"THE FRIGHTFUL ERA OF KURAMA TENGU" "Shoroku Onoe as Choshichi of Hayabusa Nakamura Takenosuke as Sanji of Ochibi Ichinosuke Ichikawa as Tatsu of Okera" "Monnosuke Aoyagi as Ginpei Tonosama Takematsu Nakamura as Bug-eyed Kinpei Kimiko Tamakura as Girl in the haunted house" "Tami Tsuj as Old woman Arashi Kitsuemon as Kichibei of Kurohime Kazuko Komachi as Otsuyu" "Child acrobats:" "Keiichiro Arashi as Sugisaku Seiji Kimura as Mankichi Masaru Kobayashi as Shinkichi Kayo Kimura as Goichi" "Saburo Sawai as Cowardly Samurai Palanquin carriers:" "Hachiro Gunji Kanson Arashi Monpachi Arashi Eij ro Okanishi as Fake Kurama Tengu" "A row house in Asakusa, Edo." "The year 1865." "The capital resounded with the cries of the people, weary from the oppressive Shogunate." "Sugisaku and his friends, eager followers of Kurama Tengu, found life in Edo quite exciting." "Otsuyu, a young girl in love with Kurama Tengu, was taking care of the children." "The boys were always ready to fight." "Hey, Mank ch , try this!" "No, wait!" "Sugisaku, you're mean!" "Mankichi, please take this to Master K ch bei." "You shou dn't fight." "You started it!" "Hurry!" "Bugger!" "Idiot!" "Foo !" "Let's have dinner." "The sweet Otsuyu was taking care of the boys like an older sister." "She was the sister of Choshichi of Hayabusa, the loyal dog of Shinsengumi." "Yet, she had sided with her brother's enemy." "The boys had an enormous appetite." "The burly Mankichl quickly gobbled up everything." "Ah, delicious!" "He was the first to clear his plate." "Alrighty!" "Huh?" "You ate it, didn't you!" "Mean boy!" "Kichibei of Kurohime, Kurama Tengu's most loyal ally and assistant, had been sick but was recovering quickly." "Master K ch bei, how are you fee ing today?" "Thank you, Otsuyu." "Don't you worry about me." "I'm thinking of going out for a walk today." "Are you strong enough?" "Walking the streets of Edo, I cou d see with my own eyes why Master Kurata is risking his life to topple the Shogunate." "Also, the neighbors te I me that these days Edo is infested w th vic ous bandits." "Such bandits soil the name of our movement." "I'm afraid this has made Master Kurata's task even harder." "You must be worried too." "Delicious..." "Are you choking?" "Hang in there." "Those boys!" "Behave yourselves at the table." "Sugisaku!" "It wasn't me." "It was him." "What's wrong?" "Come on, p ck it up, or Otsuyu will get angry." "Hurry up!" "Are you a right?" "Just then, a commotion occurred in the street." "Hey, is Sugisaku home?" "Hey!" "I'm home." "What happened?" "Bandits have broken in the Hachimanya Inn." "What?" "Band ts?" "Real y?" "Alright!" "Hey!" "Mankichi, I must go warn Kurama Tengu." "Take care of the boys!" "I'm counting on you!" "Alright!" "Good!" "Now I'm n charge!" "You have noth ng to worry about." "I'll be back soon." "Sugisaku hurried to bring the news to the Satsuma estate." "Ouch!" "I'm sorry." "Meanwhile, at the Hachimanya Inn a melee was in full flow." "Freeze!" "It's the police!" "You're under arrest." "What happened!" "Get a grip!" "Over there!" "Get him." "I'm injured!" "Freeze..." "It's the police..." "And at the Satsuma estate..." "Saigo Kichinosuke, the leader of the anti-Shogunate movement, had summoned his allies to think of a way to save Edo from the bandits." "Isn't there anyone who can rid Edo of this scum?" "A vo unteer." "A brave man to f ght the bandits." "Saigo's voice echoed in the hall, but his words were met with silence." "No one stirred." "I am disappointed..." "Wait!" "Meet Tenzen Kurata, a.k.a. Kurama Tengu." "A handsome man, his eyes burned with the flame of his mission." "He was a real hero." "Kichinosuke Saigo was delighted to see him." "Master Kurata!" "Thank you!" "So we can count on you?" "Yes." "I don't mean to brag, but eave it to me, and I won't disappoint you." "His confidence was impressive." "Angered by the impudence of the bandits who soiled his mission, Kurama Tengu wasted no time in launching a search throughout the city." "Following him, all the way from Kyoto, was Choshichi of Hayabusa." "What a foo ." "There was another hooded man, who looked just like Kurama Tengu." "Kurama Tengu was quick to notice it." "Unlike Choshichi, who diligently followed the stranger." "That's one of the bandits!" "You fool!" "A sudden encounter with a handsome stranger." "Okane felt a surge of excitement." "Please excuse me." "Sorry." "Hey you!" "Wait!" "Hey, samurai!" "Wait!" "What do you want?" "Why did you stop me?" "Cut it out!" "You took my purse." "Give t back!" "Come on!" "What purse?" "Give t back." "I don't know what you are talking about." "I'm telling you the truth." "I didn't take your purse." "Enough already." "I want my purse back!" "That's nonsense!" "You stupid woman!" "Enough a ready!" "Give t back." "Let go." "Let go of me." "I won't, unti you give me back my purse." "You fool!" "Wait!" "Damn it!" "Help!" "A thief!" "Please help me!" "A thief!" "Keep it down!" "Help!" "Shut up!" "The cries attracted Choshichi's attention." "Yet, he decided to follow the masked stranger instead, mistaking him for Kurama Tengu." "Quite a foolish mistake." "Off he went, following the wrong man." "It looks like this masked stranger is taunt ng me." "An idea came to him in a flash." "A blanket of quiet fell upon Edo, but fear was lurking underneath." "It's scary." "Those ruffians that steal peop e's money "to set the world aright"" "broke into the Hach manya Inn yesterday and kil ed the owner." "That's terrib e." "It's a I the government's fault." "When the cat is asleep, the mice dance." "I'm too scared to sleep at night." "Me too." "What has the world come to!" "I hope the police catch them soon." "Me too!" "What s taking them so long." "Ouch, that hurt!" "If only they knew how we tremble at night." "Shortly after these events..." "Okane was surprised to find that she couldn't forget her encounter with Kurama Tengu." "Day and night, she couldn't stop thinking about him." "His bright eyes and crisp voice had left an indelible impression in her soul." "She heard his voice in the wind and the whisper of the leaves." "Her heart was swelling with love." "What's wrong w th me?" "I've never fe t this way." "It's no good." "The truth is, I am in love with him." "Her love was a sad one." "Hey, Okane!" "Choshichi of Hayabusa." "You..." "Why so sad?" "It's not like you at all." "What's wrong?" "You can tell me." "Shut up and mind your own business." "Come on now." "Don't get mad." "You and me, we are two of a kind." "Aren't we the two most oyal part sans of the Shinsengumi?" "Together we wi I be much stronger." "Okane, let's be friends." "Enought!" "I don't need friends like you." "Leave me a one." "You make me sick." "Don't be so cold." "Try to understand my feelings." "Hey, take a look!" "The boss has got himself a pretty lady." "You're right!" "We saw him, we saw him!" "Let go of me." "Don't get any deas!" "I said, let go!" "What do you say?" "Please, say something." "The truth is, I've a crush on you." "Can't stop thinking about you." "Tel me what you've learned." "I'll tell you what I know." "What's wrong?" "I'm tell ng you," "I'm a good catch myself." "Master Choshichi, with all due respect" "I haven't sunk so low as to accept love confessions from a dirty rat ike you." "Go away this instant!" "Leave me alone!" "Damn you!" "That serves you right." "Please, wait!" "I hate impertinent men like you." "Get out of my face." "Hey, Okane!" "She jilted h m!" "What are you doing, you foo !" "Damn you!" "D d you get a good ook?" "In the meantime, Kurama Tengu was relentlessly searching for the hiding place of the ruffians." "One day, something very mysterious happened." "Strange palanquin carriers took him aboard, and too puzzled to protest, Kurama Tengu was delivered to an unknown address." "We've arr ved." "I see." "Thank you." "A right." "Then we'I leave you here." "Kurama Tengu found himself in front of an old, dilapidated house." "Welcome." "I was expecting you." "Please come in." "The old woman greeted him politely." "There's no one but me here." "She is talking to me." "Are you taking me for someone else?" "No." "Please come in." "The house greeted him with deathly silence." "This way, please." "This way." "Hm..." "What s this place?" "In that very moment, a blood-splattered samurai stormed out of the house." "I was right." "A dangerous p ace indeed." "Let's go inside." "Kurama Tengu quietly entered the house." "But the entrance was watched closely." "I saw him going in." "There's no time to lose." "An ominous air hung about the house." "He could feel an evil presence." "This is... strange." "A menace lurked in the darkness." "Only the sound of his heartbeat broke the eerie quiet." "What an ominous p ace indeed." "Welcome." "A beautiful girl appeared as if from nowhere." "Please, feel at home." "The same ominous air hung about the girl." "Could this be a haunted house?" "Was I brought here by monsters?" "No, I b undered nto a mortal trap." "Who is behind this?" "Who?" "He could sense the peril in the air ." "Damn you!" "What are you?" "Revea yourse f!" "Tel me your name!" "In that moment, the fake Kurama Tengu appeared together with the bandits who sowed fear in Edo, and soiled Tengu's name." "I see you found us." "We wil crush you ike a bug." "Enough!" "Scum like you don't scare me!" "You fools!" "I'll teach you what happens when you steal and cheat, and torment innocent peop e." "Your time is up!" "Shut up!" "Prepare to die!" "Kil him!" "This was Kurama Tengu's chance to punish the ruffians for soiling his name and torturing the people of Edo." "Powered by murderous rage, his sword moved in a blur." "Kurama Tengu, surrender!" "It's over!" "Surrender!" "Drop the sword!" "Choshichi of Hayabusa attacked the fake Tengu." "Help!" "You idiot." "It's cold!" "Come here!" "Qu ckly." "Thanks!" "Grab my hand." "Hurry!" "Come on!" "You useless idiot!" "Eventually Choshichi caught up with the bandit." "Damn you!" "In one quick move, he jumped into the river." "Damn!" "I won't let him get away this time!" "In the meantime his henchmen..." "It's a I your fault, you useless idiot!" "Get a grip." "Are you a right?" "I g-guess..." "Get a gr p!" "Come on!" "Now s not the time to get all wobbly." "Two big fish hit the surface." "The chase continued in the river." "Choshichi's persistence was admirable, but quite useless as he was following the wrong man." "Where did he go?" "Alright!" "An endless hide-and-seek." "Choshichi was exasperated." "You!" "Where did the boss go?" "It's your fault that we lost him." "Bo-o-ss!" "Bo-o-ss!" "Bo-o-ss!" "Bo-o-ss!" "I'm beat." "Can't see him." "He's gone." "Shut up and keep look ng." "What's the point?" "Give t up, he's gone..." "You useless scum!" "I'll go fetch help." "Keep looking!" "Off you go!" "Hey, wait!" "What am I to do?" "Maybe I should jump too." "I hate water." "I can't do the dog-paddle." "Or the cat-paddle, if t comes to it." "Desperate t mes ca I for desperate measures." "I don't want to die!" "Not yet!" "Here I come!" "Namu Am da Buddha!" "There's life after death." "Namu Amida Buddha." "Or at least I hope so." "Oh, oh, here I come." "The river is getting crowded with too many rascals." "Could this lead to an environmental catastrophe?" "Still unaware of his blunder, Choshichi wouldn't give up." "You bastard!" "What are you doing?" "An hour later..." "That was a hell of a chase." "Still, Kurama Tengu slipped away." "Where's everyone?" "Alrighty!" "A pa anquin s coming!" "You stop r ght there!" "Do you see this?" "I am here on behalf of Master Choshichi." "Put the pa anquin down!" "Now!" "But it is..." "Shut up!" "Do you see this?" "Do as I tell you!" "That was easy!" "This wil teach you a lesson!" "Hey you, come out!" "Out!" "Now!" "I most certainly will." "The cold voice made the rascal freeze." "Tengu!" "The real Kurama Tengu laughed." "Yes, it is the real me." "Pass me the sandals." "You were chasing the wrong man." "The fake Tengu is a bandit, torturing innocent peop e." "The real one f ghts for his country, for a just cause." "Open your eyes!" "Japan is on the threshold of a new age." "With a broad smile, Kurama Tengu went on his way." "The story of his adventures continues." "THE END"