Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)

Zatoichi the Fugitive

Medium: Film
Director: Tokuzo Tanaka
Country: Japan
Released: 1963
First Consumed: April 11, 2012
Format: Hulu streaming (via PS3)
Rating: 7.0

The Series gets its first repeat director, Tane returns married to an asshole, and we get the best, most insane sword fight yet. It's also the only one you could call boring at times. Though even with Tane showing up, the plot is completely new. No Boss Kanbei or hometown pals still trying to kill him.

That fight at the end makes it all worth it. It is too good.

New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)

New Tale of Zatoichi

Medium: Film
Director: Tokuzo Tanaka
Country: Japan
Released: 1963
First Consumed: April 9, 2012
Format: Hulu streaming (via PS3)
Rating: 7.5

Well, I got those 20 minutes of runtime I asked for back. I'm now three filma into the Zatoichi series and have yet to see any sort of growth or change in quality. New Tale feels more complex in its plotting than the previous two entries, but that doesn't make it any better. It also introduces several new characters, while still dealing with actions of the past two films.

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues ended with the blind masseur killing the cruel Boss Kanbei, his employer in the first film. New Tale finds him back in his home town where Kanbei's brother and some cronies have tracked him down. Also, Zatoichi reunites with his old sword teacher (who's totally a dick), and gets involved in a love triangle that you know immediately isn't going to pan out well for anybody (The series seems to still be unclear on how to handle the romantic aspects of Zatoichi. The plot here isn't dissimilar to that of the Zatoichi/Tane relationship of the first two films, but Zatoichi acts much differently here). There's also a weird hostage sub plot that mostly plays out in the tertiary until the climax. And none of this matters because Zatoichi is depressed and sick of killing. Shintaro Katsu is called upon to cry several times.

Yeah, that's too much stuff. It could have been executed worse, though. We still have time for Zatoichi's typical brooding, which is a plus.


My modern American brain can only accept film franchises in the form of trilogies, so I'm unfairly expecting some major shake-ups in the next entry.

This was the first Zatoichi film shot in color. I liked the black and white, and the color added absolutely nothing but a more modern look, but it shore is purty.