Koza

Koza is a minor character in Samurai Champloo. She appeared in the thirteenth episode Misguided Miscreants (Part 1) and Misguided Miscreants (Part 2).



Biography
Koza was born in the Ryuruku Islands. It is unknown what happened to her father, however Koza mentioned her mother was killed by Mukoro. It is implied that Mukoro and Koza aren't related, and later they met a boy name Mugen.

The trio grew up together, with Koza developing feelings for Mugen. One night, Koza is talking about Mugen for the stars, and Mugen seems to listen. One day, Koza sees Mugen being cornered by officials, and Koza wants to help Mugen, but Mukuro holds her back, and she witnesses Mugen jumping off the cliff.

One day, Koza is playing in the sand when she's noticed by Jin, Fuu and Mugen. Koza is happy to see Mugen again, but they are ambushed by Mukoro. After Mugen convinces Mukoro to let them go, Fuu talks to Koza, and Koza gives Fuu tips on how to go to Nagasaki.

Koza tries talking to Mugen and letting him open up, but Mugen brushes her off and leaves (while lying that he doesn't remember her talking about the stars). Later, Mukoro tells Koza of his plan to get the money from a ship (about 60,000 ryos), and letting Mugen die to prevent loose ends. Koza does not tell Mugen about Mukoro's plan, and witnesses the boat Mugen was on exploding.

In Misguided Miscreants (Part 2) Koza appears in Mugen's flashbacks, and in the present day on the port, Koza asks Jin if he will kill Mukoro to avenge Mugen. Meanwhile, Mukuro and his associate Shiren (the mole he had planted on the government transport ship) are discussing matters in a hidden area that they plan to use until it’s safe to escape, and Mukuro comments on his efforts to hook up Shiren with Koza.

Jin and Koza roam through the nearby village until a group of investigators show up to ask them about the recent robbery, stopping when another individual manages to locate the ship but find the money missing.

Later, Koza meets with Mukuro and Shiren (clearly more interested in Shiren), and as soon as the door closes behind her, Jin shows up to confront Mukuro, killing him in only two strikes. He goes to check on Koza, who snuck out the back of the shed they were inside of and realizing he was manipulated by her.

As the sun sets, Koza and Shiren make their way to the gold’s hiding spot and unexpectedly encounter the still-limping Mugen in their way. Shiren charges forth to attack, but Mugen does away with him instantaneously. He continues to limp towards Koza and eventually past her, and as she begs in desperation for him to kill her, he just ignores her pleas (leaving her alone).

Koza, realizing that Shiren was the last person alive to know where the gold was (he did not tell her the location before he was killed), starts crying after realizing that now she's truly alone. It is unknown what happens to her.

Appearance
Koza is a tan female (about Fuu's age) who has purple hair, and a pink dress. She wore sandals and has bandages wrapped around her feet.

Personality
Koza is a meek and timid girl who can't stand up for herself, and is very submissive. This could be due to being close to Mukoro's abusive rule. However, Koza has been shown to be manipulative, as when Mugen rejected her advances, she immediately used Shiren to get the money. She seems to depend on people a lot to survive, and as a result she can't stand up for herself. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Mugen likes Fuu more than Koza.

Unlike Mugen, who grew confident and left Mukoro out of his own free will, Koza still stays with Mukoro even though he is abusive to her because she needs him to survive.

Trivia

 * It is unlikely that Koza and Mukoro are actually siblings (even though they have the same skin tone) because Koza stated that Mukoro killed her mother, not our mother.
 * It is unclear if Mugen knew Koza's feelings for him.