This may be my favourite of the series so far. Though not as visually impressive as the previous film, this one has a stronger plot, and some truly touching moments.
Zatoichi kills a young yakuza in self defence. He visits the young man's mother to inform her of his death, and to beg her forgiveness. Once in town, he meets an old flame, and strikes up a rivalry with her new lover. He also comes across the reluctant heir to a yakuza family, Sakichi, who is pressured by the other bosses to take out Zatoichi or lose his position. Sakichi is in love with the innkeeper's daughter, but the innkeeper has a vendetta with Sakichi.
These are the threads which lead to the greatest battle in the series so far, and to those touching moments I mentioned. The ending, in particular, is quite moving, as the old woman who lost her son at the beginning tells Ichi she wishes he were her son. The final shot has the old woman and the other people Ichi has helped throughout the film prostrating themselves before him in gratitude, moving him greatly. Music picks up from the distance, and Ichi dances away down the road, in spite of the terrible tragedy he's just suffered. What an ending. What a movie.
Zatoichi kills a young yakuza in self defence. He visits the young man's mother to inform her of his death, and to beg her forgiveness. Once in town, he meets an old flame, and strikes up a rivalry with her new lover. He also comes across the reluctant heir to a yakuza family, Sakichi, who is pressured by the other bosses to take out Zatoichi or lose his position. Sakichi is in love with the innkeeper's daughter, but the innkeeper has a vendetta with Sakichi.
These are the threads which lead to the greatest battle in the series so far, and to those touching moments I mentioned. The ending, in particular, is quite moving, as the old woman who lost her son at the beginning tells Ichi she wishes he were her son. The final shot has the old woman and the other people Ichi has helped throughout the film prostrating themselves before him in gratitude, moving him greatly. Music picks up from the distance, and Ichi dances away down the road, in spite of the terrible tragedy he's just suffered. What an ending. What a movie.