(by bighouseaz on 9 January 2005)

This being the fifth entry in the Zatoichi series, the series has taken on an expected form. Once again, Zatoichi finds himself in the middle of a gang war and tries to do the right thing. The right thing in this case is to spirit a young maiden back to safety in Edo and away from a rapacious samurai.
Zatoichi is firmly in control in this entry of the series. This is not always the case. But here, Zatoichi is comfortable, confident, and intimidating. Both gangs treat Ichi with the utmost respect (at least to his face) because of his fighting prowess. This fact is punctuated in the scene where Ichi tries to get the gang war started by asking the other side to send up a challenger to fight one on one. There are no takers!
The young maiden is lovely Mitsu (Shiho Fujimura). It's easy to see how Ichi falls for this cute, helpless maiden. Although in the end, Ichi doesn't think he is good enough for her, because she is the daughter of a wealthy merchant.
Each good entry in the series has one or two scenes which are unforgettable. For me, the dragonfly scene in On the Road is unforgettable. A lovely moment of a spring day turns suddenly violent for only a few seconds and then peace is restored. How many times do we see villains leap at Zatoichi when he has fallen or is on the ground? That turns out to be a fatal mistake!
Overall it's a good entry in the series. It's good to see Ichi get some respect and the love of a charming lady. It's sad to see him march off by himself at the end of the film. Why Zatoichi, why?