Gamblers and Gallantry

Gamblers and Gallantry (堕落天使 Daraku Tenshi) is the eleventh episode of the anime series Samurai Champloo. The episode aired in Japan on August 5, 2004 and aired in North America on July 23 2005.

Summary
Fuu, Mugen and Jin are stuck in town on an extremely rainy night trying to find any work they can, with Fuu having already found a job. Jin roams around aimlessly when he comes across a woman on a bridge and gives weirdly nonchalant advice on how she can drown herself. She just laughs it off and walks away as Jin heads off on his way, hitting up a food stand where he was advised there was a part-time job available. The stall owner tells him to man the stall while he leaves, not feeling worried since business will be dead because of the rain.

Jin suddenly gets a customer, and it turns out to be the woman from earlier. He attempts to prepare some eel for her but struggles to even fish one out of the bucket. She comes around back to show him how to prepare eel and helps him serve a sudden rush of customers. Once the rush is over, Jin tries to prepare some eel for the woman before she leaves, and she reveals the sad truth that she’s being forced to work at a brothel to pay off her husband’s gambling debts. The next morning, Jin finds the brothel where the woman is working at and returns the umbrella she left behind, but she’s called to work shortly after. They exchange names just before she heads off, and the woman's name is Shino.

Meanwhile, Mugen is trying to earn money in stag beetle fights, but things aren’t going well for him. At the group’s current residence, Fuu scolds him for quitting a job as a bodyguard, to which Mugen replies with his usual smug dismissiveness. He drags her along to another stag beetle fight where his beetle, which he named Rodriguez manages to win a match, much to Fuu’s surprise.

Jin pays another visit to Shino but is unable to convince her to get out of the brothel, and when the owner spots him and realizes he has no money, his men beat Jin down mercilessly in the street. Jin drags himself back to where the group is staying, and the other two are surprised by his injuries. He requests some money to “buy a woman”, taking the earnings that Mugen received from his earlier win. Mugen and Fuu begin to debate and argue about Jin’s sexuality, eventually arriving at the humorous accusation that Fuu has feelings for Jin. As this is going on, he arrives at the brothel once again, and unlike last time, he is treated as a valued customer when he shows the money and requests Shino’s company.

The two spend most of the night sitting in peace and discussing various topics before having sex. The next morning, Jin suggests the two of them bail and leave town, but Shino’s need to pay off her husband’s gambling debts is keeping her stuck. In a coincidental turn of events, Shino receives a visit from her husband who requests money from her, but when she tries to convince him to earn it on his own, he smacks her down mercilessly. Jin then interrupts and restrains her husband by force before being asked to let him go.

Later that night, Jin once again visits Shino (barring some mild opposition from Fuu), and he once again proposes the two of them leave. He can help Shino get to a shelter that will protect her, but the two of them won’t be able to see each other again. The conversation goes back to the day they met on the bridge, where Shino confirms that she indeed wanted to drown herself. She comes around and finally decides to leave with Jin.

As the two of them sneak out, the owner sees that they are trying to escape together, so he has the brothel staff chase them, and they corner the two escapees. Jin begins to fight them off with his bare hands as Mugen and Fuu arrive in the nick of time to provide additional backup. As Mugen fights the guards, Jin guides Shino to the small boat that will take her to the shelter, but her husband shows up to try and force her to stay. She throws a handful of money in his face and rejects his demands as she gets on the boat, and Jin pushes it off in the direction of the shelter, the two of them sharing one last longing look at each other as the episode ends.

Characters

 * Jin
 * Fuu
 * Mugen
 * Shino
 * Hanjiro (Shino's husband)
 * Bantou (Brothel owner)
 * Cart owner

Trivia

 * This is the first time one of the main characters had sex.
 * It is implied that Shino will be waiting for each other.