I saw "The Samurai" as a teenager when it first hit television in Sydney in 1964. I took an instant liking to the series, even though episodes were roughly edited (especially the sword battles and Ninja trickery), poorly dubbed and in poor condition technically. Merely reversing the footage of actors leaping off walls, trees and roofs served to show the characters performing amazing leaps - "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" it wasn't!
Here was a highly entertaining series was overflowing with frenetic action, crash zooms, cheesy melodrama, wobbly fill light from reflector boards waving in the wind and great authentic Japanese locations, as Shintaro Akikusa (Koichi Ose) and Tombei The Mist (Fuyukichi Maki) battled the evil Koga and Fuma Ninjas with magic and wondrous feats of Samurai derring-do. The series was an exotic and exciting departure from the usual children's time slot programming of the day and we young and impressionable fans loved every minute of it! :)
In Australia, the series rapidly became a major hit. Everywhere could be seen children in dressing gowns, and other robes made from curtains and sheets, battling each other with sticks and fake star knives. Some youthful fans, more enterprising than most, actually cut and sharpened star knives from thin sheet steel, so producing truly dangerous weapons that were flung happily about school playgrounds, before being confiscated and the makers severely reprimanded by startled teachers(!)
At the height of the series' popularity, Koichi Ose came to Sydney and Melbourne in late 1965 to perform in a series of stage live shows based on the series. I remember seeing his arrival at Sydney Airport on the nightly television news and it was obvious that the startled actor was totally overwhelmed and bewildered, as stepping from the plane, he was mobbed by thousands of suitably costumed fans, who screamed with delight and flung star knives about. He was to perform in both States in front of huge crowds in several live shows based on the TV series, where he aptly displayed his genuine skills with the sword and martial arts.
(13th April, 2006) Now it's been several years since Season 1 came out on DVD for we lucky Aussies (Zone 4, pity about the rest of the planet), and we are now up to Season 6! Obviously those teenage fanboys from the far-off sixties are still maintaining their devotions as middle-aged Baby Boomers and gobbling up the seasons as they come out. (Pity the dressing gowns no longer fit, eh!) All I can say is - Keep those DVDs coming! :)
Go Shintaro! Go Tombei!
