Samurai and Cowboys: Brothers Beyond Cinema! - Which Samurai

[@theredblooper]

I remember seeing a reddit thread about it, but a cowboy, a samurai, an old french pirate, and a victorian gentleman thief could all exist simultaneously around the late 1800s. They'd make a hell of a team.

[@tyronechillifoot5573]

I mean there was guy from Chad son of a general who went to Russia became a priest then fought in the American civil war

[@starmaker75]

That sounds like a good heist movie set in the 1800s. Seriously someone made that. Well then again that basically lupin the third.

[@lizardguyNA]

That's a G.I.Joe line waiting to happen.

[@connorgarrett1714]

My players plan on being these characters in an upcoming Victorian DnD campaign I plan on running, should be fun

[@gregorygreenwood-nimmo4954]

Someone should make that movie.

[@firestorm165]

Fun fact: when Mad Max first appeared on the silver screen the Americans called him a lone ranger and the Japanese called him a Ronin

[@DocWolph]

In "Mad Max", I can see Max being a Renegade Cop. But in "The Road warrior" Max was certainly a Lone Ranger or Ronin.

[@ZeldaSam1]

Huh!!!

[@sasha1mama]

I hesitate to call him a lone ranger. A wanderer, surely - but "lone ranger" implies a lot more than what the words state. And he surely ain't an Arizona Desert Ranger.

[@dubuyajay9964]

​@@sasha1mamaWhy not?

[@darthsader7089]

@@sasha1mama Austrailian Ranger close enough?

[@Rukdug]

I imagine a Samurai who served in the Boshin War and Cowboy who had served in the Cavalry during the Civil War would have a lot to talk about, and probably vary similar stories.

[@murgmaggleramaxis8535]

This. Especially considering how similar a lot in life an ex-Confederate and a Ronin had.

[@TheRezro]

We could also add Caribbean pirates and French gentelman thieves. All exist around same time.

[@WilliamTheWatchful]

The Last Samurai in a nutshell. "I'll miss our conversations."

[@pheunithpsychic-watertype9881]

If they can even speak to eachother

[@offworlder1]

@@pheunithpsychic-watertype9881 As soon as a translator is found they will never shut up.

[@chengoo]

I would love to see a movie where a samurai and a cowboy slowly learn each other’s ways and discover at the end that they are not so different. In addition, the cowboy learns about the past to appreciate the present while samurai learns more about the present to let go of the past.

[@trustindean5164]

honestly me too

[@buck342443]

in the end the samurai becomes sheriff and the cowboy is his deputy

[@lornbaker1083]

That sounds like that would be a beautiful movie. A story about adversaries becoming best friends and learning about each other. I can just see it ending Both of them riding off into the sunset Each one with the katana on their belt And a revolver in the holster. Both having learned to accept the weaponry of the other As a sign of their friendship. I think I just made myself cry 😢

[@retrogamelover2012]

Could probably be interesting how they even end up noticing parallels in regards to certain native folk between the respective histories of both nations, too.

[@Just__Garbage]

Red Sun, the movie talked about in the video. Is more or less that. Though I don't think the Samurai character learns as much as the outlaw cowboy does.

[@geoffreyrichards6079]

The commonality between Western and Samurai films can also be observed in franchises like “Star Wars”, which manages to blend both genres together seamlessly along with sci-fi, fantasy, and historical war films. It’s really no wonder why the series became the global phenomenon it is - there was something in it that every culture could identify with and appreciate.

[@slayer0235]

I know, right? The fifth episode of Mandalorian S2 demonstrates this perfectly. Ahsoka’s Kurosawa-style duel running parallel with Din’s Old West shootout. The cinematic staples of two different cultures seamlessly woven together. It’s sheer perfection.

[@Mariodash23]

@@slayer0235 That whole episode was amazing. Definitely a highlight next to Luke's badass rescue.

[@MythicMachina]

As an American, I find it really humbling that one of the countries that we've come to love a lot about has something about us that they love just as much. America is often the butt of everyone's jokes (for good fucking reason), but It's really heartwarming to see it go both ways. Side note: This also reminds me of how there's a debate in Japan about if King of the Hill is better subbed or dubbed, much like our debates over Anime.

[@alasiadarthe001actual9]

I find the same romanticism of a moral code in chivalry. Another moral code retroactively applied to people who mostly did violence.

[@gingermcgingin4106]

I'm not sure how true it is, but I've heard that the basic concept of chivalry was invented by knights themselves to help lessen the impact of PTSD (turns out, hacking/bludgeoning your fellow man to death can be pretty bad for your mental health)

[@tl1326]

@@gingermcgingin4106this is the chivalry i like, i always hated when fiction portrays chivalry as the higher man looking down as he has more to give than gain.

[@alasiadarthe001actual9]

@@gingermcgingin4106 I hadn't heard that one though I have heard the theory that it was a French adoption of Islamic concepts of gentlemen scholars. I still think that like bushido, people drastically over romanticize it. I have seen modern youtubers talk emphatically about chivalry/bushido. I think Goombah could do a whole video about the history of bushido and its uncomfortable more modern history.

[@arnowisp6244]

Dude. They are warriors. Violence is there way of life. 😂

[@alasiadarthe001actual9]

@@arnowisp6244 Yes but its the Hypocrisy to pretend its a noble act that I'm mentioning. There is nothing honorable about killing.

[@JakeCWolf]

In one of my recent-ish tabletop games set in a weird wild west I played a Samurai Cowboy. He had been disowned and exiled to the west by his father under false pretense to save him from being executed for participating in the Satsuma rebellion, went west and fell in with a group of others both foreign and native and became a deputy and eventually the sheriff of a small town, taking up protecting them as a way to go from being a Ronin back to Samurai, finding a purpose to live out his life. Oh, and he had his trusty pooch with him.

[@kenshirolucario2836]

The fact theres a trope called the samurai cowboy. Fuses the best of both worlds. I'm huge western fan and I'm happy u did this video

[@garrettsattem4799]

Ever tried Red Steel 2?

[@Shamshiro]

Look up "Rising Zan" and "Samurai Western". You're welcome :3

[@offworlder1]

There is a reason a lot of people love that merging, it also is used in Star Wars too, which is pretty amusing.

[@tyronechillifoot5573]

a lot western films even before before the adaptations of samurai flicks actually had characters who mirrored the archetype of the Ronin with the whole post civil war wandering soldier without a cause concept

[@arnowisp6244]

Any Films about Post Civil war wandering Soldier.

[@b3rz3rk3r9]

I could see a Samurai and Cowboy being popular in both Japan and America, particularly because both warriors are extremely popular worldwide. Hell, you should see the Cowboy craze in France. Famed artist and author Moebius created a series of Bandes Deasinee based off of his cowboy character, Sheriff Blueberry. Hell, Moebius WAS a cowboy for a good bit. I think it's the idea of the Outlaw and Ronin being similar to a Knight Errant of yore: all the freedom to wander and be where you want and do what you want, tempered and even bolstered by a great sense of duty and honor; tied together in a neat little bow of Justice and Heroism. It's the idea of being some kind of great wandering paladin that seeks to bring justice and peace to the lawless and turmoiled; classical Hero stuff that never really goes out of style.

[@lornbaker1083]

That's why we Call it the classic hero stuff Because it's classic. And classics never go out of style.

[@b3rz3rk3r9]

@lornbaker1083 Now that's a truth everyone can get behind. Good ol Heroism is always in fashion.

[@PrimordialNightmare]

Germany also had a strong Cowboy and "Indianer" phase. One of the most successfull german authors made a fortune of stories travelling through america or the middle east as a sort of Cowboy(adjacent) figure

[@zahariusgallicchio]

To add to the discussion of why both are so well received in the other cultures, they both represent the unknown, adventure, exploration and freedom in a barely known world that is so radically different to what the local culture knows themselves. A representation of what I think is an incredibly basic human desire to go beyond your own borders, both metaphorical and literal, and show one's merit. To a Japanese native, the Samurai are a known quantity, they don't have a significant "interesting" factor beyond what would be expected when looking at a figure of authority. The same is true of the Old West and Cowboys. But then you factor in how both have such similar underlying principles and while many people likely wouldnt be able yo consciously make that connection, they would still recognize subconsciously that there are core shared elements to empathize with.

[@thiagohayashi9936]

In times when discussions of "cultural apropriation" are on fire here and there, this video is an oasis. Japanese can appreciate cowboys, Americans can appreciate samurai. And that is ok.

[@Chaos89P]

It's only in the last few years when "cultural appropriation" was considered a bad thing. For centuries, if not millennia, people from different cultures would "borrow" what they liked from other cultures, which may include crops.

[@robbiewalker2831]

@@Chaos89Pit was considered a bad thing for a few years, because we had a racist for a president take over since 2016.

[@jcly96]

​@@robbiewalker2831And yet that "racist president" you speak of did more for minorities than you probably ever will and is currently being held in high regard by MANY minorities today and is a popular pick for presidential candidate.

[@EmperorTyrael]

@@robbiewalker2831 Yeah he was soooo racist that he won an award for his contributions to the black community alongside Muhammad Ali and Rosa Parks. Meanwhile the current President wrote the 1994 crime bill that put a lot of blacks in prison.

[@AmericanAurochs]

@@jcly96Thank you for beating me to it!

[@Superstar5_]

I like both Cowboys and Samurai, they both have a unique charm that sets them apart. Yet their culture and values can be enjoyed by both the West and the East respectively.

[@lilacbombs_5197]

monkey punch actually made a manga about this whole concept, it's called "bakumatsu yankee" and it's amazing! It really encapsulates all the ideas that you pointed out would happen if a samurai and a cowboy became friends. it got adapted into an amazing anime, too.

[@faithlessberserker5921]

That sounds really cool

[@anthonylucero-bradford131]

Where can I watch it

[@lilacbombs_5197]

@@anthonylucero-bradford131 🏴‍☠️arrgh (aniwavecoughcough) but I also have the episodes on a flash drive

[@brycesagner4497]

Fun fact: some cowboys rode camels. The U.S. army thought that camels would be better able to deal with the weather and terrain of the west and had some shipped from Africa. When they got here the Civil War was underway and the plan was abandoned and the camels were released into the wild where some were captured and used by ranchers. Also the Gunnie Rose Trilogy by Charlaine Harris is one of the best westerns I’ve ever read.

[@ObiClon]

With their many similarities one could say that samurai and cowboys go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly.

[@wildwaymartialarts]

As a Texan training in bujutsu, im lovin this. By the way, you dont get more ninja than the longhunter/mountain man/scout. As a country song goes, Country Boy can survive Your last point id say centralization of government also played a role in the cowboy becoming redundant, or at least seemingly to be. Most of the action happened during when texas, new Mexico, Arizona and California were still territories. The only real central, aka federal, force would be US Marshals and the Army. So unless you were a soldier or a criminal, or happened to be a citizen in a town nearby either a fort or marshal office, you wouldn't see a fed. I actually would recommend the KZbin channel Arizona Ghost Riders for anyone interested in this subject. They do reenactments in old Tuscon where a lot of westerns were filmed.

[@TheCelticCowboy98]

OMG Longhunter/mountain man/scout being ninjas, you're right that makes so much sense! Why didn't I realize that.

[@wildwaymartialarts]

@thedifferentchild4888 what's interesting is "shinobi ashi" was called fox walking here in the states for centuries. (Such skills came from the native Americans. )

[@raiderking7310]

I now imagine a samurai jack and the scotsman kind of interaction with the samurai and cowboy

[@matthewmccoyd2578]

Yeah just replace the scottish stereotypes with a texas stereotype a'la quincy in the og dracula

[@fangsabre]

The last connection you spoke about was what originally inspired me to start writing my book. A warrior class made onselete by modernization. Another layer of this, is that many Cowboys (or at least what we see as Cowboys) were former civil war soldiers who were left aimless and without direction and with few other skills besides combat. This same situation is what lead so many samurai to become bandits after the unification conflicts. This kind of pattern has lead to many different classes of warrior throughout history. Societies made warriors and then had no place for them post conflict. Another big example is pirates during the golden age of piracy. After the wars between england and france and spain slowed down many se faring men had no other skills besides being soldiers.

[@timberwolfbrother]

Cowboys got off lucky compared to samurai. Because cowboys weren't explicitly tied to status, they live on in everyday life, tho in a far more practical sense.

[@matthewmccoyd2578]

That and they didn't need to kill themselves if they screwed up

[@starmaker75]

Also cowboys alot of times were just ranchers and animals herder. Unless everyone goes vegan, that going to useful. Also the samurai are production of feudalism and the likes. Once that system is gone, samurai are just edit lord's at this point. Plus the attempt to revive in a post feudal system didn't cause more problems, as WW2 has showen

[@arnowisp6244]

I think that's why They appealed to the Japanese. The Cowboy was a Warrior not bound by Family and Societal Pressures. They lived life on their own terms with the best ones in Fiction living by their own Personal Code instead of an Imposed code. I can see why the Romanticized Cowboy attracted them.

[@lukeskywalkerthe2nd773]

This video was mind-blowing. Two of some of my favorite historical warrior groups have so much more in common that i've never even considered before! It's honestly incredible. Another excellent video, Gaijin! (And i definitely gotta watch Red Sun now lol)

[@cyberknight7]

Great video. From all the similarities you discussed I can't help but think of Jigen and Goemon from Lupin the 3rd and how well they work together despite their obvious differences. I know its not exactly 1 to 1 but that's the vibe i get from everything you talked about.

[@snackplissken8192]

Both America and Japan have a romantic period around the turn of the twentieth century, where the symbols of their past became phased out as culture changed and adapted to new technology. At the end of a civil war, America's pioneer expansion ended and Japan westernized. Both cultures were immediately nostalgic for the symbols of their past and wondered if they would lose their identity in the new era, and so immortalized a romanticized version of their past in mass media.

[@starmaker75]

And interesting the romanticism of the cowboy and samurais were challenged latter on. As a mix of liking the romanticism, but also calling out some of the bad stuff that happened(for samurai it is the systemic violence and cowboy the settler colonization came with it)

[@dojojojo2348]

The use of "That's The Way It Is," from Red Dead Redemption 2, at 17:55, just as you start talking about how time forces change with modernization, is a brilliant choice.

[@EmeraldMage7188]

This is by far one of my all-time favorite videos you’ve ever made! 👍

[@terrykrugii5652]

If that Japanese Office Worker can visualize his life as if he were a cowboy in a sense, not only can I do the same for my factory job but I'm happy for him. Ride on Cowboy

[@SonicSanctuary]

Man now we need a story of a gunslinger and a samurai fighting bad guys together!

[@ShinKyuubi]

.......a video both my mother and could have enjoyed. My mom grew up with westerns and adored the old west, I did too for a VERY long time, my biological father is VERY proud of having Cherokee blood and I recently found out I have more on my mother's side of the family thanks to my maternal aunt on my mother's mother's side doing some digging into the family history on her side. I'm shocked honestly to hear that there's a honest to goodness festival in Japan that celebrates the old west...and more than a little wish I could attend. As a southern born boy who grew up with the old west and has been slowly splitting himself apart about my love for Japanese culture, medieval European culture, and the old west...seeing people in Japan who honestly love the other two (the sheer amount of fantasy JRPGs and RPGs, anime, and manga with a fantasy medieval style Europe style setting shows that) it makes me very happy and makes it easier to get back to my roots so to speak when it comes to westerns. This vid also helped to explain why Revolver Ocelot was the way he was...his in universe self was much like the creators and fans in Japan who love the old west.

[@demi-fiendoftime3825]

I love when they fuse the two together like in Red Steel 2 and Sakura Wars 5

[@jlan7844]

Here's a bit of a fun fact about the origins of the romanization of the Old West: One of the big influences of the early writers was the legend Wyatt Earp himself. That's right, Wyatt Earp lived long enough to be a writer/consultant for early Hollywood, and many of the very early Old Westerns about Earp were actually written by the man himself. Embellished a bit of course, as most old folks talking about the good ol' days tend to do. Earp's tall tales even touched the life of a young stagehand who became fast friends with the old lawman. Those tales inspired that young stagehand to take up acting himself, styling himself after his friend Earp's tales of how a cowboy should behave. And you could say that young stagehand went on to have a big impact on the views of the Old West himself, acting under the stage name "John Wayne".

[@alldayagain]

Damn, just added "Country Bars" to my list of To-Dos in Japan lol

[@PadanGedowitch]

As a european I have to point ay that all the things you said can kinda be used for our knights. The code of chivalry, serving their lord/king, sword and shield, horses.

[@robertgronewold3326]

I think one of the most fun little subgenres of science fiction is where cowboy and samurai aesthetics combine into a great ride.

[@someguycalledgoober155]

I knew about the Japanese Cowboy fans, and I want to go to Japan for that. Everything else is cool, yes, but like, it's cool to see how we influenced each other. Cowboys, Samurai, Knights, all bound together by a weird sense of honor and just being cool.

[@L1701]

A samurai, a cowboy, and a knight walk into a bar. And it explodes from awesome.

[@TheCreepypro]

as a person who has studied the history of both these figures this video was so good and delightful!

[@davidblaising-wimmer9972]

I made a half Orc samurai character for my dnd campaign that took place in an alternate Earth during the aftermath of the Civil War, my character Goro, left Japan when his lord died and went to the United States and fought for the Union during the Civil War. He got naturalized as a U.S. citizen for his service. He alongside his adventuring party Vex Fortuna, went around helping people. One of the BIGGEST inspirations I had for him was Yojimbo and Samurai Jack.

[@WretchedRedoran]

Hey, I'm curious, have you ever seen the Orcish armour from the game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind? I think it'd be right up your alley.

[@clayrodriguez_author]

That speech from red son really hit me. Dang, i need to watch that movie now

[@nicodalusong149]

I still remember the pixiv art piece I saw that's a girl in samurai armor but the kabuto was shaped like a cowboy hat. Yes, she was weilding a tanegashima rifle to top it all off. It's such a great picture.

[@StarFoxHeroSJ]

So you may appreciate this Gaijin. My current TTRPG Character is a western gunslinger known as "That Guy." (A parody of The Man with No Name, though he acts more like Jayne from Firefly) His rival/friend is a samurai named...Konohito.

[@the6ofdiamonds]

8:24 #5 has me in stitches, knowing exactly how some people who embrace cowboy culture in the US actually conduct themselves. Far from even a majority, but enough regionally that I get to laugh about it.

[@munanchoinc]

I just find it humourous how the west embraced samurai media with 60s spaghetti westerns and the east in-turn turned to western cinema for neo-chambara style films.

[@abitofapickle6255]

Hell hath no fear than a Cowboy with a Katana and a Samurai with a Revolver.

[@lukestarkiller441]

It is crazy how 2 cultural icons from the complete opposite sides of the world have both so much & so little in common. And both became popular with the other side. Great video GG. I might have to check out that movie now.

[@TheGeckoNinja]

warms my heart seeing how much both east and west are such weebs for each others culture for so long.

[@jeagerzbomb9924]

Idk why but this reminded me of the existence of Animas Trujano. The first (and maybe only?) Mexican movie to have a Japanese superstar. Toshiro Mifune starred as the main protagonist, Animas.

[@Volume52]

I was just thinking about asking Japan's love of cowboys next twitch stream, thanks for making this

[@jackevans6829]

No one said this would be sad at the end oh jeez Gaijin Goombah. As a Texan myself is awesome to know at least some other countries like our culture. Awesome video too!!

[@kitsunehanyou09]

I'm so glad you made this video! I had a lot of fun watching this and learning more than just the mythical image media gave them in games, anime, and movies.

[@Gungelion]

Just as the sun sets on one era, so too does it rise on another. This is the lesson of the Cowboys and the samurai. Thus how they began, and how they ended.

[@BestOfTsars]

In Lupin III the character a Jigen is a American gunslinger and thief and works under the Grandson of Ársene Lupin alongside a samurai named Goemon

[@bobalinx8762]

I’d be interested in a samurai cowboy buddy comedy that compares and contrasts these two different cultures.

[@felixsubakti6907]

Bakumatsu yankee

[@awesomeness1122]

I love this video and if you wanted I would love to see more which samurai comparing the cowboys in westerns to they're eastern samurai movies but in more specifics one to one comparisons. You gave a bunch of movie pairings at the begining of this one that would be good videos on they're own if you wanted to.

[@19ate4]

The first ambassadors to America from Japan, they did illustrations in their diaries, and they drew George Washington in traditional samurai armor. Japan and America has a strange relationship

[@MegaPokefan97]

This connection is literally the basis of a lot of Metal Gear Rising. Can I get a thread of people singing one of those songs

[@monhunterz5430]

🎵Standing here, I realize🎵

[@matthewmccoyd2578]

@@monhunterz5430 Cowboy: I've carved my own path Samurai: You followed the cash

[@MegaPokefan97]

@@monhunterz5430 you were just like me, trying to make history

[@jfb173jb]

Speaking as a somewhat modern cowboy, a lot of us noted it as time has gone by. Technology makes it easier to work but it removes the need for some of the extra help. Which is part of why its hard to keep family farms running or people who are willing to stay close. Something of different note for films about comparing the lives would be Monte Walsh. The film goes over the expanse of the ranching industry and the refusal of some cowhands to "spit on their whole lives". Let alone problems with adjusting.

[@Kalebfenoir]

Love seeing Wild Arms (and specifically Wild Arms 3) getting that one second of mention. One of my favorite series and favorite games of all time.

[@AsianTrix]

It goes full circle with Sukiyaki Western Django. As it is a cowboy Western with a full Japanese cast, filmed in English, produced by an American about the war of Roses.

[@derrickjohnson4952]

I need a co-op game where each player is a samurai or cowboy !

[@AnIdiotsLantern]

There can even be auxiliary factions, like ninja and Native American tribes!

[@MysticMylesZ]

2:36 I love this, this is beautiful

[@lunerblade13]

I wonder if it’s also worth mentioning the relationship between the gunman jigen and samurai goemon from Lupin III.

[@faithwalkergaming]

Love the video man was so cool to see how the mythical heroes of different cultures influence each other so much. Also I will say my vote is definitely do something for Orktober.

[@neoshadowdukeofgames8223]

I've learned so much from your channel over the years.

[@starmaker75]

I always find it interesting that the samurai and cowboy are a yin and yang situation

[@SarthMannson]

My favorite blend of samurai and cowboys is Metal Gear Rising and mainly Sam. It's Raiden vs a mercenary group called Desperado and Jetstream Sam literally uses a gun sheath to make his quick draw/strike faster

[@NovaSaber]

Wild Arms definitely made the iaijutsu/quickdraw connection, since one of the main characters is basically a samurai cowboy with sword techniques called "Fast Draw".

[@TheRezro]

It is worth to mention that in a sense Sakamoto Ryōma can be described as samurai cowboy. In later periods some samurai were known from using imported revolvers as sidearm.

[@cirinosaldana4289]

I am surprised that you know your guns from the old west, and now I have more to love you guys about and your content.

[@astrowolvez]

This was such a great video gaijin!

[@Daniel_Coffman]

This video makes me curious what samurai armor and cowboy garb mixed together would look like; beyond the obvious of simply a cowboy or cowgirl wielding a katana as we see in Sakura Wars 5 and Onechanbara; and what a mixture of Wild West architecture and Feudal Japanese architecture would look like, as well. That might be interesting.

[@rlhphotos]

I think something that ties these two with in the minds of those looking back is the stoicism. Both the US and Japan (as well as many other cultures) romanticize the "Stoic Hero".

[@DarknessGuard]

This is some cool take there. I had no idea that despite the differences between those two, there is so much more that affects them the same way over all.

[@amberstarr9267]

so, stumbled upon a trailer called KYŌRYŪ and its so cool! its set in japan with dinosaurs but! these dinos have a japanese twist like a t-rex with samurai armour but its aart of him with bone horns shaped to look like the helmets. theres also a dimetrodon with a koi karp sort of pattern that looks like a mob boss its so cool! figured gaijin would find it interesting

[@theanomaly3463]

Hey Gaijin Goombah, I've always wanted to reach you personally about a TTRPG project I've been working on and wanted to see if it at all Piqued your interest. The only issue is I wouldn't necessarily call geeking out about how you and Japans plethora of yokai and gods helped inspire this Essence 20 power rangers campaign as a business inquiry. Thanks so much for these awesome videos you make.

[@hammerhyena4207]

I wonder if there is an equivalent of Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" for samurai movies. I know there is a literal remake of Unforgiven in Japan, but I mean the impact. Unforgiven deconstructs westerns and grounds them in reality and it did it so well, that it's often credited for killing the genre overall.

[@garrettviewegh9028]

The Samurai: Noble, honorable, and deadly. The Gunslinger/Cowboy: Rugged, bold, and a deadeye.

[@BeaglzRok1]

An additional note about pistols and katanas instead of rifles and bows/polearms/proto-rifles, it shows the shift from mass warfare to stories based on "squad fighting," on a smaller self-defense/dueling scale where war strategy isn't as much of a necessity as quick and accurate technique. You'll see them come up when droves of bandits show up to raid some town in force, but it's not very practical to defend yourself in a conversation-gone-sour with a weapon that requires two hands to properly wield.

[@MysticHunterRed]

Nah... this did not come out right when I decided to make a Samurai character for a wild west D&D game based on this whole idea. What the heck kinda mind link did we accidentally make? But seriously that's actually really cool.

[@DuranmanX]

An interesting similarity is connection with Spain. Spain brought its firearms to Japan and horses to the Americas. There are even archtypes similar to the cowboy throughout Latin America

[@13KuriMaster]

Yugioh related meme: "Remember, it's Okay to run Gagaga Cowboy in a themed Six Samurai deck because Cowboys are just American Samurai." Yeah, I thought that checked out when I first saw it on twitter.... now it seems even more valid.

[@mrwoka]

Great video! And using Tsuneo Imahori's guitars (composer for Trigun AND guitar player for Cowboy Bebop's Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts) is a delicious cherry on top!

[@Chimeragui]

What’s funny is that your talk of how cowboys and samurai would interact reminds me of the dynamic between Rattrap and Dinobot in Beast Wars, Rattrap being the cowboy and Dinobot the samurai.

[@matthewmccoyd2578]

Add in Dinobot's Shakesphere references and you have the Kurosawa trifecta

[@Kazuma11290]

Japan and America becoming so culturally cross-polinated so to speak, is so heartwarming. Like a tale of a high school bully who gets jumped by a nerd, the bully retaliates back way too hard BUT sees they've done wrong, tries to make-up for it to this day, and are now total bros with eachother.

[@AshXXMayftw]

It's funny that this video popped up today, because for the past few days I've been letting a concept for a new story stew in a mind. A story about two warriors from two different nations having to find common ground and work together to survive a coming conflict. I think I may use the code of both cowboys and samurai to help do this.

[@theplan-m6c]

You should also do one on knights and samurai. Also awesome video.

[@IkatashiPaku]

Ok I need to see this movie. That speech at the end of the video had me tearing up.

[@arturocampomanes8315]

Revolver Ocelot would be so proud! I think that's why Star Wars does it great, Space Samurai in a Wild West universe

[@marcusraines4803]

I just found out Ken Watanabe did a remake of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven in 2014. It's set just after the Meji restoration I believe.

[@camerongunn7906]

This is actually kind of funny. I just bought a brand new Magnum Research BFR in 460 Smith & Wesson with a 10" barrel. After taking it out of the box my daughter asked me if she could name it. Of course I said yes. She named it "Bebop." 😂❤

[@aliastheabnormal]

I guess Samurai needed someone to fight. Since the ninjas were too busy fighting pirates.

[@zvimur]

You skipped the influence John Ford had on Kurosawa, Ford's "Three Bad Men" vs a certain "Three Bad men in a *Hidden Fortress* ".

[@mrdrprof8402]

I'm playing in a kinda silly urban fantasy ttrpg game set in the early 1900's. I decided to play off these tropes by making a character who was the child of a Samurai and a cowgirl. It's been a fun time playing around with the tropes.

[@whitecomix4915]

Great video as always Gaijin. Since were in the middle of October, I was wondering if your gonna go back to resident evil village and do a video about Donna and her dolls.

[@vustvaleo8068]

there's also the mecha anime "Gun X Sword" who mixes the samurai and cowboy into one with the protagonist Van who dresses like a cowboy but his main weapon of choice is a sword, granted a shape-changing sword that is not a katana but works the same way anyways.

[@RariYork]

We can thank Westerns honestly for influencing Hirohiko Araki for without them we wouldn't have most of what makes Jojo's Bizarre Adventure what it is especially Steel Ball Run and Jotaro's inspiration from Clint Eastwood to name some examples.

[@AudioDragon51]

There is another Cowboy ninja in the Sentai Series Ninningers call StarNinger, who transforms using a burger phone and his outfit is that of a cowboy.

[@adamjroman481]

1. Gotta find this movie Gaijin talking. 2. Damn 0_0, this explains everything.

[@W4iteFlame]

Oh, I think I've seen this movie and need to rewatch it. Thank for reminding

[@Banchoking]

Had a Pokemon world building idea based on this. The reason there's so much old west imagery in Kanto and Johto was a bunch of California settlers heard about Japan through the Dragon Clan Native Americans (like Iris) whose ancestors are related to Lance's. So they kept heading west across the sea and settled in the untouched wilderness of Kanto and Johto where only hidden ninja villages populated due to the dangerous Pokemon there. The ninja were hiding from the government trying to extinguish them and when they found out about their new heavily armed neighbors they told their recently disarmed samurai buddies about them. The three groups formed an alliance to settle the Kanto and Johto regions. By the time the government found out, they were thoroughly entrenched with the arms of the cowboys, strategic knowhow of the samurai, and the espionage skills of the ninja. The regions were eventually incorporated into Japan but with special allowances like being able to carry weapons, which is why there's so many guns in the first seasons.

[@THERetroGamer9000]

I appreciate that you make reference to Sunset Riders. I loved playing that game on the SNES and still enjoy playing it.