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4%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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9[[quoteright:270:[[VideoGame/RedSteel2 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/red_steel_2_hero_2125.jpg]]]]
10[[caption-width-right:270:Konnichiwa, pardner.]]
11
12->''But every day there's a new thing comin'\
13The ways of an Oriental view\
14The sheriff and his buddies with their samurai swords\
15You can even hear the music at night''
16-->-- '''Music/TheDoobieBrothers''', "China Grove"
17
18Essentially a melding of TheWildWest and FeudalJapan, even if the setting also takes place in the future or has CattlePunk elements.
19
20The earliest association between samurai and gunslinger tropes was probably Creator/AkiraKurosawa, who modeled several of his samurai films after American [[TheWestern Westerns]]. Fittingly, several of his films were remade as actual Westerns (e.g. ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'' into ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', and ''Film/SevenSamurai'' into ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]''). This helped tie in the close association between these eras.
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22Also, {{Ronin}} and TheGunslinger seem to occupy the same place in the stories of their respective cultures. Both are essentially an updated version of the KnightErrant (or rather, Ronin serve as a bridge of sorts between the Knight Errant and the Gunslinger, having at various points been the contemporaries of both), [[TheDrifter drifters]] with {{Mysterious Past}}s WalkingTheEarth, [[DuelToTheDeath dueling rivals]], fighting bandits, embodying [[TheStoic stoicism]] and self-reliance, and aspiring to self-discipline, often while struggling with their inner demons.
23
24The similarities between the [[RoseTintedNarrative idealized forms]] of the Bushido code and the Code of the West are undeniable, as well -- [[TheFettered placing honor and duty above all]], protecting the weak, killing only when required but [[IDidWhatIHadToDo unflinchingly doing so when it is]], valuing equally intelligence, HeroicResolve, and physical ability. This makes it only natural that the two characters should begin to blend together in an East-meets-West world. The fact that they're both iconic warrior-types of their respective nations is also a plus.
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26Note that a cowboy moving to old Japan, or a samurai or kung fu master moving to the Old West, does not count. Such situations often ''lead'' to this trope, which is about explicitly blending the two -- but not always.
27
28May be a result of wanting to justify the combination of SwordAndGun with KatanasAreJustBetter and RevolversAreJustBetter.
29
30A SubTrope of NinjaPirateZombieRobot.
31
32Compare SamuraiShinobi, StreetSamurai, CorporateSamurai, CyberNinja, TheGunslinger, {{Ronin}}, SwordAndGun, SpaceWestern, WesternSamurai.
33----
34!!Examples:
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36[[foldercontrol]]
37
38[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
39* Justice from ''Anime/AfroSamurai'' at first seems like a straight example of TheGunslinger, fighting Afro's father (who is using a katana) to a standstill with two pistols in one of the most badass fights of the series. He eventually plays this straight when it is revealed that [[spoiler:he has a hidden third arm that wields a katana.]]
40* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Coyote Starrk starts off with the typical trappings of an Espada, including a long robe and a katana. His Resurrección gives him a gunslinger outfit with a pair of pistols to match, and he also demonstrates the ability to summon energy swords.
41* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'':
42** Andy, the crazy cowboy from the episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession22CowboyFunk Cowboy Funk]]", decides to become a samurai (complete with katana) at the end of the episode after Spike beats him.
43** Spike himself counts as a less overt example than Andy, if you believe Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible. He's a BountyHunter by trade and quite TheGunslinger, but he also uses [[BruceLeeClone Jeet Kune Do]] and his character arc is taken straight out of a {{Yakuza}} story.
44* In the ''Anime/CaptainHarlock'' spinoff ''Gun Frontier'', the Old West incarnation of Tochiro is one of these. He shows some traits of this in other entries in the franchise like ''Cosmo Warrior Zero''.
45* ''Anime/GunXSword'' which takes place on a SpaceWestern planet where {{cowboy}}s and [[InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha mecha]] roam. The protagonist Van is a cowboy who wields a metallic cloth that can turn into a sword, with its hilt looking an awful lot like a gun handle with a trigger included. Plus he pilots an Armor that uses a sword. In addition, his rival Ray uses a gun that looks like a Japanese sword handle, with his two very long magazines kept in his belt, making it look like he's carrying a daisho.
46* Sazanami in ''{{Manga/Naruto}}'' is a former swordsmith turned bounty hunter. His katana has a hilt shaped like a rifle stock and he wears a cowboy hat. In the English dub, he's voiced by Creator/SteveBlum and gets an ActorAllusion for [[Anime/CowboyBebop that other bounty hunter he played]].
47* Azuma Mutsu's arc from ''Manga/ShuraNoToki'' is arguably this. Azuma, while ''isn't'' a samurai or a cowboy, is a Japanese man thrown into a cowboy/frontier setting and ended up mixing characteristics from both sides.
48* The prequel chapter of ''Manga/SilverSpoon'' either manages to be an example or an aversion, depending on how you look at it, since the story centers on the lives of the ''actual'' Samurai Cowboys (and cowgirls) of historical Hokkaido. After the conflicts that began the Meiji period, many samurai families were driven north to the province of Hokkaido, where they began new lives as farmer pioneers ([[ThePioneer with all]] [[DeterminedHomesteader the]] [[SettlingTheFrontier attendant]] [[InjunCountry tropes]]...including an unfortunate fate for the native Ainu tribes).
49* The one-off antagonist Rai-Dei the Blade of the Gung-Ho Guns in ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' is basically a samurai on a WildWest planet. He is treated as outrageous and insane. He dodges bullets. He wears a fringed leather vest with hakama, his katana can fire its blade if necessary, and its sheath also doubles as a revolver rifle. In the manga, he does all of this on ''[[RuleOfCool rocket skates]]''.
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Comic Books]]
53* The title character from the Creator/ImageComics comic ''ComicBook/CowboyNinjaViking'' is essentially one of these (just ninja instead of samurai) also crossed with a Viking.
54* The ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' ''Alternity'' special had [[{{Ronin}} Shimura]] appear as one of these in TheWildWest, helping a family of former slaves by fighting the Angel gang, who had been slavers and fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War until they'd been locked up by Dredd (who appears briefly as a Union General) after the war.
55* The ComicBook ''ComicBook/ShaolinCowboy''.
56* ''ComicBook/TheUltraverse'': Tugun, a member of the villain group TNTNT, is a samurai who wields two guns instead of two swords. He combines the ethos of the {{Samurai}} with the tactics of TheGunslinger.
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Film]]
60* ''Film/{{Bunraku}}'' features a gunslinger without a gun and a samurai without a sword as its two heroes.
61* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadTheWeird'', being a remake/adaptation of ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' set in Manchuria.
62* ''Film/KillBill''
63** The Bride spends much of the first film in the duology in Japan, and is adept in and proud of her skills with a katana. Upon returning to America, she starts wearing leather clothes and resorts to carrying a pistol for her planned confrontation with Bill.
64** Budd is an ex-assassin with a cowboy hat and a sword made by Hattori Hanzo, which he [[spoiler: falsely]] claims to have sold off.
65* ''Film/TheLastSamurai'' goes the other way around. Nathan Algren is a veteran of the Great Sioux War of 1876, goes to Japan and learns the ways of the samurai.
66* The Creator/CharlesBronson film ''Film/RedSun'' is about a WildWest {{Outlaw}} who must help a samurai (played by none other than Creator/ToshiroMifune) recover a stolen sword.
67* ''Film/ShanghaiNoon'' merges Western tropes with kung fu action -- [[InterchangeableAsianCultures not Japanese]], but Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible. At one point a character uses a sheriff's badge as a throwing star.
68* ''Franchise/StarWars'', having a chronic habit of mixing pre-existing settings like gumbo, often features gunslingers like Han Solo teaming up with Shaolin monk/KnightErrant/samurai-like Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi. [[TheHero Luke Skywalker]] is the closest thing to a direct Samurai Cowboy in the series, equally at ease with a lightsaber or a gun by the time of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', and even then he starts focusing more on the former in the [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Expanded Universe]].
69** ''Film/RogueOne'' has ThoseTwoGuys Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus. Baze is styled after a gunslinger (albeit with a preference for [[{{BFG}} the blaster equivalent of a machine gun]] rather than a pistol like this type of character usually has), while Chirrut is a WarriorMonk.
70* ''Film/SukiyakiWesternDjango'' takes place in the town of Yuta, Nevata, which is a mashup of Old West and feudal Japan, and features a gunslinger [[AFistfulOfRehashes entering a town dominated by two rival gangs]].
71* ''Film/TheWarriorsWay'' deals with an Asian assassin who settles in the Old West and is ultimately tracked down by his past associates. Essentially, it's [[CoolVersusAwesome Cowboys Versus Ninjas]].
72* While not featuring any ''literal'' cowboys, ''Film/TheWolverine'' definitely evokes this trope, with ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} filling the role of the grizzled gunslinger who journeys to Japan and battles the machinations of an ancient {{Yakuza}} clan. For bonus points, the BigBad styles himself after samurai and bases his PoweredArmor on their outfits, meaning the final battle is effectively [[CoolVsAwesome a duel between a cowboy and samurai]].
73* TheHeavy of ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', Unosuke, returns to the gangster-led village after a bit of wandering. He wears a katana with a pinstriped kimono, and uses a cavalry revolver as his weapon of choice.
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76[[folder:Literature]]
77* The ''Ole Devil Hardin'' series by Creator/JTEdson are set in DawnOfTheWildWest during the the Texas Revolution. Hardin's companion is an exiled samurai named Tommy Okasi who fights with typical samurai weapons such as sword and bow, while Hardin fights with pistol, rifle and Bowie knife.
78* Jenny Midnight Summers in ''Literature/SuburbanSenshiRiseOfTheMagicalGirl'' is one of these, having been a Texas Ranger who was given the skills by a dying Samurai via MentalFusion . Unlike most examples, she is active in the modern day.
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80
81[[folder:Live Action TV]]
82* ''Series/ShurikenSentaiNinninger'' features a team of Japanese ninja, and their SixthRanger is a cowboy who is an {{ascended|Fanboy}} ninja fan. Taken to NinjaPirateZombieRobot levels: he's a cowboy ninja whose main weapon is a guitar-sword, his TransformationTrinket is based on a ''cheeseburger'', and the helmet to his suit has a ''cowboy hat''.
83** ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'' has his counterpart, Levi Weston, be a country singer to justify the above but changes his morpher to something less ridiculous.
84* Hanaryo in ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' becomes this when she leaves Shogunworld with Maeve's party, adopting apropos gunslinger attire and a gun for Westworld but also keeping her katana and bow handy. Given that she's also a [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Host]] this makes her a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Samurai Cowboy Robot]].
85* In ''Series/TheMandalorian'', Din Djarin has shades of this - a BountyHunter who [[TheDrifter drifts throughout the galaxy]], helping people and completing quests much like a cowboy, but he is also a member of an ancient religious warrior order as a Mandalorian.
86[[/folder]]
87
88[[folder:Music]]
89* The main character in the ''Music/KnightsOfCydonia'' music video is a practitioner of Kung Fu kicking butt and taking names in a SchizoTech Wild West.
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
93* ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' allows for these kinds of characters with a little artistic license. A character with a saber (refluffed as a katana), martial arts, and a trusty revolver is so easy to make that it can be done during character creation.
94* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' you can do this fairly easily by multiclassing between samurai and gunslinger, or by focusing entirely on one class and just getting the necessary proficiencies to use the other's weapons.
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96
97[[folder:Video Games]]
98* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue'': Frontiersman outfit + Katana = this, effectively turning Shay Cormac into an [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie Assassin/Templar privateer cowboy samurai]].
99%%%%* Yasha from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' has a bit of this going for him, especially in his theme song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIufkLyJuMM Wind.]]
100* ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'': [=Zer0=] got a ''Film/{{Tombstone}}''-themed head and skin for [[http://i.ytimg.com/vi/J1GIrb-wLxM/maxresdefault.jpg Community Day.]] Given that the game itself is a SpaceWestern, it's quite fitting. He also has Vladof class mods built around improving his skills with pistols.
101* Kyle Katarn of the ''VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga'' has shades of this, starting as a mercenary who only works for the Rebellion/Republic because they pay him before learning he's Force-sensitive and ultimately becoming a Jedi who continues packing his personal blaster right alongside his lightsaber.
102* The PlayerCharacter in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' can easily be this; wearing cowboy hats and dusters while wielding a katana, all while adhering to a strict code of honor. This is even lampshaded by the achievement for dealing damage with melee weapons, 'New Vegas Samurai', which is represented with the Vault Boy dressed up as Buddy from the post-apocalyptic movie ''Film/SixStringSamurai''.
103** The ''Fallout'' world in general could be described as a post-apocalyptic American version of the UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod mixed with UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar: Numerous factions, from the [[TheFederation New California Republic]] to the [[TheFundamentalist Brotherhood]] [[MachineWorship of]] [[KeeperOfForbiddenKnowledge Steel]] to the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Enclave]], are all fighting each other for control of the Wasteland, each trying to reunite and rebuild America in their own vision throughout the series, fitting with the ArcWords "[[HistoryRepeats War never changes.]]"
104* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'':
105** The Berserker version of UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi (who by the way is female) dresses like a sexy cowgirl and wields katanas and gunblades.
106** Space Ishtar has a form where she dresses like a sexy cowgirl and wields a handgun, a rifle, and a katana.
107* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
108** Shadow in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is a {{Ronin}} ninja with a whistling, jaw-harp-twanging SpaghettiWestern theme and the appropriate personality.
109** Both Cloud and Barret in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' have very similar backstories (hometown gets burned down due to Shinra's evil, a charismatic old friend does a HeelFaceTurn and becomes TheRival, vowing revenge...) but Cloud's takes place in a little rural town with swordsmen going off into the mountains at the orders of their master, while Barret's takes place in a desert/mining town with rogue gunfighters, infinite deserts and whistling SpaghettiWestern music.
110** Gravey from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyBraveExvius'' is pretty much this trope. The very first commentary he gets during his introduction is that his weapons of choice, a pair of katanas, doesn't seem to fit his appearance of a stereotypical Western gunslinger. His bio in the game explains that Gravey gets bored really easily and is constantly changing and mastering weapons to keep boredom at bay.
111* Johnny from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' is a Samurai-Cowboy-''Pirate''; he's got the typical cowboy hat and katana, speaks in a southern accent, and has a deep connection to gambling.
112* Yasuo in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has the "High Noon" skin, which turns him from a more standard samurai into a samurai cowboy, complete with a gunblade.
113* One of Lumisa's optional outfits in ''VideoGame/LaMulana2'' invokes this, giving her a pink kimono top with a cowboy hat, leather chaps, boots, and shorts. It's even called Kimono Cowgirl.
114* Erron Black from ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'': He is an Old Western style gunslinger from another dimension who also use a Tarkatan blade sword.
115* ''VideoGame/RedSteel2''. The main character is a [[BadassLongcoat duster-wearin']], [[CoolSword sword-swingin']], pistol-packin' hombre with a ''very'' nice hat. He is in fact from an entire TRIBE of them, the Kusagari. By contrast, the villain Shinjiro styles himself as a ninja and carries a semi-automatic.
116* ''VideoGame/RisingZanTheSamuraiGunman'' stars a gunslinger who was trained by and subsequently became a samurai.
117* Gemini Sunrise from ''VideoGame/SakuraWars: [[VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove So Long, My Love]]'' is a Texas cowgirl — right down to having a super-effective horse and a Colt Peacemaker on her belt. She also carries a katana, and was trained by an exiled samurai.
118* The appropriately named ''VideoGame/SamuraiWestern'', starring a samurai traveling the old west trying to find his brother.
119* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsPdiAz1Y-U This]] GameMod for ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'', replacing Wolf with [[Characters/ToyStoryMainToyCharacters Sheriff Woody]] from ''Franchise/ToyStory'' of all people.
120* Jack in ''VideoGame/WildArms1'' has more than a bit of this--he wears a classic Western [[BadassLongcoat duster]], jeans, and cowboy boots with a hat to match(in out-of-game art), but is a MasterSwordsman specialising in [[IaijutsuPractitioner Iaido]]. Of course, his past is as something more like a European KnightInShiningArmor, and his current role before being swept up in the plot is more Franchise/IndianaJones than the Man with No Name.
121* In ''VideoGame/YourOnlyMoveIsHustle'', there is a Cowboy character that has a sword that is very much like a katana.
122[[/folder]]
123
124[[folder:Western Animation]]
125* The ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode [[VillainEpisode "Zuko Alone,"]] complete with a ShowdownAtHighNoon. Though Zuko uses ''Chinese''-style swords, the effect is the same.
126* Often utilized in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''; the title character would often take the role of the Lone Stranger who comes to help a town in need. By the fifth season, he takes to using samurai armor, guns, and a motorbike.
127* Kanan Jarus from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' has outright been described as such by the creators, adding that he's as likely to shoot someone with a blaster as he's to use his lightsaber. He lived up to this spectacularly in the Season 1 finale duel against the Inquisitor, utilising SwordAndGun by simultaneously using his lightsaber with [[MixAndMatchWeapon Ezra's blaster-lightsaber]] to keep his opponent off-balance.
128* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' is basically a WholePlotReference to ''The Last Challenge'', with Leo playing the sheriff and the villain playing the punk gunslinger kid who calls him out. To drive the point home, the episode starts with Splinter watching a Western (implied to '''be''' ''The Last Challenge'') and comparing the main character to a "samurai of the Old West".
129* Wielding twin katanas as well as a gun, and being an explosives expert and being a lone ranger type, ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' Wheeljack could well be said to be one of these.
130[[/folder]]
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132[[folder:Real Life]]
133* There is actually a [[RealityIsUnrealistic kernel of truth]] to this concept. The [[UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration end of the samurai era]] and the WildWest occurred at the exact same time. During the 19th century many Japanese chose to emigrate to the American west seeking greater economic opportunity, mostly the [[ParentalFavoritism non-firstborn]] sons of rural farmers, but also no small amount of suddenly jobless samurai. Like most immigrants, over time they adopted some western mannerisms, while maintaining many elements of their original culture. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in that most ended up becoming miners, shopkeepers, or farmers rather than the [[WalkingTheEarth wandering heroes]] this trope implies. Also notable is that this went both ways; it was not an unusual sight to see 19th century samurai wielding the early examples of what we would come to recognise as modern firearms, purchased from their new American and European trading partners.
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