Zatoichi and the Fugitives

Zatoichi begins work as a masseur and acupuncturist in a doctor's office, and quickly earns the enmity of the local yakuza as well as a group of dangerous fugitives hiding in the town. A standout entry packed with vicious and bloody action, including a scene where Ichi gets shot and has to dig out the bullet with his sword. That's hardcore. Kurosawa regular Takashi Shimura plays the kindly doctor.

It's a quick-paced film, for all its intensity never feeling brooding or somber. Action is great and filled with red splashes. For all the times Ichi has walked out of town with blood on his hands, this one has a final moment that reveals the full weight of his regret and shame as those who he sought to help look on in horror at what he has done. One of my favorite moments of the series so far.

One of the better Zatoichi episodes in the collection. Takashi Shimura was quite good as the country doctor. And Shintarô Katsu is the quintessential Zatoichi. The story, drama, special effects, fighting, and suspense are all good in this installment. Great entertainment.

Zatoichi runs afoul of a group of ruffians and ends up staying in the same small village with them. They end up hiding out with the local Yakuza boss and Zatoichi shacks up with town doctor Takashi Shimura. A bunch of plot developments throw Zatoichi repeatedly against the thugs until nearly everyone is dead. A pretty solid entry in this series. The climax involves a badly wounded Zatoichi taking on an ocean of bad guys single-handedly. It all heads to a surprisingly downbeat conclusion.

A lesser Zatoichi flick, but thats hardly a bad thing on its own merits.

Between Takashi Shimura in front of the camera and Kazuo Miyagawa behind it, I wanted to like this one more, but it doesn't amount to anything much different than a standard Zatoichi adventure.

One of the better ones; I prefer these ones where Ichi shows some degree of physical or emotional vulnerability rather than just being a superhero. Ending is effective but the film does lack the standout centerpiece scene that makes some of the other films in the series so memorable.