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The Samurai
Shimada Kanbei
Voiced by: Masaki Terasoma (JP), R. Bruce Elliott (EN)
Kanbei is a older samurai who fought in the Great War, though he feels no pride from this. Many of his friends have died in the war. He lives in the shadow of his painful and violent past, rejecting Kirara's plea for help after stating that his heart is dried up. However, he later recants this and joins their cause. He leads the group during their battles and usually plans strategy. He is the first samurai.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: He enjoys cutting through steel beams and giant mechas like they're nothing.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: The original version's physical appearance was never an issue, let alone a sore spot (besides the fact that he had to shave his head, something very against the Bushido code), and Takashi Shimura was cast in the film for
being a skilled and versatile actor more than anything, but the anime decided to make him younger and prettier anyway. - Ambiguously Brown: According to Word of God, he is supposed to have Hispanic features.
- Barehanded Blade Block: He pulls one off with Kikuchiyo's sword. It's slightly justified in that Kikuchiyo's sword is wide enough that Kanbei could hold it with out having to touch the edge of the blade.
- Blade Brake: He pulls off a rather memorable one involving a falling elevator.
- The Chosen One: Kirara's water crystal pointed to him specifically. It was his idea to find six other samurai.
- Graceful Loser: He readily admits defeat to Kyuzo when the other samurai has him on the ropes.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Shichiroji; it doesn't matter which war- they've always got each others backs.
- Knight in Sour Armor: His experiences have made him jaded and cynical, but he nevertheless strives to do the right thing.
- The Leader: He's a Charismatic Type. Whether it's his experience, skill, or heroism, the others all respect him. As Kikuchiyo (sourly) points out, "Everybody loves Kanbei."
- Martial Pacifist: He's fought in and survived way too many battles to find any pleasure in fighting.
- Mistaken for Gay: By Katsushiro, when he introduced Shichiroji to the group. Katsu completely took Kanbei's talk about his "mate" the wrong way.
- He has a short-lived moment with Kyuzo.
Kanbei: I'm in love...with your style, that is. - One-Man Army: One of several (seven, to be exact). He can cut through legions of massive Machine Samurai with ease.
- Passing the Torch: In the end, after understanding Katsushiro has become a successful samurai, he passes his sword onto him.
- Refusal of the Call: At first, he wanted nothing to do with Kirara's mission. However, she is very persistent so he shifts to Resigned to the Call.
- The Stoic: While not quite to Kyuzo's extent, Kambei is nearly always calm and composed, even in dangerous and intense situations. The angriest he ever gets is when he smacks and scolds Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo during a dispute after his rescue.
- The Rival: A downplayed example with Kyuzo. He acknowledges the other samurai's wish to kill him, but he's so world-weary that he couldn't care less.
- Vibroweapon: He's the first to display this skill. According to him, only a true samurai is capable of doing it, and it comes naturally to any true samurai.
Kikuchiyo
Voiced by: Kong Kuwata (JP), Christopher Sabat (EN)
Kikuchiyo is a cyborg with a mechanized exoskeleton. He is often looked upon as a clown or a bother, as he gets angry easily and often causes trouble with his loud noise and clumsy ways. He is accepted as the seventh samurai. He carries the largest of the swords, which also acts as a chainsaw. He is fiercely loyal to Kanbei, and, when given recognition, he returns favors fourfold. He is well liked by the villagers, especially by little Komachi.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: It cuts through walls and thick stone pillars with ease, though in in this case it might have more to do with Kikuchiyo's strength.
- Adaptational Ugliness: A bit of a stretch, considering you can't see his actual face if he has one, but compared to the strapping, nimble, muscular, ruggedly handsome Kikuchiyo of the 1954 film (played by Toshiro Mifune, no less), this one's a bit of a downgrade.
- Animated Armor: A science fiction example of one; mechanized armor instead of enchanted armor.
- Berserk Button: He's not afraid to attack any civilian who dares to underestimate him or insult him. Thankfully, he's often held back by his companions; unfortunately, it also means that when they're not around he has trouble even walking down a street without starting a brawl.
- The Blank: His face is just a metal plate, so he expresses himself in a giant cow-milking Cobra Commander-esque fashion.
- Boisterous Bruiser: His energy and guts make a great contrast with the other, more reserved, samurai.
- Boomerang Bigot: Like his original counterpart, Kikuchiyo has a hatred of farmers despite having been the son of one.
- Chainsaw Good: His sword essentially functions as a chainsaw/jackhammer.
- Destructive Savior: His first scene involved him destroying a shop to catch the thief hiding in it. At least he asked permission from the owner first.
- Died Standing Up: His feet are still firmly planted in place afterwards, even though the rest of him was vaporized.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Cleaves the capital ship in half with an Nobuseri sword, blowing himself up in the process. If Samurai 7 were a "Who can have the most noble and awesome death scene" contest, he'd win.
- Extreme Omnivore: When offered a bowl of rice, he eats some of the rice before shattering the bowl and inhaling the whole thing.
- Fiery Redhead: Has long, ginger hair cascading down from his robotic helmet, and has the personality to match.
- Friend to All Children: When the samurai have some downtime with no enemies to fight, Kiku can often be found playing with the village children. His best friend is definitely Komachi.
- Gender-Blender Name: It's never addressed, but Kikuchiyo is a girl's name.
- Hot-Blooded: He's very passionate and easy to rile up; he not only quickly takes offense when anyone insults him in any way, but he's also very confrontational when his ideals clash with others'. For example, he started angrily berating Kanbei, then tried to outright attack him when he thought that he was initially refusing to help the villagers.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's rude and goes overboard sometimes, but he'll always try to do the right thing.
- Large Ham: Most of his dialogue consists of boisterous yelling, whether he's in a good or a bad mood. He also does a lot of flamboyant and expressive gesturing to often go along with it, which more than makes up for his lack of an actual face.
- Losing Your Head: Twice. The first time is when Kanbei cuts it off so he can handle the hostage crisis himself without Kikuchiyo getting in the way, and the second is when they offer his head to the Nobuseri as part of a plan to infiltrate them. He's a cyborg though, so it doesn't really affect him all that much.
- The Millstone: He starts out as this, but improves over time due to Character Development. He both stops making careless blunders and takes several levels in badass.
- No Indoor Voice: It comes with being a Large Ham; he's just so boisterous that he rarely goes very long without shouting, even in cases where it might not be considered appropriate.
- Plucky Comic Relief: His skills are nothing to brag about in the first part of the series, so most of the time, he's good for a laugh.
- Precocious Crush: He's on the receiving end of one of these from this from Komachi. He even tearfully accepts her proposal to be her husband when she grows up. Daaaw.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: While it's pretty tame by the standards of the trope and some of it is just mildly colorful insults and expressions (see Unusual Euphemism), Kikuchiyo easily has the crudest vocabulary of any of the characters, especially compared to his fellow samurai. In particular, the b-word that technically means "illegitimate child" tends to be one of his main insults of choice.
- Super-Strength: He possesses robotic strength, and even uses it to break himself and a number of prisoners out of a jail cell. He's by far the most physically powerful of the samurai, though the others are much more skilled and dangerous.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He gives an awesome one, similar to his 1954 counterpart, towards both farmers and samurai; calling them both corrupt cowards.
- Token Robot: He's the only of the seven samurai who has a robotic body.
- Took a Level in Badass: After he admits to being a farmer and stops denying a part of himself, he's able to become a true samurai, and he soon begins to distinguish himself in battle. He's even capable of vibrating his blade like the other samurai are.
- Unskilled, but Strong: He doesn't exactly have the same level of competence as the other samurai, but he's easily the most physically powerful of them. It shows during his Heroic Sacrifice when he picks up a sword intended to be held by a Humongous Mecha and cleaves an entire airship in half.
- Unusual Euphemism: "I'm gonna kick you in the gears!"
- Vibroweapon: Notable in that he does it with a massive Nobuseri sword in order to cut the Capital in half.
Okamoto Katsushiro
Voiced by: Romi Park (JP), Sean Michael Teague (EN)
Katsushiro is the youngest and most inexperienced of the samurai. He joins both to help the village and because he wishes to be Kanbei's student, calling him sensei almost from their first meeting. He idolizes the principles of bushido. He grows stronger and more skillful throughout the series, eventually becoming a worthy student of Kanbei; and he also comes to terms with killing enemies, after reacting in shock the first time. He becomes strong enough to deflect the capital's main cannon, and defeated numerous bandits all by himself. He gains emotional strength as well, and understands his true reason for becoming a samurai. He thanks Kirara in the end but doesn't pursue her, and explains to Kanbei that he intends to continue his life on the battlefield. After hearing this, Kanbei gives him his sword as recognition for being his student. Unlike in the original movie, he shows more focus on becoming a samurai and improving his skills (where in the original he was preoccupied with a love affair). He is the fifth samurai.
- Accidental Murder: He accidentally kills Kyuzou with a gun.
- Adaptational Badass: The movie version of Katsushiro was just as innocent and idealistic, but we never got to see him actually fight, or develop as a samurai. Kambei and the others simply took him for granted. This Katsushiro grows and matures as a fighter and a participant in the action, and is taken more seriously as a warrior in training.
- Bodyguard Crush: At first, he vowed to help Kirara because of Bushido, but his motivation soon changes as he develops a crush on her.
- Crush Blush: Just mention Kirara, watch what happens.
- Declaration of Protection: He vows to protect Kirara no matter what.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Kirara rejects Katsushiro's love, and later is shown to have fallen for Kanbei instead, who rejected her for his own reasons.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: His face looks so effeminate you'll have a hard time believing he's actually a guy. His voice doesn't make it any easier.
- Heroic BSoD: He has a brief funk after his first kill, but Kanbei snaps him out of it.
- Honor Before Reason: Taken to extremes; he believes that the code of Bushido is law and subject to no interpretation. It even causes him to have a falling out with Kanbei, though by the end of the series, he grows out of it and becomes just another world-weary warrior like the rest of the samurai.
- Jumped at the Call: He cannot wait to start protecting villagers from bandits.
- Kid Samurai: He's the youngest and he desperately wants to be a samurai, but he's never even seen combat before Kirara's mission. His skills, starting out, are nothing compared to the others.
- Luminescent Blush: When his Crush Blush gets a close up, it gets bigger.
- Nice Guy: Katsushiro is generally a pretty pleasant and kindhearted person, and due in part to his dedication to Bushido, is willing to help people simply because it's the right thing to do, even if he's out of his depth. He's the first samurai to agree to help the villagers because of it.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- When his sword is destroyed in the final battle, he grabs a gun from a fallen guard and shoots an enemy about to kill Kanbei, but also kills Kyuzo, who was hidden from view by the enemy, and naturally was also defending Kanbei.
- He's indirectly responsible for the death of Heihachi, who was laying charges while Katsushiro defended. Katsushiro lost focus in battle and didn't notice a guard who was aiming at Heihachi's unprotected back, and so could not kill him before he opened fire. Heihachi's resulting wounds left him unable to stop a thrown sword that pinned him next to the final charge.
- Rules Lawyer: Count on him to point out even the smallest violations of the code of Bushido. The others are either so pragmatic or so world-weary (or hotheaded, in Kiku's case) that they rarely pay much attention.
- Samurai Ponytail: He wears his hair like a samurai because he really wants to be a samurai.
- These Hands Have Killed: At the end of episode 11, Katushiro goes into shock after killing for the first time. Kanbei has to literally slap him out of his funk.
- Took a Level in Badass: He becomes a formidable samurai by the end.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: His version of Bushido is far more idealistic and benevolent than that of most real samurai. As he experiences the samurai life for himself, his idealism falls away and by the end of the series he picks up a pair of Jade-Colored Glasses."Do I smell like a battlefield now?"
Katayama Gorobei
Voiced by: Tetsu Inada (JP), Bob Carter (EN)
Gorobei is a skilled samurai who has made his living since the wars' end by entertaining people on the city streets. He is also a veteran of the Great War, so he knows Kanbei by reputation. He is very skilled at dodging blows and can pluck arrows and darts from the air. This ability was presumably based of the fact that in the original movie, Gorobei was able to sense (from a few feet outside the door) Katsushiro's waiting to hit him inside the hut. He often makes light of rather serious or dangerous situations. He is also quite smart, in his own unique way. To him, all the world was a stage and the people, merely players. He is the second samurai.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: His original counterpart was pudgy and average looking (like Takashi Shimurai, Seiji Miyaguchi and Daisuke Kato, the original Gorobei, Yoshio Inaba, was cast for talent rather than looks). This guy's more of a hunk.
- Ambiguously Brown: He is supposed to have African features according to Word of God
- Arrow Catch: Done frequently, both as entertainment and during battle.
- The Bet: "Let's make a wager". The first time was "I win: you buy me lunch. You win: I'm dead."
- Black Dude Dies First: He is the first casualty in this retelling, and he is certainly the darkest colored Samurai. His source counterpart still died but it wasn't first. It is Death by Adaptation type II
- Brutal Honesty: When he and Kanbei were discussing how to recruit more samurai, Kikuchiyo asked if they were counting him. Gorobei told him, quite frankly, that they were not.
- Catchphrase: "You've gotta be kidding me." These end up being his last words.
- Combat Sadomasochist: Appears to get turned on twice in the series: once from almost being shot in the forehead by an arrow with minor bleeding, then during a fight with the yakan/Nobuseri when a bullet grazes his cheek, also drawing blood.
- Death by Adaptation: Type II. In the original film, Heihachi was the first to die, followed by Gorobei. Since this Heihachi's technical skills were needed for the final battle, their deaths were switched around.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He blocks a massive bullet that would have killed, or at least seriously wounded the other samurai, but doing so left him open, which allowed another bullet to hit the house right behind him and explode, which killed him.
- Nice Guy: A little brutal honesty about Kikuchiyo's abilities aside, he's one of the nicest samurai. And even then he regards Kikuchiyo as a teammate much earlier than his 1954 counterpart and cared for him when he appeared to be lost in an early episode.
- Off Hand Back Hand: Another move he's fond of, although with more, you know, stabbing.
Shichiroji
Voiced by: Tohru Kusano (JP), Duncan Brannan (EN)
Shichiroji initially fought side by side in the Great War with Kanbei, and is often referred to as "Kanbei's old wife." ("Mate" in the English series) He temporarily leaves behind his successful post-war business at the Firefly Inn, and with it, his beautiful girlfriend/fiance, to join Kanbei in battle once again. He has a prosthetic left hand which has a grappling hook capability with his index finger. In combat he uses a type of spear; the only samurai not using a sword. This is probably a reference to his using a spear mainly during the final battle in the original movie (though normally he carried a sword). His girlfriend, Yukino, has nicknamed him Momotaro, from the traditional Japanese tale, because she found him, badly injured after a battle, floating down a river inside a capsule reminiscent of a peach. He is the fourth samurai.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Compare this guy to the short, chubby, baby-faced, partially bald Shichiroji from the original film (Like Takashi Shimurai, Seiji Miyaguchi and Yoshio Inaba, Daisuke Kato was cast for talent rather than looks).
- Artificial Limbs: He has an armor plated arm that shoots grappling hooks from the fingers.
- Ascended Extra: Has a bigger role than the original Shichiroji.
- Dance Battler: While he doesn't take this trope to the same levels as some other examples,one can definitely see the influence, as he spins about and somersaults more than the others.
- Embarrassing Nickname: He presumably doesn't mind his girlfriend calling him "Momotaro," but he's less pleased when Kikuchiyo and Komachi start teasing him with it.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: His cybernetic arm/hand can fire a grabbling hook.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Kanbei; despite the fact that he has a fiance and a successful business, he joins Kanbei without even being asked. Before the start of the series and the gathering of the other samurai, it's clear that the only friend Kanbei still had was Shichiroji.Shichiroji: "I'll be at your side."
Kanbei: "There's no reward or fame, only a bloody war. Are you sure?"
Shichiroji: "Yes."
Kanbei: "This time, we may meet our deaths."
Shichiroji: (smiles softly) - Retired Badass: He fought alongside Kanbei in the last war but had been living as an inn keeper since. Then Kanbei showed up and he took up a spear again.
- Retirony: He joins up with the group for one last battle with his old friend and even waves good bye to his girlfriend/fiance. Kirara even has the nerve to tell his fiance that "Momotaro"note always comes back with loads of treasure. Inverted. Out of the seven samurai, he is one of the three survivors.
Hayashida Heihachi
Voiced by: Junji Inukai (JP), Greg Ayres (EN)
Heihachi is a genial samurai who wishes to avoid fighting as much as possible and prefers to eat rice instead. During the Great War, he took a position as a combat engineer, which kept him off the front lines but also used his mechanical skills. He is discovered chopping wood in exchange for food or devices that interest him. He is most helpful within the group as their mechanic, and orchestrates the construction of medieval-type weapons. However, he harbors a deep hatred for traitors. Within the series, he talks about the old tradition of the "seven rice kami" inside every grain of rice. He is the third samurai.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The original Heihachi cheerfully admits to Gorobei that he couldn't kill all his enemies at once so he ran away from some of them, and he doesn't seem too worked up over it. The Heihachi of Samurai Seven is constantly torn up over abandoning his comrades and has a self hatred over his own past.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Minoru Chiaki was cute, but this Heihachi is beautiful.
- Afraid of Blood: Implied to fear blood considering his reactions to it.
- The Atoner: During the war, he sold his comrades out, leading to their deaths. Ever since, he's tried to live his life as they would so as to give their deaths meaning.
- Bamboo Technology: His massive battleship-piercing crossbow.
- Berserk Button: Traitors be warned. Though it can be missed at first as his is more of a Tranquil Fury, when one of the farmers betrays the samurai Heihachi is by far the strongest proponent of just stabbing him and being done with it.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the original Seven Samurai, Heihachi is killed dragging Rikichi to safety by being shot in the back and is the first samurai to die. Here he is pinned near one of his explosives, and he detonates it as part of a Heroic Sacrifice.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: He is badly wounded and pinned to a wall when setting charges that would cause significant damage to the Capital and greatly limit the damage to Kanna Village when the ship crashed. Rather than let Katsushiro waste precious time helping him escape, he hits the detonator, despite the fact that he was right next to one of the charges. His last words as the part of the ship he's on falls to the ground are to declare that his spirit will be one of the seven gods in the rice of Kanna Village.
- Early-Bird Cameo: He is seen passing by Gorobei and Rikichi, smiling at their antics an episode before he is properly introduced.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Again, the massive battleship-piercing crossbow.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He detonates the charges that are right next to him rather than let Katsushiro risk himself in retrieving him.
- Nice Guy: Unless you push his Berserk Button, he's generally a very friendly and laid-back young man who prefers to live a peaceful and humble lifestyle, rather than as a typical samurai, since he generally dislikes the fighting and bloodshed associated with it.
- Redemption Equals Death: He sees his death as redemption for a sin he committed in the past. He's lived his life trying to make the deaths of the comrades he betrayed mean something, and he hopes to one day have a death worthy of them. He does.
- Regretful Traitor: His hatred of traitors stems from his own self-hatred and guilt over his betrayal which lead to the deaths of his comrades. The reason he's so willing to execute a traitor is because he's afraid that they'll only be as dependable as he was.
- Stepford Smiler: Underneath that easy going perma-grin, he has some serious self-loathing stemming from the fact that he betrayed his comrades and got them all killed.
- Teru-Teru Bōzu: He has one dangling off the hilt of his sword. It often changes expressions to match his own.
- Tranquil Fury: When he discovers that someone's a traitor, he pretty much never gets openly aggressive or even raises his voice, but he becomes a lot more serious, starts to wear a Death Glare by default, and is the least sympathetic of any of the samurai towards them, which is all quite a sharp contrast from his usual demeanor. It's especially noticeable in Manzo's case, where he was so furious that he was willing to stab him on the spot at the slightest additional provocation.
Kyuzo
Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (JP), Sonny Strait (EN)
Kyuzo is originally a nearly silent, mysterious bodyguard for Ayamaro. In that role, he fights with Kanbei, and he later joins the group with the stated intent of saving Kanbei's life so that he can later fight Kanbei to the death. Kyuzo is an incredibly skilled fighter, wielding double blades that fit into one sheath on his back. He is the sixth samurai.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: The original Kyuzo was rather bony and horse faced (Like Takashi Shimurai, Yoshio Inaba and Daisuke Kato, Seiji Miyaguchi was cast for talent rather than looks). This Kyuzo is one of the series' Bishōnen.
- Adaptational Jerkass: This Kyuzo is a committed Blood Knight, unlike his inspiration. He makes it his mission to personally kill Kanbei one day.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Yet another samurai who enjoys cutting steel and mechas.
- Badass Longcoat: He has a nice long red coat that he hardly ever takes off.
- Baritone of Strength: Kyuzo has a deep monotone and is a true One-Man Army.
- Bring My Red Jacket: Remember that nice red coat he never takes off? The color becomes necessary eventually.
- Determinator: Kyuzo is willing to destroy as many enemies as necessary just so he'll be around for the one duel he actually wants to fight. After destroying countless mecha and getting his arm severely damaged, he responds that he can still fight with the other one.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: He's shot by the bandit chief in the original story. He is accidentally shot by Katsushiro here.
- Does Not Like Guns: Though its never stated outright, the contempt he shows for his old partner, who went off the deep end and started using a gun, is suggestive. Ironically, he himself died from being shot by an ally using a gun.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: In comparison to the deaths of Gorobei, Heihachi, and Kikuchiyo, Kyuzo dies because Katsushiro didn't check his field of fire and accidentally gunned him down.
- Dual Wielding: Unlike the other samurai, he uses two swords instead of one.
- Heel–Face Turn: He began the series working for Ukyo's father before switching sides. It's actually something of a Berserk Button for many enemies, and several of them want to kill him specifically because of his betrayal.
- Implausible Fencing Powers: He stands out among all the rest. Whereas all the others appear forceful and almost graceless when cutting through the giant Nobuseri, as if they're doing something that, though not difficult, require a great deal of power, Kyuzo is presented as extremely graceful in battle. Especially earlier in the series, he just jumps all over the Nobuseris' bodies, waving his sword, and body parts just fall off. He is witnessed more than once gracefully soaring along the air, slicing through their building sized swords HORIZONTALLY.
- Major Injury Underreaction: His only reply to having a mangled and crippled right arm is that he can still use his left arm competently.
- One-Man Army: The biggest one of them all: While Kanbei and Shichiroji fought together, Kyuzo fought alone and still did quite well for himself.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: The whole reason he joined up in the first place is to kill Kanbei when the war was over. He and Kanbei fought early in the series and Kanbei lost, but he refused to continue the battle because he had already sworn to defend the village and he would be unable to fulfill that vow if he died. Kyuzo, realizing that the mission would be dangerous and possibly even suicidal, decided to come along and make sure Kanbei survived.
- Perpetual Frowner: Similar to Kanbei, he's never happy.
- The Quiet One: On the rare occasion that he speaks, he tends to use only 2-3 words at a time.
- The Rival: Kanbei; his stated motivation is finishing their rivalry after the battle with the bandits.
- The Stoic: He rarely deviates from his standard frown.
- Token Evil Teammate: He's not cruel or greedy like the Nobuseri or the other samurai employed by merchants, but he's coldly pragmatic and utterly ruthless, he has no qualms about killing his former comrades. Then there's the fact that he only joined up to kill Kanbei. The above causes the others to be wary of him at first, but his extreme badassery and surprising altruism win their respect.
- Worthy Opponent: The only reason ever stated for him joining up is Kanbei. No one kills Kanbei but him (though he's also willing to defend others). Though Kanbei greatly respects Kyuzo's skills, he's too jaded to care about the rivalry.
Villagers
Kirara Mikumari
Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (JP), Colleen Clinkenbeard (EN)
Kirara is a Mikumari (water maiden, a village priestess) of Kanna. She decides to find the samurai that will defend her village, while admitting that she also wanted to see the outside world. She possesses a dowsing crystal on a necklace which allows her to detect the flow of groundwater and to read others' hearts.
- The Chooser of the One: She used her dowsing crystal to find the ideal samurai. It led her to Kanbei.
- The Herald: She is of the Damsel Errant subtype. She is tasked by the village elder with finding a Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits and bringing them back to her village to fight off bandits.
- Miko: She is a water priestess .
- Neutral Female: Says as much herself after having Katsushiro kill a bandit for her. She is also told as much by Kanbei, though he is speaking more of the farmers in general. It's justified as she's a priestess, not a warrior.
- Plucky Girl: While acknowledging danger, she never lets it get her down.
- Supporting Protagonist: While the samurai are the heroes, Kirara is arguably the main focus of the show.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She gives one out towards Katsushiro in The Rescue, telling him that he doesn't understand what she and the other village women went through.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: First, notice the Hime Cut. Second, notice how unfailingly polite she is to the Jerkass samurai who eat her village's rice but refuse to protect it. Third, notice her unfailing bravery and determination to recruit the seven samurai in the face of danger.
Komachi Mikumari
Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō (JP), Luci Christian (EN)
Komachi is Kirara's little sister, who follows along with her and Rikichi to see the city as well as help locate the samurai. She likes the boisterous Kikuchiyo.
- Affectionate Nickname: Kikuchiyo calls her "sprout" a lot.
- Cute, but Cacophonic: She's a very sweet girl, but she's very loud.
- Precocious Crush: Has one on Kikuchiyo. She eventually admits this to him, and says they should get married when she grows up. He couldn't have been happier.
- Token Mini-Moe: Kiara's adorable little sister, who follows her and little else.
Rikichi
Voiced by: Tadahisa Saizen (JP), J. Michael Tatum (EN)
Rikichi is a peasant of Kanna, who travels with Kirara to locate the samurai. He can be often rash because of his hatred for the bandits. He blames himself for the loss of his wife, Sanae, who has given herself up to the bandits to save the village. Kanbei promises to rescue Sanae, and Rikichi is eventually reunited with her.
- Took a Level in Badass: Starts out as a sniveling farmer unable even to protect his rice from a street thief. By the end he is a skilled fighter, though not as good as the samurai of course.
Manzo
Voiced by: Naoki Makishima (JP), Mark Stoddard (EN)
Shino's father, who forces her to cut her hair so the samurai don't think of taking her away from him.
- Dirty Coward: He's pretty much always the first of the villagers to start spinelessly sucking up to the bandits to avoid risking any type of retribution from them, to the point he was willing to sell out the samurai the others had hired to help them fight back. He gets a little better after he's outed and threatened, but ultimately spared, but he never really grows out of it either; he doesn't attempt anything like that again, but he remains pretty much useless in battle, hiding and cowering at every opportunity.
- Demoted to Extra: Since Shino gets much less focus than in Seven Samurai, so does Manzo.
- Gonk: The original Manzo, who was played by Kamatari Fujiwara, was no oil painting, but the anime manages to make him even uglier.
- Knight Templar Parent: He goes out of his way to make sure Shino is safe, but unfortunately, he goes to some really extreme lengths to do so, like, as mentioned above, forcing her to cut off her hair so that a samurai doesn't run off with her. He's also so convinced that he knows what's best for her that he treats her in a way that can actually come off as somewhat abusive, like slapping her when she objects to his plan of selling out the samurai to the bandits.
Yohei
Voiced by: Kenichi Mochizuki (JP), Grant James (EN)
- Demoted to Extra: He had a more prominent role in the film, where he was one of the four villagers who went out to search for the samurai in the first place, and was Kikuchiyo's favourite villager to pick on. In the anime, he pretty much gets just a scene or two.
- Spared by the Adaptation: The original Yohei was killed thanks to a bandit counterattack that was accidentally incited by Kikuchiyo (who was jealous of the attention that Kyuzo was getting from Kambei and Katsushiro). Here he appears to survive all the battles.
Okara
Komachi's friend.
- Deadpan Snarker: She delivers quite a bit of sass in most of her appearances along with a little snicker.
Other Characters
Masamune
Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura (JP), Brice Armstrong (EN)
Masamune is Kikuchiyo's mechanic and veteran of the Great War. As the series progresses, he befriends Kambei and the other samurai while they stayed in Kogakyo.
- Cool Old Guy: He's a friend of Kikuchiyo and assists the group by helping the escape from the city without the government catching them.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Masamune is the one who handles all of Kikuchiyo's repairs.
Ukyo
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (JP), Anthony Bowling (EN)
Ukyo is the adopted heir to Ayamaro. His shielded and pampered lifestyle leaves him with a self-centered yet playful attitude on life, which is really a cover for a rather calculating, manipulative and cruel personality.
- Agent Peacock: Of The Chessmaster variety. He's flamboyant, hammy and effeminite. But, Ukyo's a manipulative mastermind who plays everyone in the final third of the series.
- Artificial Human: He was created as a clone of the Emperor.
- Berserk Button: He hates machine samurai. It's not until much later that it's revealed this is because he grew up as a peasant and was oppressed by them like all the other peasants.
- Big Bad: Ukyo is the primary adversary of the heroes in the first arc while trying to capture Kirara and kill the heroic samurai. He also later kills his father to become Emperor and uses the mobile Capital to attack Kanna with his forces in the final arc.
- Broken Aesop: He is an In-universe example. He was raised a peasant then adopted by a merchant as a means of teaching him sympathy for them and the rest of the social classes, and possibly to drill into him some semblance of fiscal discipline. It might have worked a little better if his adoptive father was rather less well-to-do, and/or treated him like a son rather than a white elephant whose most minor distress would cause a major diplomatic incident; in the end, his upbringing left him greedy, cunning, and utterly amoral.
- The Chessmaster: He pulls everybody's strings in the final arc.
- The Dandy: As a merchant's son and later emperor, he enjoys being a fashionable dresser.
- Dirty Coward: Ukyo is not a fighter and when a battle comes to him, he's prone to freaking out in sheer terror.
- Evil Counterpart: To Kikuchiyo. Both are from peasant backgrounds and have artificially created bodies (Kikuchiyo's a robot, while, Ukyo is a clone of the Emperor). Kikuchiyo, however, eventually comes to terms with his origins and defends others like a true samurai, but Ukyo only becomes more depraved, using his power to satisfy his own desires.
- Evil Genius: Despite being a total douchebag, Ukyo shows his intellect by answering the Emperor's questions over three days, many of which involve country-governing level economic and political policies, with little difficulty.
- Evil Plan: At first, he wanted to add Kirara to his paid harem and abduct her if necessary. When she resisted, it became an obsession and he sent assassins after her and her samurai. Later, he has bigger goals in mind.
- Faux Affably Evil: Ukyo is a funny, charming and affable fellow well liked by his Paid Harem. This is nothing but a mask for a ruthless, calculating and cruel personality who views said harem as nothing more than replaceable objects and human life as expendable for his goals.
- Knight of Cerebus: His ascension to the throne marks a darker turn for the series.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Ukyo has no combat training and the few times he does have to fire a gun, he's scared for his life. What makes him a threat to the heroes are his devious plots to take the country and turn it into a hellscape while he whimsically takes what he pleases and the massive army he commands when becoming Emperor.
- Sissy Villain: Given the creepy goals, camp mannerisms and avoidance of combat, Ukyo qualifies.
- The Sociopath: While he initially seems very charming and fairly harmless, Ukyo reveals more and more over the course of the series that he has a callous disregard for virtually everyone else's life but his own. Among other examples, he is revealed to have killed the Imperial Envoy to set up a complex plan that would get his adoptive father removed from his position, views his own harem as replaceable objects, and by the same toke, sees Kirara as a treasure to add to his collection against her will, rather than a person entitled to make her own choice.
- Stalker with a Crush: Upon seeing Kirara in his vehicle, he declares that he must have her.
- Villain with Good Publicity: He is so good at winning the people over and demonizing his predecessor that, when Kiku says he wants to ram his sword through "the emperor's chest" another group of samurai laugh and think he means the old emperor. Kiku couldn't possibly mean their sympathetic and benevolent new emperor.
- Villainous Breakdown: When the heroes attack him in his flying fortress he completely loses his cool and never regains his former demeanor. Following this he is killed shortly after.
- Villainous Crush: Other than his lust for power, his desire for Kirara is what essentially drives him mad.
Tessai
Voiced by: Michihiro Ikemizu (JP), Robert McCollum (EN)
Tessai is a samurai employed by Ukyo as a body guard. Throughout most of the series, he plays the role of the frustrated sycophant to Ukyo; enduring near constant verbal abuse. However, he is eventually revealed to be a competent warrior, who's martial skills may even be greater than the heroes. His subservience to Ukyo comes from a sense of personal honor in loyalty to his retainer, however undeserving that retainer might be.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Is basically treated like dirt by his master Ukyo.
- Extreme Doormat: Though he could easily slice up Ukyo if he felt like it, he doesn't despite being treated like dirt.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: His reason for being a Beleaguered Assistant, is that it is expected of him, as a samurai, to endure being treated like dirt by his master.
- Noble Top Enforcer: He shows some remorse for the victims of Ukyo's rampage, such as sparing Ukyo's father when sent to assassinate him.
Ayamaro
Voiced by: Seiji Sasaki (JP), Barry Yandell (EN)
Ayamaro is the Magistrate to Kogakyo and adopted father of Ukyo. He raised Ukyo and taught him in the ways of commerce. When his samurai hunt for the murderer of the Imperial Envoy turn up unsuccessful, he is stripped of his title which is given to Ukyo. Ayamaro was seen in the last episode, living among the Shikimoribito (Guardians).
- Heel–Face Turn: After he's stripped of his title, he gradually becomes content living as a commoner, and simultaneously becomes more and more disturbed by Ukyo's actions after he usurps the emperor and start abusing his position even more than he ever did.
Hyogo
Voiced by: Takeshi Kusao (JP), Jerry Jewell (EN)
Hyogo is one of Ayamaro's samurai subbordinates. Often partnered with Kyuzo before the latter's Heel–Face Turn, he is determined to carry out the job.
- You Fool!: His last words upon being struck down by Kyuzo is to say to him "You're a hopeless fool."
Amenushi
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (JP), Anthony Bowling (EN)
The Emperor and commander of the Nobuseri.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: The Amenushi is obsessed on having the perfect heir and his intellectual equal be his successor. While testing Ukyo, not only does his youngest son pass, he takes the time to disconnect the Emperor's life-support, killing the Amenushi to take power himself.
- Dark Lord on Life Support: The Emperor is completely reliant on technological aids to stay alive.
- Dirty Old Man: The Emperor keeps a whole harem of women to impregnate with his clones, some looking as young as teens.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He is set up to be the Big Bad of the series, but he is killed off by Ukyo who usurps the role from him.
- Evil Overlord: A former warlord who took over the country and now uses mechanical bandits to steal from his own villages to keep them too weak to ever turn on him.
- Faux Affably Evil: He is an absolutely ruthless warlord, but at the same time is perfectly capable of acting like a kindly uncle or grandfather.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Despite being far from the battle, the Nobuseri are acting under his orders to oppress not just Kanna but all of the villages in the nation.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: He reveals himself to be Ukyo's biological father.
- Offing the Offspring: Whenever a clone of his fails his inquiry, he has them killed.
- Orcus on His Throne: He's responsible for the onslaught on Nobuseri plaguing many villages including Kanna but the Amenushi isn't interested in them in particular, managing a system oppressing the whole nation and never sets out to deal with them his own personal forces.
- The Warlord: Presumably during the Great War, given his faction won to place him on the throne as Emperor and he explicitly took power through battle.
