User reviews

Most Zatoichi movies are like simple fables where the underdog stumbles into a problem and uses his sword to defeat the almost cartoonish villains and make things wonderful again. The stories are unbelievable, but the movies are enjoyable because Shintaro Katsu brings so much humility and charm to his role.

This film is much different from the other Zatoichi films that I have seen. Through deceit, murder, and trickery the village leaders have forced villagers to incur debts they are unable to repay in any way except to put their daughters to work in the brothel. The brothel is owned by the village leaders. If the daughters attempt to escape or do not cooperate they are beaten, locked in a storehouse and starved. The movie graphically depicts the abuse in the brothel. There is a very disturbing scene where Zatoichi is giving a brothel customer a massage and in the background you can hear the screams of a reluctant new girl being beaten.

Zatoichi gets involved in this situation when he goes to visit his old teacher and discovers that the teacher had been killed and the teacher's daughter had to work at the brothel to repay the teacher's debt.

The corruption in the village goes very deep and affects many people. The more trouble the corrupt leaders get into, the more they plot killing and framing people for the killings. The corrupt leaders are able to get honorable men to do almost anything to keep or get their daughters out of the brothel. This rampant corruption makes it impossible for Zatoichi to trust anyone fully. To fix the problem, Zatoichi seems to have to fight an entire army. When the movie ends, you wonder if there are any able bodied men left alive in the village or if Zatoichi has killed them all.

If you are looking for a typical light Zatoichi movie, you will not like this one. If you are looking for a dark, powerful, thought provoking move, this is the one.

Zatoichi's Revenge is the tenth film of the franchise about the blind masseur turned lowly yakuza and skilled swordsman with a strong moral compass. In this movie, Zatoichi plans to visit his old master who taught him how to become a masseur. Upon arriving in the town he left ten years earlier, he realizes a lot of things have changed for the worst. His master got brutally murdered two weeks before his arrival and his daughter was forced into prostitution to pay for her father's debts. Zatoichi soon realizes that the local intendant terrorizes the town by forcing women and even children into prostitution, forcing men into debts and controlling local businesses, a brutal mob and influential politicians. Zatoichi realizes he can't fully rely on the abused and scared citizens as he tries to find a way to put the intendant's reign of terror to an end, avenge his master and save the master's daughter.

One thing that makes this film stand out is its brutal, dark and gloomy atmosphere. Brothels usually serve as colorful backdrops in many traditional Japanese movies but this one here is different. It shows us how women and even girls are forced into prostitution, insulted, beaten up and starved in pitiless ways. Especially the ruthless intendant and his mob as well as the female owner of the brothel are shown as exploitative maniacs who treat the women worse than animals. In one scene, Zatoichi has to give the local intendant a massage while one hears how the owner of the brothel beats up a virgin prostitute who was reluctant to sleep with the intendant in the next room. She doesn't even try to hide what she is doing in order to intimidate the other prostitutes. Another element that adds to the atmosphere is the fact that the citizens are constantly scared. A local dice dealer who is initially friendly towards Zatoichi is forced to trick him during a game and then forced to steal the blind masseur's cane or else his young teenage daughter would end up being a prostitute. The viewers discover the darkest places of the town such as the filthy brothel, poorly equipped dwellings, shady bars and restaurants as well as many dark alleys as the film is mostly taking place at night which only adds to the sinister tone. Rarely have the antagonists been as ruthless as in this film of the franchise. Even the ronin who duels Zatoichi turns out to be a man without honor as he kills innocent men, constantly tries to provoke Zatoichi and even assaults him with a horse instead of opting for a fair duel. Two honorable mentions go out to the fitting absence of slapstick humor and the gloomy soundtrack that also recalls elements of the western genre.

There aren't many flaws in what might be one of the franchise's very best films. Obviously, the story is quite predictable and the settings are quite similar to some we have seen in many other movies of the franchise. The sword fights are also quite similar to what was offered in previous films. Instead of focusing on flashy choreographies, even the sword fights are brief, brutal and pitiless like the story itself.

Zatoichi's Revenge is a highlight of the franchise because of its brutal story, gloomy atmosphere and despicable antagonists. The film goes away from the previous three or four films that had more humorous elements and might be the most serious entry in the franchise. Any collector or follower of the franchise should watch this film and even those who aren't familiar with the franchise can watch this intense film without any regrets. It's not the sword fights that make this film stand out but its uniquely sinister tone that strikes a chord with the viewers.

The following review is an extract from the book "Shintaro Katsu´s Zatoichi: Complete guide to all movies", which is now available on Amazon.

Zatoichi comes to the outskirts of the town of Azabu, where he lived ten years ago. He decides to visit his teacher Hikonoichi, another blind man who taught him his profession as a masseur. As he eats and drinks sake at the village inn, his old friend Yasaku recognizes him. He informs him that Hikonoichi sadly died only a couple of weeks ago. He was murdered, and no one knows the reason. Zatoichi also learns that Sayo, the daughter of his master, now works in a brothel. This brothel is owned by yakuza boss Tatsugoro.

Zatoichi rightly imagines that Sayo, now known as "Nishikigi", is not there voluntarily. Besides being a libertine, Tatsugoro is a heartless man who charges "protection taxes" to farmers in the area, and who makes a profit out of usury loans.

(...)

"The Revenge of Zatoichi" is the tenth of the films dedicated to the figure of the kind and just masseur- swordsman. This time Zatoichi intends to rescue the daughter of his master (who has fallen into the clutches of pimps and usurers) and punish his murderers. The Sayo that Ichi knew as a child, sweet and angelic, is today reflected in Tsuru, who is nevertheless the daughter of one of the men of the yakuza Tatsugoro; that is to say, the daughter of a potential enemy... For this reason, among other things, in this film by Akira Inoue the drama of the plot is more intense.

This entry is from the phase where Zatoichi has been completely sanitized into a 100% good guy. Between that an a scene where a tweenage girl breaks into song, this could be a Disney film if were it not for the 10 minutes of screen time where the bad guys die by Zatoichi's sword.

The later films are the ones that create a truly gritty where the Zatoichi character can expand back into the "good guy with a heart of gold but a mean streak" space that made the first Zatoichi films resonate so well. In other words, if you want to see the Zatoichi films not in chronological order but in descending order of greatness, I would save this one for the last batch.

This one stands out for its score, pacing, and humor. It gets a bad rap, because of the ugly town and morally corrupt characters, but these elements expand the story and create tension.

Ichi's swordplay is restrained throughout, but well used.

The editing and direction is refreshing, especially the small flashback sequences in sepia.

Check this one out as a fan of the series, or as a standout in the Samurai genre.

The second Zatoichi movie I see, as good as the first one I saw 2 days ago, also on YouTube. And, there are 13 more to see. Slowly, I'll see them all. The stories are simple and captivating, the main actor, Shintarô Katsu, is a unique miracle, the direction and image are impeccable, the music is extremely beautiful. And, there are many, many young Japanese girls of a beauty that is hard to describe, impossible to put into words. They just have to be seen.