History Awesome / TheLastSamurai

--> '''American ambassador''': "Your Highness, if I may--"
--> '''Emperor''': "So sorry, but you may ''not''."

* Algre's return to Tokyo with Katsumoto and the samurai. Everyone on the streets immediately cleared a path for them and nearly all countrymen bowed deeply. Regardless if this was out of fear or respect, the significance of the samurai cannot be denied.

* Algren's duel against the five ronin. Gets played back in slow motion so you can see how cool he was.
* Nobutada’s HeroicSacrifice. Having already been mortally wounded via a bullet in the retreat, he opts to stay behind so that Katsumoto, Algren and the other Samurai can escape the Imperial Guards. After a final heartfelt goodbye between father and son, he heads back into the fray and begins dropping Imperial Soldiers with his archery skills. After running out of arrows, he draws his swords and charges headlong into a hail of bullets in a valiant last ditch attempt at a TakingYouWithMe. He doesn’t make it, but his death is one that any Samurai would wish for.

* The [[LastStand final charge]] of the samurai. In spite of their valiant effort, the rebels tear through the Imperial force and gallop towards the cannon line. All points to the impending disaster for the loyalist side. [[NearVillainVictory And in the last moment]], they break out [[SuperweaponSurprise the ace up their sleeve]], a weapon not yet tested in Japan: [[MoreDakka Gatling guns]]. No matter their pride, skill at wielding obsolete weapons, or Hollywood on their side, the samurai fall like flies. Battle is over. ('''[[RootingForTheEmpire What?!]]''')
* The scene following said final charge, where the entire Imperial army kneels down out of respect to the fallen samurai with quite apparent expressions of sorrow is awesome in its symbolism and sheer [[{{TearJerker}} heartstring-tugging beauty]].
* The scene where the Japanese officer orders the Gatling guns to ''stop firing'' despite Omura yelling at him to massacre every last samurai is epic as well, if only for the guy having the balls to disobey a direct order from a technical superior, who up until that point had the ''Emperor'' under his influence.

* The first battle against the samurai, where Algren fights off four samurai at once whilst wounded, using an unfamiliar weapon (a Japanese yari). No wonder Katsumoto was impressed. Special emphasis goes to [[ThwartedCoupdDeGrace killing the samurai who was about to execute him]] by stabbing the samurai through the throat with the broken spear.

* The first battle against the samurai, where Algren fights off four samurai at once whilst wounded, using an unfamiliar weapon (a Japanese yari). No wonder Katsumoto was impressed. Special emphasis goes to killing the samurai who was about to execute him by stabbing the samurai through the throat with the broken spear.

* The first battle against the samurai, where Algren fights off four samurai at once whilst wounded, using an unfamiliar weapon(a Japanese yari). No wonder Katsumoto was impressed. Special emphasis goes to killing the samurai who was about to execute him by stabbing the samurai through the throat with the broken spear.

*** Those poor hapless conscripts who got slaughtered en masse? The ones Algren rightly said weren't ready? Come the final battle they are, and they give the samurai a run for their money in a fight. No matter where your sympathies lie, it's pretty much impossible not to cheer for them.

** Being fair, [[PunchClockVillain the guys doing the actual fighting on the imperial side likely don't have any nefarious designs]] - they are simply poor conscripts doing their damnedest to survive in a fight against guys who trained their whole life to slaughter people with a wide variety of weapons. Watching them more than hold their own both with guns and in close combat is pretty awesome.

** Being fair, the guys doing the actual fighting on the imperial side likely don't have any nefarious designs - they are simply poor conscripts doing their damnedest to survive in a fight against guys who trained their whole life to slaughter people with a wide variety of weapons. Watching them more than hold their own both with guns and in close combat is pretty awesome.

** Being fair, the guys doing the actual fighting on the imperial side likely don't have any nefarious designs - they are simply poor conscripts doing their damnedest to survive in a fight against guys who trained their whole life to slaughter people with a wide variety of weapons. Watching more them hold their own both with guns and in close combat is pretty awesome.

* During the final battle, Ujio enters by riding in with the mounted samurai and gets his horse shot out from under him. He executes a perfect dismount/roll and comes back up just ''carving through every enemy in his way''. Later on, he actually gets shot in the stomach, ''pushes a guy away who was trying to help him up'', spits out some blood, and gets to his feet to continue the battle.

* The first battle against the samurai, where Algren fights off four samurai at once whilst wounded, using a FLAG. No wonder Katsumoto was impressed. Special emphasis goes to killing the samurai who was about to execute him by stabbing the samurai through the throat with the broken flag.

* The [[LastStand final charge]] of the samurai.

* During the finale, the Emperor finally grows a pair.

* The first battle against the samurai, where Algren fights off four samurai at once whilst wounded, using a BROKEN FLAG. No wonder Katsumoto was impressed. Special emphasis goes to killing the samurai who was about to execute him by stabbing the samurai through the throat.

* The first battle against the samurai, where Algren fights off four samurai at once whilst wounded, using a BROKEN FLAG. No wonder Katsumoto was impressed.

* First is the scene of the first battle against the samurai, where Algren fights off four samurai at once whilst wounded, using a BROKEN FLAG. No wonder Katsumoto was impressed.
* Hell, the duel in the rain was impressive, too. Algren gets the living snot smacked out of him four times by one of the samurai with a wooden sword ... ''and he keeps ... getting ... back ... up.'' That's actually the moment when the samurai attitude towards him starts to change, and he starts to change as well.
* Next was him fighting to a draw with Ujio, who up until that point ([[{{Badass}} and after]]) was basically undefeatable, including said duel in the rain.
** Case in point, during the final battle, he enters by riding in with the mounted samurai and gets his horse shot out from under him. What's he do? He executes a perfect dismount/roll and comes back up just ''carving through every enemy in his way''. Later on, he actually gets shot in the stomach, ''pushes a guy away who was trying to help him up'', spits out some blood, and just gets to his feet to continue the battle.

** The scene following said final charge, where the entire Imperial army (bar Omura, naturally) all kneel down out of respect to the fallen samurai with quite apparent expressions of sorrow, is incredibly awesome in its symbolism and sheer [[{{TearJerker}} heartstring-tugging beauty]].
*** And the scene where Chekhov's sergeant orders the gatling guns to ''stop firing'' despite Omura yelling at him to massacre every last samurai is epic as well, if only for the guy having the balls to disobey a direct order from a technical superior, who up until that point had the ''Emperor'' under his influence.

* Next was him fighting to a draw with Ujio, who up until that point ([[{{Badass}}]] and after]]) was basically undefeatable, including said duel in the rain.

* Algren fights off four samurai at once whilst wounded and using a BROKEN FLAG, him fighting to a draw with Ujio and his duel against the five ronin. There's one samurai that gets shot entirely through the stomach in the final battle, GETS BACK UP and spits out the blood like nothing's wrong. Damn.
** That was Ujio, the Badass of the samurai.
* Hell, the duel in the rain does that, too. Algren gets the living snot smacked out of him four times by one of the samurai with a wooden sword ... ''and he keeps ... getting ... back ... up.'' That's actually the moment when the samurai attitude towards him starts to change.
* The Emperor finally grows a pair.

** The scene following said final charge, where the entire Imperial army (bar Omura, naturally) all kneel down out of respect to the fallen samurai with quite apparent expressions of sorrow, is incredibly awesome in its symbolism and sheer heartstring-tugging beauty.
*** And the scene where Chekhov's sergeant orders the gatling guns to ''stop firing'' despite Omura yelling at him to massacre every last samurai is epic as well, if only for the guy having the balls to disobey a direct order from a technical superior. Who up until that point had the ''Emperor'' under his influence.

-->(''to a stuttering [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Nomura]])'': "If your shame is too great, I offer you this sword."

** Hell, the duel in the rain does that, too. Algren gets the living snot smacked out of him four times by one of the samurai with a wooden sword ... ''and he keeps ... getting ... back ... up.'' That's actually the moment when the samurai attitude towards him starts to change.