Lone Wolf and Cub (1973)
Ogami Itto is a master swordsman who holds a position of high power in the Tokugawa Shogunate. Highly trusted by the Shogun, he serves as the official decapitator, assisting lords and samurai who have been ordered by the Shogun to commit seppuku. One day, Itto’s wife and members of his household are brutally murdered by a clan seeking to avenge their lord’s execution, which had been carried out by Itto. In the wake of the attack, two items are left in Itto’s home: his unhurt infant son, Daigoro, and a symbol meant to signify Itto’s betrayal of the Shogun. Disgraced by the false symbol, Itto is labeled a traitor and forced to forfeit his position. He becomes a ronin, wandering the country with his son, searching for the men who killed his wife, seeking to clear his name and avenge her death.
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Episode 1 - My Son and My Sword for Hire
Release Date: 1973-04-08A noblewoman who was forced into prostitution after her fiancé and family were murdered at their wedding, asks Itto to kill the man responsible, a spurned former suitor.
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Episode 2 - Birds Have Wings, Beast Have Fangs / Fangs of the Wolf
Release Date: 1973-04-15Ogami Itto and his young son Daigoro arrive in a town known for its hot springs, but the entire village has been taken over by a gang of murderous bounty hunters.
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Episode 3 - Ikkou-Bashi Bridge
Release Date: 1973-04-22Poisoned after a surprise attack, Ogami must face a deadly gauntlet of Yagyu assassins in order to fulfill a promise made to a dying man who saved Daigoro.
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Episode 4 - The Assassin’s Road / Highway of Assassins
Release Date: 1973-04-29A meeting on the Assassin’s Road causes Itto to remember the events leading up to his wife’s murder, and why he chose to bring his son with him on his mission of vengeance.
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Episode 5 - Daigoro and Omatsu / The Lowly Maid
Release Date: 1973-05-06Multiple stories interweave as Daigoro becomes lost while seeking medicine for his father and is befriended by a young woman who is being sold into service by a loan shark.
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Episode 6 - Deflowering / Amya and Anema
Release Date: 1973-05-13When his father is delayed for multiple days after an assassination goes awry, a desperate Daigoro wanders off and falls into the hands of a ruthless gang of criminals.
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Episode 7 - The Guns of Sakai / The Sakai Rifle
Release Date: 1973-05-20Itto is hired to assassinate a gunsmith who has reportedly developed a repeating rifle, a weapon that could completely destabilize the balance of power in Japan.
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Episode 8 - The Shield and The Castle / The Castle Wall Attack
Release Date: 1973-05-27Itto accepts an assignment to stop a shipment of gold, assassinate a government official, kill an entire team of covert agents and prevent a small clan from being framed.
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Episode 9 - The Endless Six Paths / Six Roads to Infinity
Release Date: 1973-06-03As Lord Yagyu prepares to send his last and strongest son, Gunbei, to kill Itto Ogami, the events of Gunbei and Itto's previous duel are revealed.
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Episode 10 - Baby Cart on The River Styx
Release Date: 1973-06-10A scheming magistrate's plan places Itto in the middle of a war between two Yakuza families, one of which is lead by the daughter of the leader of the other.
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Episode 11 - The Deer Hunters
Release Date: 1973-06-17While the Yagyu set a trap for Itto, a group of con artists pose as Lone Wolf and Cub and a disgraced Samurai takes on the role of Ogami.
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Episode 12 - Ochiyo's Boat
Release Date: 1973-06-24As Itto waits for an opportunity to assassinate a sadistic Lord, he and Daigoro observe the life of a young boat woman who must sell herself to support the man she loves.
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Episode 13 - The Mysterious Pickpocket / No Betrayal
Release Date: 1973-07-01While Itto tracks down the killers of a young woman's entire family, Daigoro becomes caught up in a policeman's hunt for a notorious female pickpocket.
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Episode 14 - North to South, West to East
Release Date: 1973-07-08Itto accepts a job that will protect the location of a secret gold mine, but the task is complicated when a rival swordsman takes Itto's target's son hostage.
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Episode 15 - The Night of The Fang
Release Date: 1973-07-15Itto must deal with a well-wishing doctor and a group of shadow ninja when he's tasked with killing a group of assassins who're rgeting the Shogun's lover.
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Episode 16 - Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger
Release Date: 1973-07-22Itto returns to a spot on the banks of the Shinobu River where he once executed the lord of a Clan, and faces a samurai he defeated in a duel four years earlier.
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Episode 17 - Asaemon the Beheader / Executioner Asaemon
Release Date: 1973-07-29Government officials convince Asaemon the Beheader, one of the few swordsmen in Japan with a level of skill close to Ogami’s, to kill Itto in combat.
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Episode 18 - A Meager, Peaceful Life / Half Mat, One Mat, Two And A Half Go Of Rice
Release Date: 1973-08-05Itto meets Sakon Shino, a beggar samurai who has given up killing for a life as a street performer. Shino urges Itto to give up his assassin life, for the sake of his son.
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Episode 19 - The 8 Gate Attack Formation
Release Date: 1973-08-12The Lone Wolf and Cub have their work cut out for them when a seemingly simple job turns into a deadly game of lies and intrigue.
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Episode 20 - The Chrysanthemum Inn
Release Date: 1973-08-19The Lone Wolf and Cub rescue a woman who has sold herself into prostitution in order to stage her revenge on her murdered brother’s evil fiancé.
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Episode 21 - Mercenary Swordsmen / The Crossing Guard
Release Date: 1973-08-26Desperate to keep their clan from being dissolved, the family of a murdered Lord fake the real killer’s murder and ask Itto to verify their false claim.
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Episode 22 - Bekinoji's Tragedy
Release Date: 1973-09-02Assassins from the Kurokuwa clan stage a non-stop series of attacks that lasts for days, slowly steering an exhausted Lone Wolf and Cub into a deadly trap.
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Episode 23 - Thread of Tears
Release Date: 1973-09-09Itto is hired to kill a samurai who has allegedly turned his men against Lord Norikatsu, but the true reasons turn out to be far more complex and deceptive.
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Episode 24 - Concealed Letter of The Yagyu / The Yagyu Letter
Release Date: 1973-09-16Ogami mysteriously joins a group of “the unclothed”, men with the unusual job of carrying people and baggage across a river where bridges and ferries are forbidden.
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Episode 25 - Daigoro's Song
Release Date: 1973-09-23After being thrown off a cliff during a battle with the Yagyu assassins, Daigoro searches for his now missing father while avoiding his family’s many enemies.
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Episode 26 - Drifting Shadow
Release Date: 1973-09-30Itto tries to follow the trail left by his missing son, Daigoro, while fighting off the forces of Lord Retsudo and his Yagyu assassins.