(by mevmijaumau on 4 August 2015)

11 entries in and finally we get a non-generic title that's actually descriptive of the movie's own plot! Zatoichi and the Doomed Man is directed by Kazuo Mori, not the best director of Zatoichi films but not the worst. The movie can be described the same way. Not bad, but it could be better. At this point, the formula is really growing stale and the movie pokes fun at it. Also, Zatoichi has by now harnessed a considerable street cred - nearly everybody knows who he is, and this time around he even has an impersonator going around trying to make money and get laid by pretending he is Zatoichi.
There are a lot of comical moments here and it's obvious that the series has noticeably evolved from the dark melodrama of the first few films. Zatoichi is still here to kick ass and spread good deeds to the oppressed. The body count keeps piling up and up, all gambling dens across Japan have probably prohibited him to enter, and Shintaro Katsu's hair grows longer with each passing film (except for #9, where it sloppily changes between scenes). I also like how each Criterion cover has a different art style. This one is light-hearted and caricatural, and I think it fits the movie really well.
Highlight: Zatoichi encountering the ocean for the first time and wondering about its size, unable to see it.