The Samurai's Secret
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The Samurai's Secret, known as Calling on Samurai Goroh! (見習い隊員ルーシー, Samurai Gorō Sanjō![?]) in Japan, is the fourth episode of the anime F-Zero: GP Legend.
Plot Synopsis
Having recently met a sickly child after winning a grand prix, Rick takes it upon himself to venture onto the dangerous and crime-ridden planet Clyton, seeking to find a certain someone. With criminals and fugitives littering Clyton's city streets, Rick decides to begin his search at a nearby local bar. The locals make their negative opinion on the snooping officer apparent mere moments after he enters, hurling blades at his head and causing him to trip and fall at the feet of a silent, burly man. Composing himself, Rick gets to his feet and approaches the bartender for questioning. Simultaneously, a little girl wanders into the bar and makes her way to the bartender. By coincidence, both of them are looking for the same person: Samurai Goroh. To provide context, Rick explains how a cargo ship was recently boarded and had its contents seized by a band of pirates, led by a man who claimed to be the nefarious Samurai Goroh. Within the contents of the cargo was a rare medicine that could cure a fatal disease, which must be administered within the next three days. As the bar's television broadcasts footage of the mother pleading, the little girl tells Rick that she, too, had lost something important to her within that ship's cargo: a ring. Despite her parents showering her with other gems and stones, the little girl insisted that this specific ring could not be replaced. Pressed for time, Rick offers her his condolences but explains that it's crucial that he finds the medicine before anything else and bids her farewell. Briefly despondent, a group of eavesdropping shifty bar patrons assure the girl that they can take her to Goroh, much to her delight.
Scouring the rest of Clyton proves to be fruitless, leaving Rick to wonder if pinpointing the evasive criminal's location within three days is even possible. Lost in thought, Rick finds himself in a narrow alley and is cornered by the thugs from earlier. A fight soon breaks out with an ambush from behind leaving Rick defenseless, only to be saved by the silent burly man from earlier, who disarms the thugs with a few swift strikes from his katana, causing them to flee in panic. Thankful for the assistance, Rick moves to leave but pauses abruptly when the burly man tells him that he can personally lead him to Goroh.
Meanwhile back at the Task Force's headquarters, Mute City, Rick's absence is noted by Jody and asks the team for his whereabouts. With most members shrugging it off, a slip of the tongue causes Lucy to confess Rick's plan to Jody. After having met the sickly child at the recent grand prix, Lucy accompanied Rick to Mute City's hospital to formally visit the child, Tim, and present him with toy models of both the Dragon Bird and the Elegance Liberty. While Tim expresses elation at seeing his hero in person, the mood falters when the two learn of Tim's condition and how the rare medication dispatched for Tim had been seized and stolen by pirates. Determined to ensure Tim makes a healthy recovery, Rick makes a vow to track down the pirates and return to Tim within three days with the medicine in hand. Night falls on Clyton and a pensive Rick looks up at the starry sky.
The following day, the burly man identifies a truck that's driven by Goroh's men and advises Rick to exercise both caution and patience. Rather than attack now, they agree to tail the truck so to let them meet Goroh, himself. Those in the truck transpire to be the shifty bar patrons from earlier, with the little girl demanding they rob a fruit stall to stock up on supplies. Despite their reluctance, the gang comply, wishing to acquire the girl's riches once they arrive at Goroh's headquarters. With the raid a success and the girl gorging herself on the fruit, the truck departs once more, with the Dragon Bird and Fire Stingray close behind. Recognizing Rick and the burly man's faces from the bar, the truck driver alerts the rest of the crew to arm themselves and eliminate their pursuers. With her meal finished however, the girl intentionally trips forward and feigns stomach cramps, causing their attacks to miss and alerting Rick and the burly man that they've been noticed. With their ammunition rapidly depleting, the gang decide to change their approach by firing rockets at a rocky mountain face and create an avalanche in their wake. Rick narrowly avoids getting hit but the burly man isn't so lucky, with his machine flying off the side of the road. Thinking on his feet, Rick releases a tow cable from the back of the Dragon Bird to latch onto the Fire Stingray and bring both it and the pilot back to safety. The man chuckles; now they're even. Out of ideas and unable to hit Rick at such a close range, the gang begin to panic and are soon immobilized by a canister of tear gas launched from Rick's firearm. Before an arrest can be made though, a rocket sends the Dragon Bird skywards, momentarily putting Rick into a daze. A second truck has begun charging down the road towards the duo, and with Rick stunned, the burly man decides to take matters into his own hands. As another rocket is fired, the man leaps from his vehicle and dismantles the weapon with a precise strike from his katana, leaving the drivers dumbfounded and resorting to ramming him. This, too, comes to an unceremonious stop as a second strike slices the entire truck in half and brings it to a grinding halt. With the first truck having made its escape in the chaos, the burly man demands the helpless drivers escort both him and Rick to Goroh's base of operations.
Within a gaudy fortress, a thin man introduces himself to the little girl as Samurai Goroh and assures her that he'll return the ring he stole in exchange for the riches her parents entrusted her with, much to her delight. Before the transaction can go ahead however, the two goons from the second transport burst in and warn him of imminent trouble, referring to him instead as Berabichi, much to the girl's confusion. Flustered, his backpedalling is cut short as Rick and the burly man storm the room, demanding to know the medicine's whereabouts. Cages fall on the duo, entrapping them while Berabichi and his team attempt to flee, only to abruptly be caught in a whip from the now-smirking little girl. Like clockwork, the burly man draws his katana and obliterates his cage with ease before finally introducing himself: the real Samurai Goroh. The little girl leaps backwards and throws aside her disguise, revealing herself as a ninja and ally of Goroh's, who planted herself as bait to lure out the imitator. Suddenly, an explosion rocks the base and the cave begins to collapse, distracting Goroh and forcing him to redirect his attention towards saving Rick, while Berabichi and his gang board their ship with the stolen cargo. With a plethora of rockets handy, the ninja is able to immobilize them just long enough for Goroh to get in position and slice cleanly through the ship, stranding the imposters within the collapsing rubble. Rick runs to the cargo with the intent of retrieving the medicine but gets cornered by Goroh, declaring the cargo for himself. Outside, Rick is restrained long enough for the two to flee with the stolen goods. With the intent to give chase, he discovers that Goroh had intentionally made sure to leave the rare medicine behind, prompting a wry smile.
Now back on Mute City, Rick, Lucy and Jody watch on as a smiling Tim finally regains the strength to stand. While the mission may have been a success, Rick is reminded that he didn't follow protocol and is assigned janitorial duty as punishment.
Eyecatch
- Samurai Goroh - 05 Fire Stingray
- Dr. Clash - 29 Crazy Bear
Characters
These characters appear in this episode, listed by the order of their appearance. Characters debuting in this episode are in bold.
- Rick Wheeler
- Tim
- Samurai Goroh
- The Ninja
- Berabichi
- Dr. Clash
- Mr. EAD
- Jack Levin
- Dr. Stewart
- Jody Summer
- Lucy Liberty
Differences between the Japanese and English versions
- At the very beginning of the episode, the cars in front of Rick are a more vibrant color in the dub. A car is also seen in front of him as he turns right towards the warp gate in the original.
- Once again, the F-Zero machines are rendered as 3D models in the dub as opposed to 2D drawings in the original.
- The planet Rick travels to is named Clyton in the dub, Cryton in the original. (It's possible that this is simply a romanization though is worth noting, nonetheless.)
- To account for Rick's name change in the dub, the signature he leaves on Tim's Dragon Bird model differs between versions.
- Upon arriving on Clyton, Rick recognizes many of the civilians off of wanted posters. In the original, he simply comments on the streets being a mess.
- As is the case with all 4Kids productions, any reference to alcohol is either replaced or removed. The bar Rick enters to begin his search has a neon image of a snake in place of a wine bottle. Furthermore, any and all bottles present inside said bar are removed and the bartender's dialogue is slightly tweaked to account for such.
- An explanation detailing the transporter being robbed by the alleged Samurai Goroh from Rick is added to the dub. During said explanation, Berabichi identifies himself as Samurai Goroh in the dub as opposed to demanding all cargo be handed over in the original.
- Instead of a ring, the little girl claims her diamond was stolen.
- During the broadcast regarding the stolen medicine, the doctor displays an image of the medicine in question. In the Japanese version, they are instead illegible written documents.
- The dub adds brief dialogue to the montage of Rick seeking Samurai Goroh on Clyton.
- The thugs who ambush Rick demand him to leave Clyton in the dub. The original frames the scene as more disarming, with the thugs instead offering to take him to Samurai Goroh, should he defeat their assault.
- While merely thanking him for saving him in the dub, the original sees Rick introduces himself to Samurai Goroh as a means of thanks.
- A few additional frames of Dr. Clash inserting the upgrade into the F-Zero machine are removed in the dub.
- Dr. Clash's upgrades are designed for Jack's Astro Robin in the dub, as opposed to his own vehicle in the original.
- Jack has an additional line in the original when threatening Dr. Clash, moments after Jody enters looking for Rick.
- Lucy is seen standing next to different vehicles between versions. In the dub, it's her own vehicle. In the original, it is instead Dr. Stewart's.
- The flashback to the hospital is framed differently. In the dub, Lucy is recounting what Rick told her while visiting. In the original, it's instead Rick personally talking to Lucy. As a result, a line of Rick's set during the flashback is omitted. The dub also has the focal topic be about not letting the children down, as opposed to mortality and the fear of death in the original.
- Tim's name is exclusive to the dub.
- Samurai Goroh calls twice for Rick to wake up in the dub, once in the original.
- Rather than being "Goroh's men" specifically, Samurai Goroh suggests that the vehicle they pursue will lead them to Samurai Goroh in the Japanese version.
- The little girl giggles to herself during the fruit robbery in the Japanese version.
- One of the goons has an additional line in the original, initially not recognizing Samurai Goroh.
- As opposed to being old and rusty, the goons' vehicle is described as being traditionally made and of poor quality.
- After missing their targets multiple times, one of the goons laments wasting so many bullets. The dub substitutes this for a warning to the driver to exercise caution on the upcoming turn.
- All missiles are coated in a bright light and rendered unrecognizable, as in-keeping with 4Kids' policy on weapons.
- Goroh delivers a small monologue when striking with his katana: once when slicing the goons' missiles in half, the other when destroying Berabichi's transport.
- The ninja introduces herself as Sasuke in the original. No name is given in the dub.
- Upon revealing himself as the true Samurai Goroh, he demands Berabichi duel him for the title, should he still want it. The Japanese version is far less dramatic with him instead simply requesting an apology.
- Berabichi scolds one of his goons for setting off the explosion within the cave prematurely. In the original, the cave's collapse is instead attributed to a goon accidentally activating the base's self-destruct sequence.
- A shot of Berabichi's ship rising into the sky is cut from the dub.
- Goroh places his katana's blade on Rick's shoulder to ensure he doesn't take the treasure in the original. The dub removes the blade from the shot, relying solely on Goroh's presence from stopping him.
- After Rick is threatened, the dub adds a transition to the following scene.
- The ninja informs Rick that the rope binding him will untie itself after they make it to a safe distance in the Japanese version. This explanation is omitted from the dub.
- The dialogue present for Tim receiving the medicine differs between versions. The dub features Rick explaining himself to Jody while the Japanese version remains quiet until the shot cuts away from Tim. Lucy's line admiring the beauty in a recovery is also cut from the dub.
- While cleaning the floor at the end of the episode, Rick comments on his own speed in the dub, while wondering if pirates have to carry out chores of their own in the original.
Trivia
- Falcon Classroom Topic: Ryu Suzaku
- As a result of 4Kids' limited release of F-Zero: GP Legend, this was one of three episodes that wasn't recorded and subsequently lost to time after its airing. Only eighteen years later on October 2022 would a copy of the dubbed episode resurface, found by Lost Media forum user Blue Baron.
- An instrumental version of The Meaning of Truth is played during the car chase.
Errors
- The Dragon Bird and Fire Stingray's vehicle numbers are absent in multiple shots of the dub.
| F-Zero: GP Legend anime | ||
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Current episode #4: The Samurai's Secret |
Next episode #5: A Risky Rendezvous |
