I love the Zatoichi movies, though I have found that because they made so many and the plots tended to blend together so often, it is hard to distinguish them apart. I would give all of them about the same score of a 7 or an 8--with a few exceptions (the return of the original in 1989 was a TERRIBLE and depressing movie, while the new Zatoichi movie starring Beat Takeshi is probably the best of any Zatoichi movies).
The main theme of this movie is Zatoichi's attempt to undo the wrong he supposedly committed by killing the man who wants to earn the reward money to buy his sister out of prostitution. However, given that Ichi has no choice but to kill this guy (it was a fair fight), it is inexplicable why he feels so much remorse for this death. I mean, if you total together all the people killed by this blind swordsman in all his movies, it probably would have resulted in the extinction of feudal Japan!! Despite this, it's a great movie to watch--full of life and action. Plus, it's one of the few films in which Zatoichi actually gets hurt--he ISN'T "the man of steel" in this installment.
The main theme of this movie is Zatoichi's attempt to undo the wrong he supposedly committed by killing the man who wants to earn the reward money to buy his sister out of prostitution. However, given that Ichi has no choice but to kill this guy (it was a fair fight), it is inexplicable why he feels so much remorse for this death. I mean, if you total together all the people killed by this blind swordsman in all his movies, it probably would have resulted in the extinction of feudal Japan!! Despite this, it's a great movie to watch--full of life and action. Plus, it's one of the few films in which Zatoichi actually gets hurt--he ISN'T "the man of steel" in this installment.