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Akira Kurosawa remains one of the most influential creative forces in film, with his body of work inspiring countless films. George Lucas drew upon the structure of Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress when developing Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, and Spike Lee remade Kurosawa’s High and Low into Highest 2 Lowest this year. The Kurosawa film that’s been remade the most, however, is Seven Samurai. Kurosawa crafted a war epic with a simple story: a group of samurai is hired by a small village to defend it from a group of armed bandits. That template’s inspired everything from the spaghetti Western to Ryan Coogler‘s horror hit, Sinners, and that extends to Netflix’s critically acclaimed adaptation of the video games.
Onimusha is centered around another legendary figure from Japanese history: the skilled swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, who remained undefeated in every one of his sword duels. Musashi’s appearance in Onimusha is heavily based on Toshirō Mifune, who has a key role in Seven Samurai as the uncouth warrior Kikuchiyo. Even the artist who designed Musashi’s look is legendary, as Kim Jung Gi had a long career in animation that included working with Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo. In using Mifune’s visage, Onimusha pays a subtle yet powerful tribute to Kurosawa’s work.
Toshiro Mifune & Akira Kurosawa Had A Lengthy Working Relationship
Toshiro Mifune had a lengthy and successful career, but he’s best known for the work he did with Akira Kurosawa. Mifune and Kurosawa worked together on a whopping 16 films, including Seven Samurai; Mifune would also appear in Kurosawa’s twist-filled murder mystery Rashomon and the Shakespearean adaptation Throne of Blood. The duo would create another influential film together with Yojimbo, where Mifune played the solemn swordsman Sanjuro. Sanjuro’s skill with a blade and his quiet but observant manner wound up inspiring many Westerns and many characters, whether it was Clint Eastwood‘s Man with No Name or Pedro Pascal‘s Din Djarin in The Mandalorian. Seven Samurai remains the standout as it saw Mifune acting against type with his loud, direct portrayal of Kikuchiyo.
There’s another reason why Mifune was selected to be the face of Miyamoto Musashi in Onimusha. He played Musashi in the Samurai trilogy of films, which were loosely based on a book chronicling Musashi’s adventures. The Samurai trilogy is packed to the brim with sword fights, with the most impressive featuring Musashi using a wooden sword to defeat his opponents. It wouldn’t be the last time that Musashi, or Onimusha, is connected to Mifune; his visage is once again being used for Mifune in the upcoming Onimusha: Way of the Sword video game. Some actors become linked with a character or a genre of films, and that’s no less true with Mifune.
The ‘Onimusha’ Series is a Samurai Tale In the Vein of Akira Kurosawa
Apart from featuring Toshiro Mifune’s facial features, Onimusha shares more than a few things in common with Akira Kurosawa’s work. It’s a methodically paced series, clocking in at eight episodes and wasting no screen time in establishing Musashi’s duel with demons. Yes, this is a series that has a historical figure fighting demons, and it’s just as amazing as it sounds. Not only are the sword fights beautifully animated and brutal to watch, but the story is delivered in a way that fans of the Onimusha games and newcomers alike will enjoy. Onimusha is one of Netflix’s most critically acclaimed anime series, sporting a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and joining other beloved video game adaptations like Castlevania. In its own way, Onimusha keeps the legacy of Toshiro Mifune alive, though not in the way that people would expect.
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