Great Characters: Kikuchiyo (“Seven Samurai”)

One of the great movie roles of all time played by one of the greatest actors of all time: Kikuchiyo from the classic 1954 Japanese film Seven Samurai as played by Toshirô Mifune.

The movie, written by Akira Kurosawa & Shinobu Hashimoto & Hideo Oguni and directed by Kurosawa, has a simple but elegant plot. Per IMDB:

A poor village under attack by bandits recruits seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.

Good guys. Bad guys. Stakes. Conflict. And compelling characters, most notably Kikuchiyo, a samurai only under false pretenses who proves his worth through the connection he forges with the villagers and his ability as a fighter, but there is a playful side to the character as well witness these scenes:

The movie gets a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

It is ranked #14 on the IMDB Top 250 Films list.

And in large part because of Kikuchiyo, a great character.

Who loves Seven Samurai?