I gotta say... I really feel sorry for Koza. A lot of people are saying this is the "perfect revenge", but this didn't sit right with me at all. Almost everyone seems to be calling her a whore, manipulator, or villain, but all I see is a desperate, beaten down girl who knows that the life she's experiencing is not worth living.
In a cruel, violent world, being moral is something only the powerful can do - those plenty in either riches or in strength. And if you're not one of these people, it's a dog-eat-dog world.
Just think about it from her perspective.
She was raised on an island full of criminals - something she described as hell itself. Constantly witnessing the killing, treachery, and despair around her, she probably came to view the world as an utterly bleak, pointless existence. And in order to survive in such a harsh world, she had no choice but to stick with Mugen and her brother. She has no survival skills. She is not strong. If she were alone, she would most definitely die.
But keep in mind that her lifestyle is something she loathes entirely. She hates her brother, who abuses and controls her. She hates his crew, who find pleasure in killing and plundering. She longs for freedom - something she has never had. Instead, she's trapped into her brother's gang and forced to do his bidding. The only happiness she's probably experienced in her life are her moments with Mugen, who she develops feelings for. Unfortunately for her, Mugen is cold and never pays her much attention. And then, he supposedly dies. Now, can you imagine just how miserable her life is? And who knows how many times her brother beats her.
But then, everything changes. Muroko comes up with a plan to steal some gold and plans to double-cross his entire crew in the process. And please remember, this is all Muroko. He is the mastermind behind all this killing. Can Koza do anything about it? No. Can she run away? Not at all, for the reasons described above. But when Shiren falls in love with her, an opportunity arises. They could betray and kill Muroko and run away together with the gold. And to Koza, this is her only option. To make my point clear, let me lay her options out:
Option A: keep being abused and controlled by Muroko and his crew for the rest of her life (and who knows how long she'll be able to stay alive like that, anyway?)
Option B: Kill Muroko(who she hates), steal the gold, and run away with Shiren, who will take care of her.
Option C: Suicide.
Tell me, are there really any other options than these? If so, enlighten me. Anyway, which option would you pick if you were her? Still, Mugen arriving does add another option, so let me add that below.
Option D: Run away with Mugen, who she loves.
And she actually does ask him to run away with her, remember? What does Mugen do? He rejects her coldly... what a guy. And accepting that Mugen will never care about her, she dismisses this option. And... now we're back to the first three options! And looking at them carefully, it's no wonder she would pick Option B! The deaths of Muroko's crew as well as the people guarding the gold were inevitable; Muroko's plan was already laid out. The only person she truly betrays in her plan is her brother.
And what about Mugen? Well, she only finds out that Muroko is planning to betray him on the the night before the heist. And what does she do? She immediately runs to Fuu and Jin and tells them to rescue Mugen. Why? Because she still cares about him deeply. Tell me, if she were a coldhearted manipulator, why would she have ran to them in the first place and risk putting her plan in jeopardy? Of course not. She's just a desperate girl who longs to be free of her abusive life, yet cares about Mugen (who clearly doesn't care about her in the slightest).
In the end, she gets Jin to kill Muroko, which enables her to finally live, for once in her life. And sadly, Mugen ruins it all due to his narrow-minded revenge. It's so sad... honestly. But I'm not critiquing the show here; I'm only critiquing everyone who's saying that Koza got what she deserved. Samurai Champloo is great for including a bleak episode like this, and I laud it for doing so.
So what's left for Koza? It's a no-brainer. Death is what awaits her, either by suicide or the world trampling on her yet again. Likely the former.
