In the beginning of this installment of the Zatoichi series, Zatoichi comes across a dying man, who only gives his name, before he dies. Zatoichi then accidentally kills a raven, which he says is a bad omen for things to come. Unfortunately, almost an hour of the movie goes by before these events are revisited. What the viewer sees in the meantime is a lot of plot about how Zatoichi is weary of his lifestyle and that his cane sword's useful life is coming to an end (the cane sword is not a walking cane with a mini blade hidden at the end, like the westerner that I am thought it would be, it is just a walking stick that serves as a sheath for the sword). Once all that is done, then the typical Zatoichi film begins. There is a town in fear of an evil mob boss (who is more fleshed out than in the other films), a young woman in trouble and a huge battle at the end which features a nifty scene with a barrel. The last 40 minutes of this film rank up there with the best of the other Zatoichi films but it's the hour before that sinks this film.
Review of Zatoichi's Cane Sword
