Being a huge Katsu-shin fan, and especially Zatoichi fan, I was reticent of the first Zatoichi remake by Kitano Takeshi, and rightfully so. While it was an enjoyable Kitano film, it was not an impressive Zatoichi film, with it’s digital blood, and unimpressive storyline. Sure it had an a musical number, but it was not Zatoichi, so I have to admit to being reticent about seeing a Zatoichi remake with a female lead, but I watched it anyway, and I am glad it did. This is a gorgeous re-imagining that can actually be thought of as a sequel, with a great cast, a great story, and absolutely gorgeous cinematography. I did not think I would like it, but instead I loved it, and am ready for another film. Sure I called a major plot point pretty early, but it had to happen to allow this to be the first film of a possible series, of which I would love to be a watch them all if they are going to be this good! A beautiful and well done film, which shows that digital blood has come along way (especially with some judicious fake blood used as well). Ayase is excellent, not doing the closed eye thing of Katsushin, but instead keeping her eyes open and blank, and by the end you really care for this girl. I really enjoyed it, and the US blu-ray looks fantastic, so certainly check it out if you get a chance.

Ichi (Ayase Haruka from Cyborg She) is a poor homeless goze singer, a blind singer and entertainer who has been cast out of her home. We know this happens when a goze singer has relations with a man, but we are not shown exactly what happened to her, but she is not an ordinary goze singer, she is also a master swordsman who uses a unique underhand sword style, and the power of her amazingly trained ears to dispatch any opponent. She is taking shelter at the house of another cast out goze, this one now now working as a prostitute. The gangster who sleeps with her does not pay though, and she is beaten by him and his two men. Ichi does nothing, but then they see her, and she is much more beautiful than the other, so they begin to bother her. She is about to draw her sword, when the slightly bumbling Toma (Osawa Takao) shows up and challenges them, but then starts shaking when he tries to draw his sword, so he tries to buy them off. They take the money, and then plan to kill him anyway, but Ichi quickly dispatches all three. Toma is blown away and starts following her, and he says he lost all his money because of her (it was cut in half when she killed the Yakuza). They run into a kid while going into town, who takes them to a gambling house. Toma tries to earn some money, and Ichi gives him hints, using her exceptional ears, earning back his 10 ryo. As they leave some gangsters come on them and are going to kill them for the money, but Ichi quickly kills them all. The local town chief’s son comes upon them, this is Shirakawa Toraji (Yosuke Kubozuka) who thinks that Toma has done it, and hires him as the family bodyguard to protect them from the evil Banki (Nakamura Shido) and his henchmen.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Ichi sticks around as she has heard of a rumor of a blind master swordsman coming to town to entertain an official who will be arriving, and she hopes it is her master. We learn that she was raised by a blind swordsman (I am assuming this is Zatoichi) who trained her in the ways of the sword, and then had her installed as a goze. He still came and visited her, and taught her the sword though, but she has not seen him in years, and especially since she has been cast out, and wants to find out if he is in fact her father.

At the goze she was raped, and when she confronted the man, he attacked her and she killed him, so she was cast out of the one place where she was truly happy.

Toma is held up highly by Toraji and his men, but when the battle comes he can’t draw his sword, and causes more harm than good, and Toraji’s father is killed.

He goes out and finds Ichi, and ends up dueling her with a wooden stick, with which he bests her. His father was a master swordsman who ran a school, and as a child he accidentally blinded his mother with a sword, and has not been able to draw a sword since. His father ended up adopting his best student as his son and heir and Toma has been wandering for the last 5 years trying to be able to draw his sword again.

Ichi ends up learning that Banki knew the blind swordsman, so she goes to confront him, but is captured by his men, and locked up. Banki wants to break her and make her his woman, and he says he knew her father, who died of a sickness.

Toma comes and with the kid and his father manages to escape with the wounded Ichi. Ichi realizes she has feelings for Toma for the first time, and this may be a reason to live, as her only previous one was to find her master and see if he was her father. She awakens to find Toma is gone.

Toma is with Toraji in town at the final big battle between the two gangs. Toma still is having trouble drawing his sword, but finally manages when he goes to fight Banki, and the two strike each other down.

Ichi rushes to Toma and holds him as he dies, and he tells her to please live, for him, and then dies (this is the point I figured out early, that he must die, so she can wander at the end, or this could only be a one shot). Banki is not dead though, and he gets up, but Ichi cuts him down.

She leaves the town taking Toma’s robes to his family, to prove he was a true warrior, but she tells the child she will return, because she now has the will to live.

•••

I have heard many bad things about this film, but honestly I really enjoyed it.

Sure Ichi is distant for most of the film, but that is the character. She does not want to get close to anyone, nor help anyone, she just has her quest, but is slowly drawn out, and begins to care again, and that is what makes her human. And Haruka is gorgeous to watch, and plays the character very well.

And the film has some great action, and looks absolutely gorgeous so is really worth checking out. A really good film.