Samurai 7, Vol. 6 - Broken Alliance
Now that the rice crop at Kanna village has been saved from the robotic bandits,Samurai 7begins building to its climax. Not surprisingly, Kambei escapes the executioner's axe at the last minute--without assistance from the rest of the band. To everyone's surprise, Ukyo, the new emperor, frees the women kidnapped from Kanna and allows them to depart. The samurai have good reason to be suspicious of this change of heart: Ukyo is playing bandits, peasants, androninagainst each other, while launching the flying fortress known as the Capitol on a campaign of destruction against Kanna. The final conflict is sure to test the loyalties and martial skills of everyone involved. AsSamurai 7has progressed, it's turned into a fairly straightforwardmechaadventure, and it's more successful as an example of that genre than as an evocation of Akira Kurosawa'sSeven Samurai.  (Rated TV PG, suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, alcohol use)--Charles Solomon