Encontro de Gigantes

Blind warrior Zatoichi returns to his hometown to find the village cowering under a gang. He tries to save the town. The thugs convinces their sensai Yojimbo to take out the newcomer for the bounty on his head. Yojimbo takes a liking to Zatoichi and has plans of his own.

It's the meeting of two legendary Japanese cinematic characters. It's sorta like Aliens vs Predator. My main complaint is that the kills aren't bloody enough. I need some more blood splatter. There is plenty of killing but I want the spray. At almost two hours, the film is a bit long. It rambles on for awhile but it's fine enough.

As one of the other reviews mentioned, you should really start with the original "Yojimbo" to fully appreciate the Mifune character here. However, this was my first Zatoichi story, and I enjoyed it immensely.

The two characters have a great repertoire, an uneasy adversarial partnership, further complicated by the appearance of a third mystery agent, and the various dealings of Mifune and his boss.

This particular storyline allows Mifune especially some time to explore the farther corners of his Yojimbo/Sanjuro character. We see some comedy, and even some romance... though Sanjuro might be loathe to admit it. The ending even makes sense, in a strange way, providing a possible closure on the character's fate.

Ichi and Sanjuro are funny together, and their chemistry is really entertaining. Katsu Shintaro sketches Zatoichi as both a master swordsman, and a bit of a klutz. He treads a fine comedic line between having fun at Ichi's expense, and portraying Ichi as a cleverly self-deprecating tactician.

Finally, the Chambara Entertainment version (released recently) had an excellent transfer, was widescreen, and came with a very informative little insert, explaining some of the more esoteric terms and puns. The subtitling was superb as well, using different colors to denote who was talking.

I highly reccomend this movie for fans of chambara, and especially for fans of Mifune and Shintaro! Mind you, it's not Kurosawa, but it's decently-made, and the actors are very entertaining.

I've seen about 7 or 8 zatoichi flicks and both of yojimbos. This is probably the best of zatoichi's films not just because of mifune but the story and craftsmanship of the film as well. The two stars work well together, although the yojimbo character is more p***ed off then the previous two films. I could be wrong but I think we find out who mifune's yojimbo is really working for which would explain why he acts like a scoundrel but in the end serves justice. The movie sports great swordplay and keeps the tradition of both characters

this may not be the best zatoichi title, hindered by a complicated plot and an unusually long runtime (116 mins), but it's easily an 8/10 compared to other zatoichi films (1989's 'zatoichi' being the worst and a 1 out of 10). if you're a zatoichi fan you are not allowed to miss this one or you're out of the club.

shintaro katsu and toshiro mifune are in excellent form and their presence alone makes it worth seeing. both of them look great. mifune is in his post-kurosawa days, but still in his prime and his face is aged to perfection.

don't expect a kurosawa film––this series was made as entertainment, not art. of course yojimbo is a better film, but this is every bit as funny and entertaining.

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is the twentieth film in the Japanese franchise about the blind masseur, skilled swordsman and lowly yakuza. Yojimbo's character is inspired by Akira Korusawa's critically acclaimed Yojimbo and even played by famous actor Toshiro Mifune. The movie tells the story how Zatoichi grows tired of having blood on his hands and retires to his peaceful hometown. Upon arriving, he realizes that the town has lost its charm over the past three years. After a terrible drought, the leader of the village seeked the protection of yakuza against people from other villages who were trying to steal reserves. Since then, two bosses are controlling the territory. The delicate thing is that one of them is the wise father and the other one his impulsive son. The former decides to hire Zatoichi as protector while the latter hires Yojimbo as his bodyguard. In addition to the familial and territorial conflict, there are rumors of an important quantity of gold hidden by the older boss for his second son. Zatoichi's and Yojimbo's interests, paths and swords cross multiple times until a dramatic showdown during a storm.

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo looks great on paper but turns out being the weakest film in the franchise so far. The movie overstays its welcome with a length approaching two hours and especially the middle section is plodding and at times hard to sit through. The sword fights aren't as sepctacular as in several previous movies. The film is filled with boring, repetitive and stereotypical dialogues. The addition of odd comic relief in certain scenes also drags this movie down and makes characters like the younger boss look ridiculous. The plot is a times hard to follow because it focuses on too many characters and side stories at the same time. Yojimbo is a one-dimensional character in this film who is busy swearing, sleeping and drinking. Even the usually sympathetic Zatoichi isn't quite convincing as he aimlessly walks around, occasionally cooperates with dumb thugs and often swears and drinks in his ambiguous relationship with Yojimbo.

There are only very few redeeming qualities in this movie. The poor Japanese village certainly has its exotically rural charm. The viewers get to know a little bit more about Zatoichi's background and past even though this option wasn't exploited enough in my opinion. The story line is more developed than usual but also confusing at times.

To be honest, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is the movie in the franchise that I've enjoyed the least so far. The characters are often one-dimdensional, the comic relief doesn't fit in and the plot is plodding. I would neither recommend this film to fans of the brilliant Zatoichi franchise nor to those who loved Korusawa's Yojimbo. Don't get fooled by the seemingly intriguing concept of combining two of Japan's greatest chambara characters. This film doesn't deserve the acclaim and attention it gets.