Samaritan Zatoichi

Ichi becomes unlikely travel companions with a woman whose brother he killed, who is being pursued by yakuza who want to force her to work in their brothel. Doesn't stray too far from the standard "Ichi saves a woman in peril by murdering everyone she knows, followed by a one on one duel with a mysterious ronin" plot, but this installment also features quite a bit of light humor with Katsu doing more capering like a fool than usual. Lots of fun and fantastic action.

Another good installment of Zatoichi legacy played by Shintaro Katsu. This one has all the trademark features of the series. The only part I disliked was a brief dice game and when he gave up his sword for a loan, which was both completely out of character and very stupid plot points. Otherwise the there was plenty of drama saving the girl and of course sword fights. Worthwhile but a notch below some of the best.

direction is noteworthy, wild and free in places, surprisingly modern in others.enjoyed the humor in this, delicate touches that give the impression of a full-fledged, balanced adventure. Ichi riding to the rescue on a horse...then bungling it because he's a blind man on a horse is classic -- Zatoichi's final fight with a master swordsman with dubious ties to the plot is an extreme adherence to formula in this movie....but that fight is visceral, hold-your-breath combat

Yeah, it's another damsel in distress, and another bunch of cruel yakuza, and another mysterious ronin. But truthfully, this is one of the more playful, flamboyant, and amusing permutations of the formula which this series only rarely strays from.

This one seems to be well-regarded, but to me it felt like it was just going through the motions. I didn't care about this episode's damsel in distress or the plot in general. The humour, however, was generally effective and Ichi's sidekick here is one of my favourite characters of the series.

The first film in this series, directed by Misumi, that I felt was running on life support. The previous film, Zatoichi and the Fugitives, was much better in every aspect.

I didn't think I was going to see a Zatoichi that I liked more than the first 3, but I really didn't think that it would be at no. 19.