Story 1 - The Spy Swordsman Trivia Notes

I personally don't regard Story 1 as part of 'The Samurai' series. It doesn't feature ninjas, nor Tombei (Tonbei) or Shusaku and most of the killings are by guns or arrows. It's also dubbed by pretty much different voice artists compared to the other programs. The voice of Shintaro is also the same US voice of Shinnosuke (New Samurai). I suspect it was dubbed by Leon Leoncavello who probably dropped out of voicing at the end of Story 2. William Ross then came in to voice Shintaro and takeover the dubbing and translation (with his Japanese wife). I assume that Leon Leoncavello was then re-hired with another voice over team for the New Samurai seasons. As a boy I was so excited when Channel 9 announced that a new series would be starting 'from next Monday.' I tuned in and saw Shintaro fighting ninjas in the opening and was looking forward to a brand new episode. So you can imagine my disappointment in episode 1 when I saw no ninja, no sword fights, and Ainu Indians.