kluseba Fight, Zatoichi, Fight is the eighth entry in the franchise and one of the most unusual movies in the series. In the beginning of the movie, a young woman who is on her way to her husband with her infant son gets mistakenly killed by a group of samurai who are actually chasing Zatoichi. The blind masseur decides to take the baby of the deceased mother to its father who is living in an isolated village about sixty-five miles away. On his way, Zatoichi teams up with a kleptomaniac prostitute who helps him nurse the child. However, the samurai are still chasing Zatoichi and have identified the presence of the baby as a potential weakness of the blind masseur. As if that weren't enough, Zatoichi must deal with an unpleasant surprise when he finally meets the baby's father.The movie with the misleading title stands out for three reasons. First of all, Zatoichi becomes surprisingly caring, emotional and tender as he grows fond of the baby boy he protects. Secondly, the movie includes a lot of slapstick humor with Zatoichi stealing clothes on a scarecrow to use them as diapers, with the infant child accidentally peeing on two angry sumo ringers and with a group of elderly blind people who fool the group of samurai that are chasing Zatoichi in hilarious manners. Thirdly, the addition of a kleptomaniac prostitute is quite interesting as she turns out being a very clumsy, emotional and romantic drama queen who often argues with Zatoichi. These three elements add a fresh touch to the Zatoichi franchise and offer several truly memorable scenes such as Zatoichi attempting to breastfeed the baby.On the other side, the movie doesn't really have an intriguing plot as it basically follows Zatoichi on his way to bring the child to its father. The movie is lacking action and tension as fight scenes are rarely shown and not particularly well choreographed. The movie rather feels like a slice of life promoting family values and adding lots of slapstick moments. It lacks the choreography, intensity and seriousness that gave the previous entries their very own identity.In the end, this film is a quite unusual one. Those who are expecting vivid sword fights, a tense plot and an intriguing antagonist will end up being disappointed. If you like a more cute, emotional and humorous touch to martial arts films, this film could be among your favorites of the franchise. This is the kind of movie I would show my girlfriend if I had to introduce her to the Zatoichi franchise. The movie recalls the Lone Wolf and Cup franchise or martial arts classics like The Master and the Kid with the difference that this visionary movie was released about a decade before those movies. Even though Fight, Zatoichi, Fight isn't exactly my cup of tea and among the weaker films in the franchise in my book, one can't deny that it has quite a few creative ideas and its very own original style.

mevmijaumau The original title of this movie translates roughly to "Zatoichi's Travels of Laughter and Blood", but that title apparently sounded too good to whoever translated it into "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight". Seriously, we're 8 movies in and every single title so far has been so generic that it could fit practically any film in the series, with the exception of "Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold".#8 sees the return of director Kenji Misumi, who directed #1. Composer Akira Ifukube and cinematographer Chishi Makiura also mark their return, giving the film a calmer style as opposed to the two films that preceded it. #8 is like a precursor to the Lone Wolf and Cub series, as Zatoichi gets to take care of a baby, trying to return it to its father while fighting off mercenaries. Speaking of fights, don't trust the title "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight" as there is less action in this film when compared to the previous ones. This one is really emotional and heart- warming, and also has the most fluid pace so far, not to mention there's plenty of humor (Zatoichi trying to breastfeed the baby... Priceless). Also, the film starts with Zatoichi nearly stepping on a turd, but managing to avoid the danger after all. I don't really know what Misumi & co. were trying to say there.The visuals and sword-fighting sequences get better with each film. This one has some wonderful nature shots where the green color gets plenty of opportunities to dominate (I love the scene set in that scarecrow field). The fights are fewer in this movie, but they're also really well thought out and inventive, with the price of the audience having to suspend their disbelief a bit further, seeing how Zatoichi's tricks get more and more crazy as the series continues.Highlight: the final battle. Zatoichi faces off against torch-wielding thugs and defeats them all despite being on fire!

mistymountain I usually don't watch martial arts films too often, but when I heard the premise for this movie, I figured I should give it a chance. Boy, was I glad I saw this film. This had an excellent plot all through the film. Shintaro Katsu was excellent as Zatoichi in the original series. I only saw a few of the movies in the series, but this had a very emotional element. He was very good acting with an infant on screen. I admit I did shed a tear towards the end, but the whole movie just moved me. The way he changed the baby's diapers, holding the baby, singing to the baby, playing with the baby. This film broke the mold when back in the early 60's, most films would never use a real baby in the movies. Even the scenery was lovely. It's a shame that Shintaro's no longer with us. But during his 5-decade film career, out of all his 105 films that he's done, Fight, Zatoichi, Fight is definitely his best film ever.

masercot Shintaro at his best. He's a mother, a husband and a reluctant killer all rolled into one. I can't imagine anyone else pulling off the role of Zatoichi. His interaction with the infant is truly heartwarming. There is pathos and humor as well. What else is there? Swordfighting, swordfighting, swordfighting...Not that he doesn't try to talk reason to his assailants. He deters an angry samurai without blood or violence in a scene I felt was so unusual, I played it back three times in a row. I LOVE martial arts sequences, but, the reason that I watch this one again and again is the acting and the natural building of his relationship with the infant that he has decided to help.If you want to sample the Zatoichi series, I would certainly recommend this one to be your first...