Futago Rokube (Yusaku Matsuda) may be cowardly but even cowards and weaklings have ways of defeating the strong. In an uncharacteristically brave moment, Futago takes it upon himself to be the executioner of a samurai named Nito Kouken (Tetsuro Tamba) that everyone else is too afraid to go after because of his unmatched abilities as a swordsman and fighter. Murderer! Murrrderrerrrr!! Mur-dur-er!!! Whether by chance or by fate, Futago realizes that if he calls out that Nito is a murderer everyone will run from him, and shop owners, food stalls, and inns will turn Nito away. With this knowledge, Futago hatches his plan to tirelessly follow around Nito shouting murderer whenever he is about to rest or eat in order to wear Nito down. What follows should be watched and enjoyed firsthand.
This movie is an all-around joy to watch. The two lead actors play their parts perfectly - Yusaku Matsuda as a coward who shakes at the mere thought of a growling dog and Tetsuro Tamba the stoic samurai who would not dishonor his blade no matter how annoyed he gets by Futago. There are plenty of great shots in this movie too. The music and musical stings are the only real negative for me - they are VERY 70s and don't really mesh well with the time period the film portrays. The music does kind of go with the comedic tone, but there are many serious moments in this movie as well where it doesn't work at all.
I definitely recommend anybody interested in chanbara to give this a watch.
