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

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.

Zatoichi's Revenge is the only Zatoichi film directed by Akira Inoue, who also did one installment each for the Sleepy Eyes of Death and Lone Wolf and Cub series. Other than that, there's not much I can say about him, but one thing's for sure; this Zatoichi film is pretty much the darkest one so far, but also has more humor than usual, so this is an interesting entry in the series either way.The villains in this films are the typical government officials conspiring with the yakuza gangsters, and there's a black-clad ronin challenging Zatoichi for a duel as usual, so the plot is kinda typical for a Zatoichi film. Except this one is much darker, because the villains here trap the town girls into prostitution and beat them violently if they refuse to co-operate, and also because Zatoichi executes the two main, defenseless, villains in cold blood, something never before seen in the series. He literally stands them up against a wall and slices them. This is something Zatoichi would never do usually, as he always kills in self-defense, but this is also somewhat of a refreshing ending because rarely do you ever see the hero of the film murder the villain just straight out like that.The music in this movie sounds like it came out of Desperado, or some other Robert Rodriguez movie, or from a zapata western. It's unusual hearing this type of music in this type of movie at first, but you get used to it very fast. The movie is incredibly well-shot and edited, in any case it's a major step up from the previous entry.Highlight of the film: as usual, it has to be the final battle. Zatoichi versus an entire town! The body count is through the roof.

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.