Zatôichi abare tako

As the other commenter's have said it is mostly more of the same. Also, I have to agree that the plot is a less involved than in other Zatoichis, although I don't think any of this films are very complex, so if you enjoyed the others you will probably enjoy this one. There were two things that stood out to differentiate this from earlier Zatoichis though. First, it had a few goofy/slap stick type moments, which I don't remember being very common in earlier ones. Second, when Zatoichi got angry he seemed evil and creepy. Usually he gives more of the impression that he is defending himself, but this time he was out for blood. Not the best but entertaining.

If you've seen one Zatoichi film, then this one will be nothing new. The thing is, that Shintarô Katsu does such a great job playing Zatoichi, that I don't care how similar these movies are. This movie is a little different in that the beginning of the movie has several light humorous moments, the fact that Zatoichi is shot seems to have no bearing. But like all the other films in the series, it gets serious. In case, pretty serious. Katsu can be lighthearted and charming but when he means business, I wouldn't want to mess with him. As for the battles not a whole lot until the end, but that one is a doozy. I tried counting how many people he kills; I lost count after 35. So, if you're a sucker for Zatoichi, then this one should be fun viewing.

Not one of the highlights of the series, Zatoichi's Flashing Sword simply doesn't display enough of Ichi's skills. There's very little action and what there is is brief. The story itself feels padded out, even at a brisk 82 minutes, and one gets the feeling Daiei was simply trying to turn out as many films as possible to capitalise on the character's popularity. It's not bad, merely disappointing.

The title of this one should be Zatoichi Kills a Bunch of Guys. There's little subtlety in this one. None of the things that made the series great are in this flick at all. If you've seen every other Ichi movie, then, perhaps you should see this one for closure, but, wait until you get to that bridge.

This Zatoichi film starts off in an unusual way. The camera is mounted on the ceiling looking straight down on the people in the room! The scene itself is fine, but the way they filmed it was nice as a change of pace. Interestingly enough, the final shots of the film were also done in much the same way, but in a darkened hallway.

Immediately after this, a guy is yelling because he apparently shot Zatoichi. However, they can't find a body because Ichi swam away and was cared for by an old woman until he could go back on his journey. Oddly, some unnamed benefactor paid her for her nursing him to health. Who this is and why, we don't yet know.

In the next scene, a group of punks invade a kendo dojo. Looking to hurt someone, they pull Ichi inside and proceed to get their butts kicked. I was actually more impressed with actor Shintaro Katsu's work with the bamboo kendo sword than his usual swordplay--it was very fast and impressive.

While not as impressive technically, there also was a very unusual underwater fight. Five thugs attacked Ichi while he was bathing in the river. He led them to deeper water and then dove under--and one by one the bad guys were gutted as if Zatoichi were a shark! There was also a bit more humor in the film than usual. One routine is a cute one involving a guy who makes money carrying people across the river on his shoulders, but the one I really liked was Zatoichi and the guys peeping at the lady taking a bath.

The main story is pretty typical of a Zatoichi film. One big boss is trying to muscle in on the territory of another lesser one. The big boss is a nasty, laughing, obese stuttering guy and again and again he tries a variety of tricks to try to hurt the other boss. Fortunately, Zatoichi is on hand to help out when things start to spin out of control. And, as fireworks begin to go off, so do arms, legs, etc. as Ichi takes the battle to the evil warlord. Yay, Ichi!