strength and begs him to join her. He declines as she is strong enough to fend for herself and continues his journey.

Side A
In a hot springs, Nakoruru lost sight of Haohmaru and laments losing a powerful samurai spirit. The audience is treated to a flashback of Nakoruru's grandmother telling her to find honest and pure comrades that she sensed to be worthy. Not long after this, she spots a scuffle between a young girl and a man. Seeing the girl under attack, she leaves to assist.

The focus shifts to the said scene where Cham Cham is stealing Galford's food, clothes, and sword. She refuses to return his belongings and, after Poppy is overpowered by Paku Paku, he raises from his bath. He briefly readjusts his towel to cover himself and knocks the catgirl down with a Plasma Blade. Before he can reclaim his possessions, Nakoruru enters and punishes him for "bullying" a little girl. While she is checking Cham Cham's condition, Poppy begins to growl that it was misunderstanding. Seeing as how Nakoruru can understand the dog, Cham Cham gives her Galford's sword and leaves. Galford regains his senses and exclaims that it is his. Once she realizes her mistake, she apologizes profusely and introduces herself. He hears of her quest to end an evil entity and is surprised to know they share the same goal. While she is asking him to join her, she hears Rimururu and Haohmaru struggling against Ushiwakahime near a forest. Panicked, she runs off and with a concerned Galford following her.

The pair are able to rescue Rimururu and Haohmaru before Ushiwakahime defeats them. She addresses her lord's goal to conquer the land in the name of darkness, something that Nakoruru won't allow. Although all four warriors bravely face her, Ushiwakahime completely overpowers them. Nakoruru attends to her sister's wounds for a time while her party clashes with the demon. Rimururu passes out and Ushiwakahime gloats at how frail their bonds are. She pushes Nakoruru off the cliff and sends the priestess into the sea below.

When the priestess comes to, she finds herself imprisoned in a ship. Her captor explains that they saved her from the waves to sell her for a good price. As he leaves, she pleads with him to set her free so she can save her friends. Her wails are enough to annoy her prison cellmate in a cell adjacent from her. Chained and battered, Genjuro yells for her to be silent. He nonchalantly answers that his wounds are from torture sessions he has had while captured. Once they hear the boss of the ship pass above them, Genjuro breaks free from his chains and kicks open the wooden door of his cell. He then proceeds to do his job and begins by slaying the boss's henchmen. His brief chat with his target reveals that he got caught on purpose just so he could murder the boss. He quickly dispatches them.

Some time later, a panicked man flees into the same room where Nakoruru is kept. Genjuro walks after him uttering that he will slaughter everyone else on board. After he kills the man, he slices Nakoruru's bonds and harshly tells her to return to her comrades. When he asks if she is scared of him, the priestess calmly replies that she only pities him. As she begins to press about the anguish she senses in his heart, government ships begin to bombard the ship with their cannons. Genjuro threatens her to never show his face before him again as their surroundings crumble from the cannon fire.

Miraculously, the priestess resurfaces near shore and Mamahaha is there to deliver her sword to her. Also there to greet her is Rimururu except it's soon revealed that she is under one of Ushiwakahime's spell. Haohmaru and Galford arrive to save her from her manipulated sister's wrath. With the young girl as her mindless puppet, the demon orders Rimururu to finish the trio off. While her partners try their best to not fatally wound her, Nakoruru remembers her grandfather's words to always put her duty before emotions. She readies herself to slay Rimururu and they clash blades. For a moment, the younger sister pleads for Nakoruru to stop and lower her arms. The older sister falls for the ploy and suffers from a critical wound. While she staggers, the medicine bag Rimururu made for her jingles. Recognizing the sound, the younger sister uses her will power to break free from the spell.

Thereafter, the sisters share a touching reconciliation with Rimururu apologizing for all that she has done. As they cipher Nature's true strength, Haohmaru and Galford use this power to disarm and wound Ushiwakahime. The ladies strike together and deal the finishing blow. Though beaten, the demon wavers to her feet and tries to continue fighting. Lightning strikes from the sky and Amakusa appears before the party. After he scolds his minion's failure, Amakusa complements Nakoruru and her party's prowess. He flaunts his status as the demon lord and declares that he is waiting for them at his castle, Tenkujyo. Amakusa and Ushiwakahime disappear.

Side B
Walking away from Nakoruru's request, Haohmaru grumbles that the fate of the world isn't his business and swigs a drink for his jug. He is quickly surrounded by a pack of rabid wolves and draws his sword to defend himself. Before they swarm over him, a flute dispels the spell over them. Rimururu steps out to greet him and he quickly surmises that she is related to Nakoruru. The girl is anxious to hear Nakoruru's whereabouts, explaining that she left home to look for her out of worry.

The wolves' start to growl as Ushiwakahime appears before them. Rimururu accuses her of manipulating the wolves and screams when the demon slays one of the wounded wolves. The priestess charges in anger and tries to land a hit. Since the girl was giving into the demon's taunts, Haohmaru decides to face Ushiwakahime himself. He realizes that his Seppuretsuzan and his other attacks seem to have no effect on her. While she tries to finish him off, Rimururu leaps in the way and takes the blow in his place. Wanting to find a place to treat her wounds, Haohmaru picks her up and tries to escape. Ushiwakahime corners them near a cliff and strikes to trap her prey. Nakoruru and Galford, who Haohmaru immediately recognizes, save them.

What happens remains the same as the first half until Rimururu passes out. Galford stands to try and distract the demon and throws several smoke bombs in the area. Mamahaha and Poppy also join his cause but Ushiwakahime still pursues the remaining fleeing warriors. Nakoruru passes her sister to Haohmaru and has a bout with the demon. Their fight crumbles the cliff below them and the two women fall into darkness.

Some time later, the men make camp in an abandoned shack while the pets search for Nakoruru's whereabouts. They disinfect Rimururu's wound by spitting strong sake on it and patch it up with bandages. Seeing her suffer, Haohmaru curses that her state is his fault since he wasn't strong enough. Galford disagrees, saying that Amakusa and his lackeys are fueled by an unworldly strength from darkness. Knowing that the priestesses are facing such a force, the ninja believes the real purpose of his training must have been to protect them.

The men guard their position and attend to Rimururu when she wakes up. She looks dazed until she implores for her sister; Galford assures her that the pets are looking for her. She begins to ask what happened to Nakoruru when Poppy comes running back. Hearing that her sister is along the shoreline, the group is overjoyed by the good news. Suddenly, she rises and speaks a monotone threat to end Nakoruru's life. Granted with a new strength, she flips over Haohmaru. The men hear Ushiwakahime taunting them about the irony of the sister killing Nakoruru. The men chase after the running Rimururu.

Events are the same as the first half except Rimururu's spirit begs Nakoruru to kill her. The priestess drops her weapon at the request and refuses to slay her sister. While the manipulated Rimururu charges, a surreal voice demands that they stop this nonsense. The girl's attack is reflected by a powerful magic by a new woman, who simultaneously removes Ushiwakahime's spell. This person reasons that sisters should never fight against one another, making this fight needlessly painful. She introduces herself to Nakoruru and her party as Tokihime, one of Amakusa's defenders. Tokihime explains that long ago her master was kind yet changed ever since he lost Tenhime a century ago.

She reveals that Tenhime was actually Amakusa's lover and retells her side of the events during the revolt in Shimabara. While Tenhime was preparing to leave her castle to be by her lord's side, they were attacked by the anti-Christian government troops. Tokihime begs her sister to flee but she is resolved to remain in the castle. She explains that it wouldn't be fair for her to escape while her followers meet a grisly end. Tearfully, Tokihime parts with her sister. Her once white wings grew black as she stayed by Amakusa's side.

Using her story, she beseechs Nakoruru's party to stop their pilgrimage to slay Amakusa. Ushiwakahime, who is fuming to see Tokihime talking with the enemy, labels her a traitor and strikes her comrade down. This act invokes Amakusa's anger and lightning strikes the demon from all directions. While he continues to furiously strike the land with lightning, Tokihime begs him to stop since she is fine. Calmed by her words, he orders her to return to the castle before leaving. Tokihime apologizes to Nakoruru and her party and says that she doesn't want to fight them. As she flies away, she utters that if she had her white wings again, she maybe able to save Amakusa's soul from Ambrosia.

Rimururu reawakens and cries into Nakoruru's chest. With a prayer to Kamui, Nakoruru heals her wounds. She reasons that a sad person such as Tokihime may not make Amakusa into such a villain as they originally thought. She repeats her request for Haohmaru to join her to save them, but he is puzzled on the matter. He asks her to leave him alone for awhile longer so he can find an answer. Rimururu cheerfully states that she will stay by her side but Nakoruru tells her to not make their grandparents worry and orders her to go back home. Galford agrees to act as Nakoruru's guard and leaves to set up their boat in the nearby town. Nakoruru follows him and heads north.

Cast

 * Nakoruru - Harumi Ikoma
 * Haohmaru - Masaki Usui
 * Galford - Mantarō Koichi
 * Rimururu - Kyōko Hikami
 * Cham Cham - Reiko Chiba
 * Genjuro Kibagami - Kong Kuwata
 * Shiro Tokisada Amakusa - Misuaki Madono
 * Ushiwakahime - Naoko Ishii
 * Tenhime, Tokihime - Junko Iwao
 * Ambrosia, Fire Fox - Shinichi Ishihara
 * Sanouku - Katasumi Masago
 * Paku Paku, Monashiri - Natsumi Sasaki
 * Bandit A - Takehiro Matsuda
 * Bandit B - Mineo Sushida
 * Narrator - Rokuro Naya