If this movie had a stronger two first acts, it would undoubtedly be my favorite in the Zatoichi series. Its final 30 minutes are thrilling and riveting, full of action, fury, and sadness. The film’s final shot, of Ichi dancing away from the village, continuing his pretend minstrel show for passersby, as they are unaware of the slaughter he had just perpetuated in the name of justice, self-preservation, and revenge, is tragic and wonderful all at once. 

It takes a while to get to its glorious climax and the plot seems to bend itself in knots along the way. Still, stick with it, if only to comprehend the full scope of tragedy and balletic fury that this series so expertly balances.

If this movie had a stronger two first acts, it would undoubtedly be my favorite in the Zatoichi series. Its final 30 minutes are thrilling and riveting, full of action, fury, and sadness. The film’s final shot, of Ichi dancing away from the village, continuing his pretend minstrel show for passersby, as they are unaware of the slaughter he had just perpetuated in the name of justice, self-preservation, and revenge, is tragic and wonderful all at once. 

It takes a while to get to its glorious climax and the plot seems to bend itself in knots along the way. Still, stick with it, if only to comprehend the full scope of tragedy and balletic fury that this series so expertly balances.

The character of Zatoichi may feel a bit more muted in the beginning two acts of this film, but overall it is much less about him this time around and more about the characters that surround him. The politics of land control are the background radiation for the lives of young people who did not ask to be a part of it but were thrust into it, with Zatoichi as one of their few sympathizers. The shift to colour overall under Tokuzō Tanaka has been handled brilliantly between New Tale of Zatoichi and this film, really setting mood with great lighting and composition. There’s a lot of really great quick cuts typically used for action sequences in other Japanese sword films that are used in rather innocuous ways here. Just very fun, especially with the action of the final act

The character of Zatoichi may feel a bit more muted in the beginning two acts of this film, but overall it is much less about him this time around and more about the characters that surround him. The politics of land control are the background radiation for the lives of young people who did not ask to be a part of it but were thrust into it, with Zatoichi as one of their few sympathizers. The shift to colour overall under Tokuzō Tanaka has been handled brilliantly between New Tale of Zatoichi and this film, really setting mood with great lighting and composition. There’s a lot of really great quick cuts typically used for action sequences in other Japanese sword films that are used in rather innocuous ways here. Just very fun, especially with the action of the final act

My favourite so far this slapped
Every single moment was so fun to look at especially all the outside shots when the greens really popped 
There were a few points where it got a bit convoluted but I think it all came to a great third act that satisfied each plot point really nicely, but cost this being something more special than another film in the series for me
Zatoichi was probably the least entertaining he’s been so far but weirdly didn’t impact my enjoyment at all
what great fun

My favourite so far this slapped
Every single moment was so fun to look at especially all the outside shots when the greens really popped 
There were a few points where it got a bit convoluted but I think it all came to a great third act that satisfied each plot point really nicely, but cost this being something more special than another film in the series for me
Zatoichi was probably the least entertaining he’s been so far but weirdly didn’t impact my enjoyment at all
what great fun

Out of the 3 Zatoichi sequels I've watched so far, this might be the one that's experimented the most. It doesn't do the standard wide shot of Zatoichi swinging his sword around but actually manages to put you in the action, which I was waiting for. The final 20 minutes have been the most exciting out of any of these movies and I'm happy to see Zatoichi actually struggle. However, the same story beats are still there (I'm really hoping one of these movies doesn't follow the strict formula that these movies have set) and it is really unfortunate that I can go into any of these movies and predict exactly what's going to happen based off of previous installments.

Out of the 3 Zatoichi sequels I've watched so far, this might be the one that's experimented the most. It doesn't do the standard wide shot of Zatoichi swinging his sword around but actually manages to put you in the action, which I was waiting for. The final 20 minutes have been the most exciting out of any of these movies and I'm happy to see Zatoichi actually struggle. However, the same story beats are still there (I'm really hoping one of these movies doesn't follow the strict formula that these movies have set) and it is really unfortunate that I can go into any of these movies and predict exactly what's going to happen based off of previous installments.