This might the first Zatoichi that I’ve disliked and it is definitely the weakest in the series so far. While the Zatoichi series has touched on the plight of the peasants under feudalism before, the way it handles it this time around feels so off, so cruel. The problem here is that peasants are not really presented as honest people who work the land who are finding themselves in precarious situations at the hands of the powerful, they are mostly portrayed as sheep who need a shepherd to guide them. It really does strip them of a lot of their agency throughout the film.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the tiktok user CrutchesAndSpice (aka Imani) talks about how the grassroots organizing that a lot of liberals wish they could do is actually being done by disabled people simply because time and time again, no one else is advocating for them. In a sense, this is the Zatoichi film that exemplifies this ideal but it is handled in such a harsh way that in the end extols this as a virtue rather than a failure of the systems themselves - and only Zatoichi has this virtue. No other disabled person has this virtue.

It just feels weird to see after what is already a low point at the beginning of the film which just feels like “Zatoichi Sings His Greatest Hits, vol1” for the first ten minutes, where Zatoichi basically redoes a lot of iconic “tricks” from his prior films, this time without much in the way of transformation or connection to a story or even any beautiful compositions to look at.

This might the first Zatoichi that I’ve disliked and it is definitely the weakest in the series so far. While the Zatoichi series has touched on the plight of the peasants under feudalism before, the way it handles it this time around feels so off, so cruel. The problem here is that peasants are not really presented as honest people who work the land who are finding themselves in precarious situations at the hands of the powerful, they are mostly portrayed as sheep who need a shepherd to guide them. It really does strip them of a lot of their agency throughout the film.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the tiktok user CrutchesAndSpice (aka Imani) talks about how the grassroots organizing that a lot of liberals wish they could do is actually being done by disabled people simply because time and time again, no one else is advocating for them. In a sense, this is the Zatoichi film that exemplifies this ideal but it is handled in such a harsh way that in the end extols this as a virtue rather than a failure of the systems themselves - and only Zatoichi has this virtue. No other disabled person has this virtue.

It just feels weird to see after what is already a low point at the beginning of the film which just feels like “Zatoichi Sings His Greatest Hits, vol1” for the first ten minutes, where Zatoichi basically redoes a lot of iconic “tricks” from his prior films, this time without much in the way of transformation or connection to a story or even any beautiful compositions to look at.

This is when Zatoichi became the outlaw.

I liked this one a lot, bloody and epic with enough heart to really segment its place in the canon. However, the script as usual was left with a lot to be desired, and the costume design was shit, also what's with the side cast in these last entries being so shit? I enjoyed myself with the action and dark tone, but gosh some of this stuff is amateur hour.

This is when Zatoichi became the outlaw.

I liked this one a lot, bloody and epic with enough heart to really segment its place in the canon. However, the script as usual was left with a lot to be desired, and the costume design was shit, also what's with the side cast in these last entries being so shit? I enjoyed myself with the action and dark tone, but gosh some of this stuff is amateur hour.

This is when Zatoichi became the outlaw.

I liked this one a lot, bloody and epic with enough heart to really segment its place in the canon. However, the script as usual was left with a lot to be desired, and the costume design was shit, also what's with the side cast in these last entries being so shit? I enjoyed myself with the action and dark tone, but gosh some of this stuff is amateur hour.

This is when Zatoichi became the outlaw.

I liked this one a lot, bloody and epic with enough heart to really segment its place in the canon. However, the script as usual was left with a lot to be desired, and the costume design was shit, also what's with the side cast in these last entries being so shit? I enjoyed myself with the action and dark tone, but gosh some of this stuff is amateur hour.

Oh my god
This went so so dark 
Some absolutely gorgeously haunting images I will never forget 

The whole thing felt so much more grown up and mature even the new fonts felt more professional
A staple of these films and the chanbara genre in general just dialled up to eleven
Seeing the consequences of Ichi’s blind (literally and figuratively) and impulsive killing from start to finish was heartbreaking 

A completed arc of bad to worse for the innocents of the village, only some who there was time to save at the end
But it’s so bittersweet and I loved that
As always, Ichi wins the sword fight but is still lost and losing and here more than ever
Obviously a ‘mature’ film doesn’t need to go really dark and serious - and this kept all of its comic action charm - but it did really perfect the vibes here 

Not only was the narrative WAYYY darker but the actual visuals were
Contrast was up so high it looked really one of a kind
It didn’t take too long to get used to as well I was in it and there by the end of the opening credits 
And omg those opening credits were so good
FINALLY brought back those Chest of Gold vibes which was so nice to see, but in this grimier instalment

A really surprising used of paint-red blood as well which worked super well for this story, before Lone Wolf and Cub were doing it 
I didn’t love it all I’m afraid to say, packets of the story missed for me and some bits almost too over the top when it came to the depth of the grimeyness this was willing to go to

Overall though a ridiculously strong episode, what a fantastic direction to take 
Acting was really notably better I thought as well, fun and sinister - just better

Oh my lord that final sequence was so so so good
SO GOOD
The more I think about my favourite parts the more I can see myself revisiting this when it’s all said and done


Edit:
I just found out this was the first film from when Katsu’s production company took over the series, which I thought happened further down the line 
This is great news I think as it suggests more of this thematic consistency is here to stay and that professional vibe which is SO exciting

Oh my god
This went so so dark 
Some absolutely gorgeously haunting images I will never forget 

The whole thing felt so much more grown up and mature even the new fonts felt more professional
A staple of these films and the chanbara genre in general just dialled up to eleven
Seeing the consequences of Ichi’s blind (literally and figuratively) and impulsive killing from start to finish was heartbreaking 

A completed arc of bad to worse for the innocents of the village, only some who there was time to save at the end
But it’s so bittersweet and I loved that
As always, Ichi wins the sword fight but is still lost and losing and here more than ever
Obviously a ‘mature’ film doesn’t need to go really dark and serious - and this kept all of its comic action charm - but it did really perfect the vibes here 

Not only was the narrative WAYYY darker but the actual visuals were
Contrast was up so high it looked really one of a kind
It didn’t take too long to get used to as well I was in it and there by the end of the opening credits 
And omg those opening credits were so good
FINALLY brought back those Chest of Gold vibes which was so nice to see, but in this grimier instalment

A really surprising used of paint-red blood as well which worked super well for this story, before Lone Wolf and Cub were doing it 
I didn’t love it all I’m afraid to say, packets of the story missed for me and some bits almost too over the top when it came to the depth of the grimeyness this was willing to go to

Overall though a ridiculously strong episode, what a fantastic direction to take 
Acting was really notably better I thought as well, fun and sinister - just better

Oh my lord that final sequence was so so so good
SO GOOD
The more I think about my favourite parts the more I can see myself revisiting this when it’s all said and done


Edit:
I just found out this was the first film from when Katsu’s production company took over the series, which I thought happened further down the line 
This is great news I think as it suggests more of this thematic consistency is here to stay and that professional vibe which is SO exciting

These movies keep getting much more creative. In the last one Zatoichi fought in the snow. This one he fights IN THE RAIN.

These movies keep getting much more creative. In the last one Zatoichi fought in the snow. This one he fights IN THE RAIN.