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| Day of the Samurai | |
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| Season 1, Episode 55 | |
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| Air date | February 23, 1993 |
| Directed by | Bruce Timm |
| Written by | Steve Perry |
| Music by | Carlos Rodriguez |
| Airdate Sequence | |
| Previous Blind as a Bat |
Next See No Evil |
| Production Sequence | |
| Previous Moon of the Wolf |
Next Terror in the Sky |
"Day of the Samurai" is an episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series and it features the return and last apperance of Kyodai Ken on the series.
"Day of the Samurai" was the 44th produced episode and the 55th episode aired.
Synopsis[]
Bruce Wayne is summoned back to Japan by Yoru sensei. There, he learns that Kyodai Ken has kidnapped another of Yoru's pupils, Kairi Tanaga and is holding her hostage in exchange for a scroll that reveals the secret of an ancient, deadly fighting technique. Kyodai has also pieced together that Bruce is Batman and he is determined to destroy his hated rival.
The moment of truth comes during a fierce battle on the slopes of an active volcano where, through trickery, Bruce causes Kyodai to believe that the fabled technique does not work. Beaten and humiliated, the ninja allows the volcano to consume him rather than being rescued.
Plot[]
While practicing in a dojo, young student Kairi Tanaga is kidnapped by Kyodai Ken, who leaves a scroll for Master Yoru.
Bruce meets Yoru
Soon, Batman receives a call from Yoru and he travels to Japan along with Alfred. Upon meeting with Yoru, he learns about Ken's true intentions: the ninja wants to steal an old secret from Yoru, the location of a certain scroll with information about the deadliest martial art ever created. Yoru is the last living descendant of the creator of the martial arts and thus, Ken kidnapped Yoru's star apprentice in order to obtain the secret location of the scroll. Yoru calls Bruce expecting Batman to help him.
Ken calls and gives Yoru an adress to exchange Kairi for the map. Batman arrives at the ransom drop on a rooftop and tries to take Kairi from Ken. Kairi seizes the chance and attacks Ken while he is distracted. Ken kicks her and she falls from the building. Batman dives in order to save her and Ken manages to retrieve the map he was looking for. After landing on a nearby balcony, Batman leaves Kairi in a safe place before chasing Ken. After a brief fight, Ken manages to escape from Batman, with the map that reveals the location of the hidden scroll.
Elder Scroll
Ken is led by the map to a secret cave below Mt. Kijiki and inside he finds the place where the scroll had been hidden for more than five-hundred years. Ken takes the scroll but it turns into fragments because of its old age. Ken tries to reassemble the scroll but when he fins a large piece that hasn't fragmented, he takes that with him and leaves the rest behind. Moments later, Batman arrives at the same place and takes all the fragments with him. Bruce returns to Master Yoru and together they reassembled the remainig pieces of the scroll. Yoru informs Batman that the missing fragment holds the information of the "fatal touch", a technique so deadly that could kill the victim instantly. Yoru tells Bruce that Batman might be in grave danger.
Meanwhile, Alfred is buying some groceries in the city without knowking that Ken is following him. When Bruce returns to their hotel room, he answers a phone call from Ken, telling him to meet at Mt. Kijiki if he wants to see Alfred alive. Bruce tracks the call and finds the direction from which Ken made the call. Before going to the meeting point, Batman goes to investigate Ken's place and finds a training dummy that has been used before and notices that a specific point is soft due to repeated hits.
The "lethal touch"
Batman arrives at Mt. Kijiki and Ken tells him to remove his cape and cowl. Bruce agrees and the fight begins. The two of them are formidable fighters and it is an even match. After a while, the volcano at the top of the mountain begins exploding and lava starts to pour from it. Ken decids it is time to finish the fight and he tries to apply the lethal touch on Bruce. For a while, Bruce is able to hold Ken's hand but in the end, Ken manages to touch Bruce in the chest and apparently kills him. As Ken leaves the place, Bruce stops pretending and attacks Ken from behind. Ken is surprised that Bruce had survived the lethal touch but still he fights back. They reach a point where the ground below them cracks in two and separates them from one another and a river of lava crosses the space between them. Bruce tosses a Batrope for Ken to grab but the ninja refuses to grab it and he disappears after a big explosion struck him. Batman returns to Alfred and saves him before they both move away from the exploding volcano. Once safe, Alfred is curious of how did Bruce survived Ken's lethal touch and he explains that after seeing the training dummy's soft spot he reinforced that same spot in his own body by placing an armored plate on his chest.
Bruce returns to Yoru and tells him what happened. Before leaving, Bruce is concerned of him being too similar to Kyodai, but Yoru tells him that he was more of a samurai than a ninja. Bruce thanks his old mentor and departs.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kevin Conroy | Batman/Bruce Wayne |
| Efrem Zimbalist Jr. | Alfred Pennyworth |
| Robert Ito | Kyodai Ken |
| Julia Kato | Kairi Tanaga |
| Goh Misawa | Yoru |
External Links[]
- "Day of the Samurai" at IMDb