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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iyuc67.jpg]]
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3'''''Legend of [the] Eight Samurai''''' (''Satomi Hakkenden'') is a 1983 Japanese fantasy blockbuster from Creator/KinjiFukasaku, the director of ''Battle Royale'', set in the Edo period. It's based on the 1982 novel ''Shin Satomi Hakkenden'', a loose retelling of the 19th century Japanese epic ''Literature/NansouSatomiHakkenden''.
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5It would in turn inspire a 1989 Platform/{{Famicom}} {{JRPG}} titled ''Shin Satomi Hakkenden: Hikari to Yami no Tatakai'' ("Shin Satomi Hakkenden: Battle of Light and Darkness").
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7The film stars Hiroko Yakushimaru as Princess Shizu. Creator/HiroyukiSanada, Creator/ShinichiChiba and Creator/SueShiomi are among the eight titular samurai.
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9!!This film provides examples of:
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11* BadassCrew: The titular eight samurai, who battles Queen Tamazusa's army to put an end to her reign.
12* BlindIdiotTranslation: The English dub makes reference to ninja; also, the English-language trailer infamously can't decide whether the title is '''Legend of Eight Samurai''' or '''Legend of Eight Ninjas'''. Apart from the fact that ninja are more concerned about covert activity than honor, '''Legend of Eight Ninjas''' is grammatically incorrect.
13* BloodBath: Tamazusa bathes in blood to rejuvenate herself.
14* CainAndAbel: After revealing that Shinbei is the son of Tamazusa and Motofuji's younger brother, Motofuji kills Shinbei for playing the flute Shizu gave him that distresses his mother. Shinbei, being brought BackFromTheDead and his original personality restored, returns the favor and kills his older brother.
15* {{Crossdresser}}: Keno is a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiraby%C5%8Dshi Shirabyoshi]]. Shizu-hime pulls a SweetPollyOliver while on the run from Tamazusa's thugs.
16* TheChosenMany: There are eight people destined to protect Princess Shizu, whether the stone is chooses the person, or were received from birth. The final chosen one is Shinbei, who turned out to be the son of the BigBad.
17* DeathOfAChild: Those poor kids in the village massacre...
18* DueToTheDead: Shinbei and Princess Shizu give the two kids who died in the village raid a proper burial.
19* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Queen Tamazusa and Prince Motofuji, as wicked as they are, genuinely loves each other. [[spoiler:Near the end of the film, Tamazusa completely lose it when Motofuji is slain by Shinbei]].
20* TheEvilPrince: Tamazusa's son, Prince Motofuji, is as evil as his mother, gleefully carrying out massacres of entire villages and antagonizing the heroes. He serves as TheDragon to his mom.
21* GenderFlip: Keno's biologically female in this one, whereas in the original source material RecursiveCrossdressing was at work (as the character was originally a male disguised as a Shirabyoshi).
22* HeelFaceTurn: Genpachi has one after discovering the crystal in his hand during a village raid. He promptly abandons his own troops and joins Dosetsu's group.
23* {{Irony}}: Shinbei is the son of Queen Tamazusa and Motofuji's brother. Fate would make him as one of TheChosenMany, and betrays his evil family.
24%%* KnightInSourArmor: Shinbei.
25%%* LadyOfWar: Keno.
26%%* TheOjou: Princess Shizu, again.
27* OffWithHisHead: The fate of several mooks when fighting members of the eight who use sharp weapons. Shinbei in particular hacks off an enemy soldier's head and sends the cranium flying towards the last twelve or so mooks, who then pulls a ScrewThisImOuttaHere almost immediately (leaving their queen facing the remaining heroes alone).
28* PoisonousPerson: The women kidnapped by Motofuji were brainwashed and become poisonous by Genjin.
29* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Genpachi volunteers to scout for traps in Tamazusa's hideout [[TheseHandsHaveKilled "because I've killed too many people just for sport, even women and children!"]] [[spoiler:Naturally, he's the first of the eight to die.]]
30* SpellMyNameWithAThe: As indicated by the brackets around the indicated word in the title above, the onscreen title is simply ''Legend of Eight Samurai''. No "the", despite what other materials (save for the trailer; see BlindIdiotTranslation above for more) may tell you.
31* StarCrossedLovers: Shino loves his adopted sister Hamaji, but family interference would result in her death, and they were forced to kill each other when Genjin brings her back to life and turn her into his brainwashed slave.
32* StormingTheCastle: The climax have the eight samurai, with Princess Shizu with them, raiding Queen Tamazusa's fortress and battling their way through hordes and hordes of enemies, taking down the queen's lieutenants and most powerful monsters before facing the queen herself.
33* SweetPollyOliver: As noted above, Princess Shizu disguises herself as a young boy early in the film in order to conceal her identity from Tamazusa's troops.
34%%* VainSorceress: Tamazusa.
35* VasquezAlwaysDies: Happens to [[spoiler:Keno]] during the climactic showdown sequence.
36* WarriorPrincess: Princess Shizu leads the fight against the evil Queen Tamazusa's tyranny. [[spoiler:And lands the killing blow on the queen in the final battle]].

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