Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Brilliant and touching

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Definitely influenced by the emerging "spaghetti" western of the early 60's. The music is reminiscent of the Italian movies, and the ending will remind you of another classic western… Shane (come back Shane!) Done with flair and a sense of humor. Shintaro Katsu is a pleasure to watch as the blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi (This is one of a long running series which ran from the early 60's thru the late 80's. In all almost 30 movies were made, all starring Shintaro Katsu) 10/10

A minor entry in the series with a few exceptions. Zatoichi plays it relatively straight; this time the humor is handled by Denroku the Weasel (the subtitles have him as the Fox). His scenes with Ichi were entertaining, especially when Ichi confronts the Weasel at the noodle stand over Ichi's missing sword. The Weasel's sword fight left me wishing that there might have been a series for him. Alas, it was not to be. This left Shintaro Katsu free to be very serious. The villains in this movie are more despicable than usual and I took satisfaction seeing their fate at the hands of Zatoichi. The film was little more realistic with it's depiction of prostitution but not very exciting, unfortunately.

The yakuza boss and the government official (Intendant) are truly despicable characters in this entry of the Zatoichi series. Zatoichi doesn't need to say anything about the situation. His body language and facial expressions tell you directly that he has had enough with this rabble. You see, Zatoichi has a weak spot for the weak. He will do just about anything to help women and children. In this case, young women are forced into prostitution and Zatoichi puts a stop to it in the only way he knows how, with the sharp edge of his blade!Now ten films into the series, the sad nature of Zatoichi's life is fully exposed. Zatoichi is a good guy. He makes friends along the way, but can never stay in one place because both the government and the yakuza are looking for him. In Zatoichi's Revenge, Zatoichi befriends a dice handler named Denroku the Weasel and his cute daughter. Denroku learns some lessons from Zatoichi and promises to lead a more honest life. The share a cup of sake before the final scene and you know they would be great friends, if only it was possible.Zatoichi might have a few laughs throughout the film and some good company, but in the end, he marches away alone with blood on his hands.

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.