Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (2024) s01e01 Episode Script

1
So this is rice.
It's so warm.
The smell of the earth and
grass feels so comfortable.
This fertile feeling satisfies the spirit.
So this is my mother's
Sakuna. Sakuna.
Sakuna.
Sakuna. Sakuna. Sakuna.
Kokorowa?
Why would you wake someone
who's sleeping so comfortably?
Tama, water.
Tama is out.
The Bridge of Heaven just appeared,
and some humans crossed over.
Humans?
What is this place?
I can't see anything in this fog.
Turn back. Turn back!
What?
What is this voice?
Uninvited guests, the Lofty
Realm lies beyond this point.
Humans do not belong there.
Turn back. Turn back!
I finally found you, Katsura.
Ishimaru.
Ishimaru, why won't you leave us alone?
I doubt you realize it since you left
the group, but we're scraping by.
I can't allow those kids or a
traitor like you to walk free.
Th-Then you leave me with no choice.
What are you being so weak-kneed for?
And you call yourself a samurai.
No matter. Let's settle this.
Who are you?
Don't mind me. Carry on
with what you were doing.
You're humans, aren't you?
Newly arrived, and you're
already trying to kill each other?
How amusing.
Go on. Keep going.
That's a nice kimono you've got there.
Even a lowly fellow like you
can recognize its quality?
This fabric is expensive.
It's worthy of Princess Sakuna,
the harvest goddess.
Harvest goddess?
I was wondering what you'd
say, but a goddess?
You stink of sake for just a little kid.
What did you say? I am
a grown adult!
His insolence ruined my buzz.
Humans, beyond this point is the
Lofty Realm, the domain of the gods.
This bridge will vanish eventually.
You should turn back before it does.
The domain of the gods?
Yanato has two worlds?
Look.
Episode 1:
Princess Sakuna of the Lofty Realm
You kicked the human?
Yes, for his insolence.
He got what he deserved.
How many times have I told you?
This is the Lofty Realm, where
the many gods of Yanato reside.
You should act more like a
goddess, Your Highness.
Your Highness!
I know! Shut up.
Sakuna, you've returned.
Yeah. Kokorowa, you missed out on the fun.
There was an insolent human.
When I kicked him, he went
flying like a grain of rice.
Then the Bridge of Heaven really does connect
the Lofty Realm to the Lowly
Realm where humans reside.
The bridge
The Bridge of Heaven suddenly
appears and suddenly vanishes.
Even Lady Kamuhitsuki said
it's difficult to manage.
Lady Kamuhitsuki has arrived!
Lady Kamuhitsuki has arrived!
I am pleased to have my
accession to the throne
celebrated again this year with
such a marvelous banquet.
This is because of all of
you. You have my thanks.
Lady Kamuhitsuki is as big as ever.
She'll hear you.
I shall now announce your
duties for the year.
I was wondering what this meeting was for.
I'm sure I'll get it again.
After all, official duties are assigned
according to our offerings.
Your Highness, show some respect.
I shall now assign the first of the duties.
Princess Sakuna, step forward.
See?
You have my deepest gratitude.
The flavor of your rice offering
was impressive indeed.
I look forward to another
year of service from you.
Duty
Princess Sakuna again?
It'll be her for a while.
She's still got a mountain of rice stored.
This is exhausting.
What is this puppet?
It's my offering this year.
It's perfect for guarding a shrine.
Impressive.
It'll be nice if you're assigned
an official duty someday.
Now let's go.
Apparently, those who received duties
this year receive new rooms.
New rooms?
They're supposed to be pretty
high up. Let's go check it out.
Now this is impressive.
Look! You can see so far into the distance.
And it's huge.
You can roll around all you want
and never bump into anything.
It's certainly impressive that
they have rooms like this.
You can come hang out anytime.
I think I'll drink while
enjoying this scenery.
Tama, bring me sake.
There's something we should discuss first.
We can talk later. Sake comes first.
Your Highness!
Make it quick.
Very well.
The rice you have been offering as tribute
was grown and harvested through
the efforts of your mother
and former harvest goddess Lady Toyohana.
It was grown far away on the Isle
of Demons with Lord Takeribi.
Have you not been offering
this stored rice every year
without doing anything yourself?
So what if I am?
My mother and father's rice belongs to me.
Now that they're missing,
I should do as I see fit.
But the other gods know this.
Some frown upon the way you receive
an official post every year
without breaking a sweat yourself.
You should mend your ways and
be more like your mother
Are you finished?
No, I am not finished! In the first place—
I'm not a dog!
What are you, if not a little round dog?
I may look like one,
but I'm the spirit of the Blade of
Hoshidama that was once your father's.
I look like this since only a part of it
transformed into a spirit
when the blade was broken.
What's wrong?
It seems to have detected intruders.
What?!
What's going on?
Look.
What is that?
That huge puppet is moving!
Oh, how marvelous!
Run!
Impressive. I'd expect no less from
Kokorowa, goddess of inventions.
More importantly, what are
those humans doing here?
I thought you kicked them off the bridge.
One of them.
I told them to turn back.
If Lady Kamuhitsuki finds out I allowed
humans in here, I'll be in big trouble.
What are you going to do?
I'm going to catch them and throw
them into the clouds
before this becomes a big deal.
So violent!
Oh, shut up.
This is no time to worry about that.
I'm gonna fall!
Kinta!
Oh no. Damn that puppet.
It's making the situation worse.
Not your Mantle of Feathers.
You caused a disturbance just
the other day with that.
It's too late for that!
Where did they go?
The rice I offered to Lady
Kamuhitsuki is stored that way.
Hey, you! Wait!
I've never eaten white rice before.
There's still so much of it.
Now you've done it, humans!
Oil
What a fragrant smell.
Storing
Rice
In order to feed people for a year, rice
harvested in the fall must be stored in a
way that preserves its quality. Rice was
once stored in well-ventilated raised
storehouses with rat guards, with efforts
made to protect the rice from mold or rats.
Toyohana's storehouse is protected from
damage by divine energy.
My sincerest apologies!
Princess Sakuna, as daughter
of the war god Takeribi,
I appointed you to an important post.
I can't believe you destroyed both
the offerings and the storehouse.
No, you've got it all wrong.
Lady Kamuhitsuki, this all
started because the humans—
You're a god! Don't try to
blame the humans for this!
Besides, it was your carelessness
that brought them here.
Now then, where are the humans?
Here.
What? Is that a monster?
No. She's a god.
This is Yanato's god?
Indeed. I am Kamuhitsuki,
head goddess of the Lofty Realm.
Identify yourselves, humans.
I am Katsura Uemon-no-jou Takamori.
People call me Tauemon.
I'm Kinta. Are you an empress?
I'm Yui.
I don't want to be here.
Please send us back.
I am Myrthe.
And this is Kaimaru.
Gods and humans must remain
in their separate worlds,
the Lofty Realm and the Lowly Realm.
However, the Bridge of Heaven you crossed
to get here has already vanished.
Does that mean we're
Until the bridge reappears, you shall deal
with the aftermath of this disturbance.
What do you mean?
Princess Sakuna, you're aware of
the Isle of Demons, are you not?
It's the remote island where your parents
met and defeated the evil god Omizuchi.
Yes, but it's said that demons still
reside there beyond even your control.
You will go to this island and cultivate it
while determining why demons are born there.
The Isle of Demons! This is too much.
But it takes days to get there from here.
What? Surely you don't intend to commute.
Naturally, you will live on the
island and fulfill your duty.
Live on the island? What about the capital?
You're right. Until you have fulfilled your
duty, you are banished from the capital.
Banished?!
This is an official decree.
That is all. You may leave.
Please wait, Lady Kamuhitsuki!
This is too much!
Lady Kamuhitsuki!
She disappeared.
So that was a god.
This This is all your fault
What?
Why didn't you turn back when I told you to?
Didn't I say that humans didn't belong here?
We had nowhere to return to.
Our only choice was to move forward.
Let go of me.
Your Highness, this is the audience chamber.
I know.
Kokorowa
I know. Kokorowa, will you come with me?
What?
Yes, that would be best.
You're the goddess of invention.
Having you around would be a huge help.
We're childhood friends, aren't
we? We're best friends, right?
Please!
But
Tama, are you okay with this?
You were so opposed when I said
I was going to the Isle of Demons
to look for my mother.
That's because you were still young.
If I say left, you say right.
You're always disagreeing
with everything I say.
I feel kind of sorry for Sakuna.
But I believe Lady Kamuhitsuki issued
this edict so she'd mend her ways.
After defeating Omizuchi, her mother,
Lady Toyohana, supported herself
by growing rice and hunting on
that island with her father.
Making Her Highness experience the same thing
will make her realize she
is the harvest goddess.
Perhaps that was her intention.
You could be right.
Wait here for a while.
It's pretty big. Is this the ocean?
It's salty. Tastes just
like our world's sea.
The Lofty Realm and Lowly Realm
are two sides of the same coin.
They influence one another.
When there's more famine
or war in the Lowly World,
the harvest is poorer in
the Lofty World as well.
Then something bad may happen.
The Lowly World is in a terrible state
right now due to war and famine.
I see.
Is the Lowly World below us?
Now that you mention it, I wonder.
Is the world of people beyond
the bottom of the sea?
They say there are clouds
in the depths.
But not even gods can go there,
so there's no way to know.
Oh, amazing! Yanato is an incredible place.
The world is a strange place indeed.
So, what's that noisy goddess doing?
Your Highness, it's time.
I know.
Leave the sake!
What? Why?
Forgive me, but that is Lady
Kamuhitsuki's decree.
You're not to drink for a while.
But
I won't do it.
Your Highness.
I don't want to do this!
Your Highness, don't behave
like a spoiled child.
You're a god.
Shut up!
I heard Lady Kamuhitsuki shut
herself in a chest once, too.
Is something the matter?
Ah, Lady Kokorowa. As you can
see, Her Highness is
Sakuna.
Is that you, Kokorowa? Could you ask
Lady Kamuhitsuki to forgive me?
You're smart. I bet Lady
Kamuhitsuki would listen to you.
Sakuna, is that really what you want?
Huh?
Didn't you say you'd become a great
god someday and find your parents?
Were you lying when you said that?
No! But how long do you
think it's been since then?
My parents went missing
when I was still nursing.
I've never had a mother or father.
You've given up, then.
You're not going to the Isle of Demons,
the last known location
of your father, Lord Takeribi,
and your mother, Lady Toyohana?
Kokorowa.
Sakuna.
What's this?
It's a book by Oboro!
Book of Oboro
Koushi Oborozuki
Hey, wait. What are you doing?
I'm a goddess!
Show some respect!
Hey, let go!
Please look after Sakuna.
I shall protect her with my life. Farewell.
I'll miss her, but
I still don't want to go!
I can't survive outside
the capital. I'll die!
She's exaggerating.
She's such a noisy goddess.
Your Highness, please stop.
What a beautiful dawn.
Beyond the horizon
It's waiting for us.
That island you're deeply connected to.