Za

Zankuro Matsudaira (Ken Watanabe) is a low-grade vassal of the Tokugawa Shogun, forced to moonlight as a bodyguard and executioner to make ends meet. He also has a drinking problem, an overeating mother, and a propensity to protect the oppressed, all of which eat into his finances. His confident mother Masajo (Kyoko Kishida) is the descendant of a famous family of shogunate retainers and a mistress of the pen and sword, who regards her son as a failure.

The story revolves around the protagonist "I" and the murders and mysteries he encounters. He tries in vain to stay out of the story, but instead he always gets dragged into the center of everything. Even though it seems that he contributes a lot, he always finds out that whatever he did was meaningless in the end.

The adventures of an inventive boy named Zack and his best friend, a young duck called Quack. Resourceful friend and neighbour, Kira, joins the dazzling duo on each adventure and is on hand to fix any paper problem with her expert pop-up tool kit.