Plot: What’s it about?
As he passes by the town of Furukawa, Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) encounters an odd couple of sorts. The pair is made up of a young boy and Wang Kang (Jimmy Wang), the one armed martial arts hero from China. The blind swordsman soon learns that the local samurai have become quite corrupt, so Kang is in search of a safe haven. The samurai murdered the child’s parents, but they don’t plan to stop with those deaths. So Kang has protected the child to this point, though he needs some time to recover and make plans of his own. Zatoichi agrees to lend his sword, as well as his guidance to a temple, where the child would be safe. As the trek is made, Zatoichi has some trouble with Kang, as he doesn’t speak Chinese. These leads to misunderstandings of all kinds and as a result, tension is thick between the two. On the journey, Zatoichi encounters other who seek to go to temple for safety, for the same reason, to avoid the samurai. So before long, the blind swordsman is watching over an entire flock of locals. To make matters worse, his lone fellow warrior is of little help, since the two cannot communicate that well. The threat of the samurai attacks loom over the group, but internal conflicts seem more imminent. Can the journey be made with no outbursts, or will Zatoichi and Kang come to blows?
This is twenty-second film in the Zatoichi series, but the franchise shows no sign of slowing down, as this movie is terrific. I’ve said time and again, it is amazing that a series can be so potent after so many sequels, but Zatoichi’s blade is always sharp. In this installment, we watch as the blind swordsman battles perhaps his toughest foe to date. We’ve seen Zatoichi take on criminals, clan warriors, and other nefarious people, but in Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman, he isn’t up against a villain. No, his opponent is Wang Kang and he is more of a good person, not unlike the blind swordsman himself. This adds a new dimension to the movie, since we’re unable to dislike the man Zatoichi is set to battle. The reason for the battle is also unique, as Kang is Chinese and by turn, there is a language barrier between the two. This causes all kinds of problems and even in simple tasks, tensions run high. I also like how the unique situation is used to explore Zatoichi’s character more, to add more to his human side. This doesn’t turn into a character study however, as the blades clash and blood is spilled often. As always, the fight scenes are well crafted and pack a potent impact, so no complaints there at all. All in all, one of the better Zatoichi pictures and as such, this release is given a high recommendation.
Video: How does it look?
Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. As usual, AnimEigo has taken immense care to deliver a top notch visual presentation, so this is yet another success. This is an impressive visual presentation, thanks in no small part to AnimEigo’s restoration efforts. As a result, we’re presented with a clean source print that has only minor defects, as well as a sharp, clean overall image to experience. The colors have a little flatness in a few scenes, but seem bright enough in most, so no complaints there. As far as contrast, I found detail to be high and black levels look good, leaving me to score this one rather well. So kudos to AnimEigo for another great treatment.
Audio: How does it sound?
A basic soundtrack is present here, which preserves the original Japanese language and while not too memorable, this is a solid track. I heard little in terms of distortion, while hiss is absent and that’s great news, without a doubt. The music here is quite good and is well presented, though of course, it isn’t too expansive, thanks to the material’s limitations. The sound effects follow the same order, as they sound good, but also restrained to some extent. But this isn’t exactly new showroom material, so I think we can cut it some slack. The dialogue is sharp and never gets muffled much, so even if you can’t understand what they’re saying, at least it sounds clean. This disc also includes English subtitles, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
