Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman is the twenty-second entry in the Japanese franchise about the blind masseur, skilled swordsman and lowly yakuza. This creative movie is a Hong Kong-Japanese cooperation with one director, one genre and one protagonist from each country. The story revolves around a Chinese swordsman who has recently arrived in Japan who meets a family of Chinese artists consisting of a father, a mother and a boy. The boy accidentally disturbs the procession of a local clan when his kite flies away. The pitiless yakuza attack the boy. The parents try to protect him but are brutally slain just as all witnesses on the road. The boy is however saved by the Chinese swordsman. They meet Zatoichi on their way who decides to help them but the language barrier makes communication quite complicated. Things turn sour when the three are helped out by a family of farmers but quickly discovered by the raging yakuza. The family's parents are slain, the daughter gets tortured and the Chinese swordsman and the boy must go into hiding in a temple. Zatoichi was on his way to get some information about the samurai and some water for his companions during the massacre. The Chinese swordsman now wrongfully believes Zatoichi betrayed him and the farmer's daughter also holds an unjustified grudge against the blind swordsman. Zatoichi needs to clear his name, fight the yakuza mob and save the farmer's daughter as well as the Chinese swordsman and the orphan boy.There are numerous elements that make this movie stand out as one of the very best entries in the franchise. First of all, the combination of Hong Kong and Japanese cinema is fantastic. Perfectly choreographed sword fights meet elegant martial arts combats. The fight sequences are beautiful to watch but also include some bloody and brutal elements here and there to spice things up efficiently. The movie almost equally uses Japanese chambara and Chinese wu xia techniques. The two protagonists are also very famous in their respective countries and represent how seemingly disadvantaged outsiders can rise to heroism. Zatoichi and Wang Kang could be described as soulmates which makes their fates even more tragic. Secondly, the movie has a very strong message. If you overcome the language barrier, you will realize how close people actually are. The film promotes a message of communication, cooperation and respect. Thirdly, the movie also has an intriguing story as it deals with topics such as authority, distrust and manipulation. There are a lot of betrayals and conspiracies happening throughout the film that keep it very interesting until the very end. Few movies in the franchise have such a fluid pace and are entertaining to watch from start to finish without any lengths.There really isn't much to criticize about this movie that should appeal to chambara and wu xia collectors and fans alike. The supporting characters could have been a little bit more fleshed out but that's the only element that could have been improved.Overall, Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman is a highlight in the Zatoichi franchise and will please fans of old date as much as those who are rather fans of the Shaw Brothers character. This movie combines Chinese and Japanese cultures perfectly. In addition to being highly entertaining, this film has a positive message that still matters nowadays. This movie has therefore aged very well but also has the classic structure of a Zatoichi movie that fans like so much. This film is equally innovative and traditional which makes it particularly enjoyable. Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman should appeal to a wide audience and deserves more acclaim and attention that it has gotten so far. While the combination of Zatoichi and Yojimbo a year earlier was a mismatch, the combination of Zatoichi and Wang Gang is a perfect match. Give it a try!

It's rare to see that the 22nd installment of a franchise gets to be its finest. I'm still not exactly sure if Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman is my exact favorite so far, but it's definitely up there. In the review for the last film I said that that it'll be hard to make the series interesting or fresh for the final few outings, but #22 does it by not following the plot formula that the previous films established and by putting Zatoichi against a charismatic, capable rival.It's a crossover with the One-Armed Swordsman films starring Jimmy Wang Yu, the third Zatoichi crossover in a row. The Mifune one was utterly meh, and the Nakadai one was barely even a crossover in how he was used in a small side-plot, so it's easy to say this one surpasses them with ease. Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman cannot understand each other because of the language barrier, which sets in motion a very interesting story, but also stands as a simple, but oddly effective metaphor for the cultural differences and conflicts between China and Japan.To add to this, the final duel in this film definitely doesn't have a predictable outcome like the Zatoichi vs Yojimbo one had. I was actually surprised at it. Also, the sword-fighting scenes are just excellent all throughout the film. The only real weakness is lack of an unique visual style, but that really goes for any Zatoichi film directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda.Highlight of the film: a thug getting his arm chopped off by Zatoichi and not even realizing it until he sees it in front of himself.

This story sees Wang Gang, a one armed Chinese swordsman, travelling through Japan; he is pleased to meet a Chinese family but things take a tragic turn when their young child accidentally blocks an official procession… an offence that means instant death. Wang Gang steps in and saves the boy but that leads to the samurai in the procession massacring most of those present including the boy's parents. Shortly afterwards Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, finds the boy with his dying father and agrees to look after him. Not long after that they meet up with Wang Gang although it is hard for them to communicate as he speaks no Japanese and Zatoichi speaks no Chinese. The three of them eventually take shelter with a local family. While Zatoichi is out the samurai attack and it is assumed that he betrayed them. He does what he can to put things right but unable to talk to each things could easily end in tragedy.This was a solid samurai film with lots of sword fighting but not too much blood. The story is simple but effective; the bad guys are definitely bad and the good guys have an enjoyable degree of ambiguity. Shintarô Katsu and Yu Wang did fine jobs as Zatoichi and Wang Gang respectively; I particularly enjoyed the scenes where they try to converse but only misunderstand each other. Having not seen other instalments in this film series I can't say how this compares but as a stand-alone film it is rather fun; lots of action and some laughs.These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese and Chinese with English subtitles. In the version I saw it was obvious which language was being spoken as the Chinese dialogue has italic subtitles.

An interesting meeting of action film genres at a time when one was ebbing into the twilight and the other just starting to go. It would be only a few more years before the chambara genre peters out (but not before some more great films are made) and mostly moves to television. The wuxia (swordplay) genre (where the One Armed Swordsman comes from) split off into the kung fu genre which hits it's stride with the coming of Bruce Lee's "Big Boss" and Wang Yu's self-directed "One Armed Boxer" (no relation to the swordsman), the same year this Zatoichi film is released. The great years of kung fu cinema were just around the corner.Wang Kong (the One-Armed Swordsman) arrives in Japan to find a temple where a Japanese monk has invited Wang Kong to live. Unable to speak Japanese at all, Wang Kong chances upon a traveling Chinese family of entertainers who have made Japan their home. A husband, wife and young boy, they like Japan better then China. Accompanying Wang Kong to the temple the four encounter a procession of samurai transporting specially prepared abalone destined for the Shogun. Everyone must get off the road and let the procession pass or suffer dire consequences. Unfortunately, the little Chinese boy runs after a kite and is set upon by a sword swinging samurai. The mother protects her child but at the cost of her life, the father is killed too. Agast at the cruelty of the samurai, Wang Kong jumps in and kills a number of them. The little boy runs off and is separated from Wang Kong who retreats from further battle. The samurai decide to kill all the innocent people who witnessed the scene and blame the carnage on the "crazed Chinaman". Zatoichi comes upon the frightened child and decides to take care of him. Later the fugitive Wang Kong meets Zatoichi but the two have a really hard time communicating and Wang Kong is very suspicious of Zatoichi's motives. Of course this being a Zatoichi film, an evil yakuza gang gets involved and you know what's going to happen to them.The first thing that strikes me is how different the One-Armed Swordman films were from the Zatoichi films in terms of sophistication. The HK films of the time were still very stagy in look and acting where the Japanese films were well versed in film techniques and acted in a more natural manner. I am not a great fan of Chang Cheh's "One Armed Swordsman" but many people really like it and it deserves it's significance in film history. It was also apparently very popular in Japan.This particular outing with the character is arguably the best produced One-Armed Swordsman film with actor Wang Yu as the character. There are a few issues with the film, the most serious is that the producers assumed that you already know Wang Kong is missing an arm and fights with a broken sword. Anyone unfamiliar with the backstory is going to be confused but the film will still be watchable. Second, the highly refined and excellent sword choreography for Zatoichi really makes the faithful but stagy non-weapon kung fu for Wang Kong look not so good. The kung fu sword work comes off fine however. The Japanese producers were very respectful to the One-Armed Swordman mythos and kept the character true to the original film.The film, while not the absolute best of the Zatoichi series, is very good and touches on a number of issues. There are colorful characters the liven up the film and you will not be wasting your time watching. Recommended.