"Born Under An Evil Sign, Doomed To Slay His Own Brother, Destined To Be Japan's Greatest Hero!"	Year of Release: 1994 Directed by: Takao Okawara Running Time: Approx. 103 minutes Rating: Not Rated Listing on the A.K.A. Page: YES! Click Here! A Second Opinion: Stomp Tokyo Buy it on VHS at: Amazon.com or Movies Unlimited.com. My Rating:

Prince Osu- Heroic prince who is destined to become the "Champion of the Gods." He battles man and monster alike, up until his final showdown with Sukiomi. He has a magic amulet that causes him to grow extra hair and shoot green beams of light from his eyes! In the middle of the movie he is renamed as, "Yamato Takeru."

Oto- Female warrior who can shoot fireballs from her hands. She dies for Osu but is brought back to help him defeat Sukiomi.

Emperor, Empress, and Osu's Brother- Osu's family. Osu's mother and brother are murdered by the evil Sukinowa, unbeknownst to the Emperor. Of course all the blame is placed on poor Osu.

Sukinowa- Evil shaman who continuously tries to kill Osu. Sukinowa is stabbed with his own dagger after putting said weapon through Osu's neck. After he dies he turns into a huge fang!

The Priestess, Sayu, and Debu- Osu's friends who help and guide him on his journey. The Priestess has a magical feather that wards off "the evil mist," Sayu is a wizard, and Debu is a powerful warrior.

King Kamesu Takeru- Evil tyrant that Osu kills in battle. He gives Osu the name, "Yamato Takeru."

Lava Monster- Nearly invincible humanoid that arises out of a lava pit. It can turn it's appendages into weapons too. Destroyed by Osu's "eye beams."

Sea Monster- An octopus mixed with a squid and the "Creature From the Black Lagoon." It pulls Oto under the ocean waves, thus rendering her...dead.

Sukiomi- An evil god bent on destroying the Earth (because his sister made it). Turns into Orochi but is defeated when Osu turns into a giant robot samurai! Sukiomi is then banished to another universe (again).

This movie is a modern telling of an ancient Japanese tale, originally called, "Yamato Takeru." The movie begins with a narration of how the universe was created (Japanese version of the BIG BANG!). Then it is explained that an evil god tried to destroy the Earth and was banished. Now the "Champion of the Gods" will be born to battle this evil god upon his return. This "Champion of the Gods" turns out to be Osu, the second child of newborn twins. He was taken from his mother by Sukinowa, who then proceeded to drop the newborn from a cliff. Suddenly a huge metal bird rescues the child. Thus begins the tale of "Yamato Takeru."
Osu is raised by a local Priestess since his father did not trust him. Sukinowa has been warning the Emperor that Osu is a demon and will bring great suffering to the Yamato clan. But the Empresss wanted to see her son, so Osu is invited back. During his childhood Osu found a green fetus shaped amulet (it resembles the rune stone Asagi has in Gamera: Guardian of the Universe) that acts like an evil detector and a defensive device. This is discovered when Sukinowa attempts to kill the young prince. Well things start going downhill for the Yamato when Osu settles in. The Empress dies and Osu is accused (actually framed by Sukinowa) of murdering his brother. The Emperor then sends Osu to stop an uprising at a far-off village. Osu departs with his friends (more like bodyguards) [what] Sayu (get it? What say you?) and Debu.
Along the way they pick up Oto with her magic fireball powers, apparently she feels that she is destined to go with Osu and even die for him. The group later arrives at the village and learns that the evil King Kamesu is forcing the villagers to give up their young virgin daughters for a sacrifice (what a waste!). Osu and his friends agree to help the villagers and they sneak into the king's castle. Once they are discovered, a free for all ensues. Sayu and Debu fight and easily hold off the king's troops while Osu fights Kamesu to the death. Up on the roof of the castle, Kamesu receives a sword through the side and ends up falling to his death. Afterwards a race against time begins as Osu and the others run to find Oto who is about to become the sacrifice for the Lava Beast. Oto is saved but how can you defeat a monster that normal weapons won't hurt? You use your "eye beams," that's what! Osu blasts the Lava Beast with his eye beams and destroys it completely and utterly.
As this is all occuring, Sukinowa, is waiting for his master, Sukiomi, to come to Earth. As the story goes on, Osu and Oto have a run-in with a Sea Monster, courteousy of Sukinowa. Oto saves Osu from the beast and forfeits her life. Osu makes it to shore and sees his mother laid out on the sand. Osu picks her up and begins to carry her off, when suddenly, he gets a dagger right through his throat! OUCH! It turns out to be Sukinowa (who else could it be?). In a rage, Osu pulls the dagger from his throat and chucks it at his aggressor, thus mortally wounding the evil shaman. Osu collapses and dies (I guess), but he suddenly awakens in a cave and battles the "bull god." Osu proves himself worthy and is given a special sword, so that he can now kill the evil Sukiomi. At this point, Sukiomi has arrived and is ready for some action. He is greeted in his fortress on Earth by (the recently deceased) Oto and Osu, and a battle immediately begins.
Osu defeats the evil deity at swordplay, but he barely measures up when it comes to a struggle of "eye beams." Sukiomi declares that he is "done playing." and turns into Orochi (the Eight Headed Dragon). Osu and Oto hop aboard a giant metal bird and use a special sacred mirror to blast the monster. Osu is knocked to the ground, makes an astonishing leap up to the dragon's center head, and begins hacking away with his sword. Osu is knocked off the dragon's head but is saved by the metal bird (steered by Oto). To make a long story short, Osu becomes a giant robot samurai, that puts all the Power Ranger machines to shame, and proceeds to chop off all of Orochi's heads. This act defeats the evil Sukiomi and returns him to human form. What happens next comes way out of left field. Sukiomi, instead of being killed, is imprisoned and banished all over again, because and I quote:
"Next time he returns, maybe he'll be a god that brings happiness to the world, gods are like that." Oh well, that's one mistake that'll come back to bite them in the arse!

Bull Statue: "Very soon you shall receive three flashes of light. When that happens, you will become, 'a warrior of the Gods!'"

Sayu: "That's powerful magic. I'll show her!"

Osu: "I think a monster lives in me. Strange things happen to me and I don't know why. It's frightening."

Oto: "If he is an evil god, why not kill him once and for all?"
Voice: "Next time he returns, maybe he'll be a god that brings happiness to the world, gods are like that."