Stranger Searching

Stranger Searching (赤毛異人, Akage Ijin) is the sixth episode of ''Samurai Champloo. ''It originally aired July 1, 2004 and aired June 19, 2005 in the US.

Summary
The trio enters into an eating competition with Mugen and Jin's swords on the line. After a mysterious man wins the eating competition, they must find a way to get their swords back and save the mysterious man. Will they succeed? The episode after this is A Risky Racket.

Long Summary
Mugen, Fuu and Jin arrive in Vitonbashi, Edo. A Basket Brigade goes in front of them. The trio see a sign that says a buffet for free, and if they finish first place then they get a price. A registar says that they must pay up in order to participate, and Jin refuses. Mugen takes the swords, and the trio enter the contest.

During the contest, Jin and Mugen are too full and other contestants start to vomit until Fuu and another opponent in strange European clothing are left. Fuu is distracted by a fly, and smashes the fly with her hand. Unfortunately for her, the judges believe Fuu willingly surrenders, and declare the opponent the winner. The winner gets to keep all of the fee, including Mugen and Jin's swords.



Later (with Fuu gaining weight) the opponent finds the trio and introduces himself as Joji Titsingh. Joji asks them to give him a tour around Edo, and in return he will return Jin and Mugen their weapons. Fuu wants to leave to find the samurai that smells of sunflowers, but Jin agrees to give Joji the tour.

While on a tour, a group of samurai ask for Joji (by describing his appearance) to civilians. Later, Joji treats Fuu, Jin and Mugen out to eat, but the group of samurai (or INS agents) barge in the restaurant trying to find the foreigner. Mugen asks Joji if he could have his sword, but Joji disagrees. Mugen gets angry, and the INS agents find them.

Mugen and Jin take down the INS Agents, and escape. Jin asks Joji if he could get his sword back, but Joji tells him he will give the sword back when he sees a play. While watching the play, after break Joji goes and talks to the actor in the play. It turns out that Joji is gay, and that he isn't really Japanese but from a country far away called Holland.

Holland found out his sexual orientation, and treated him like a deviant. Joji went to Japan because he heard Japan accepts men who like other men. The INS Agents arrive to arrest Joji, and Joji is afraid that they will arrest him because of his sexual orientation, but INS Agents revealed they're arresting him because he's a foreigner.

Joji gives Mugen and Jin their swords back, and the duo take on the INS Agents, leading into a brawl in front of the audience. The Basket brigade reveal themselves, and say that Joji can not be harmed since he's the governor of the East India Company. It's also revealed that Joji's true name is Izsaac.

Fuu meets with Izsaac while Mugen and Jin leave, and she reveals that she's trying to find the samurai that smells of sunflowers. Izsaac says that he has not heard of the samurai that smells of sunflowers, but when Fuu shows him a skull with a loop attached to it, Izsaac becomes fearful and whispers to Fuu that she must not show this to anyone. Izsaac tells Fuu to go to Nagasaki, and she will find her answers there before leaving.

Characters

 * Fuu
 * Mugen
 * Jin
 * Joji Titsingh or Izsaac
 * Izumi
 * Ichiemon
 * Father Ingen
 * Sounosuke
 * "Lady" Actor
 * Sukeemon Tanaka
 * Registar
 * INS Agents
 * Basket Brigade