I have to say that this series has many outstanding qualities but the greatest is the ever-present depiction of a crippled, low-class former yakuza member with a high-class heart and deadly skills as the champion of the little guy (or gal). The rise of the downtrodden was certainly the prevalent mood in the '60s all around the free world, but subsequent chambara films in Japan eventually went back to showcasing the fancy shoguns, samurai, ninja, and mythical characters of their feudal and ancient past. Yet the Zatoichi series' longevity is undoubtedly attributed by a great degree to the accessibility of the main character as perfectly portrayed by Katsu.

In Adventures of Zatoichi, Ichi initially shows his affinity for children, or more specifically the innocent nature of children. Past films allude to this, but he finally declares it just as one of the more darkly complex character draws him into a situation he would have rather avoided. Of course we can be glad he didn't for the ensuing drama and swordplay action is magic.

Ichi is petitioned by an escaped convict to deliver a letter to his sister in a town where preparations for a New Year's celebration are underway. Ichi shares room with two lovely ladies in a crowded inn, one of whom is Saki, a woman looking for her missing father. The convict shows up on a suicide mission to kill a corrupt local official named Jinbei. Ichi attempts to protect the convict's sister, and in doing so discovers that the convict killed Saki's father by order of the official. Ichi attempts to get Saki out of town for her own safety, but she's kidnapped by Jinbei's men after a man he has been kind to betrays him. With the aid of two streetwise youths who are in town as acrobatic performers, Ichi storms the official's guardhouse in order to save Saki, while forced to trade sword strokes with dozens of men and one driven swordsman named Gounosuke.

This is an excellent entry in the series that has all of the fun stuff one comes to expect from a Zatoichi yarn. Ichi shows off his lightning fast sword skills on several occasions, there is another great gambling scene where he bests the cheaters, and there is lots of great humor best appreciated by someone who has seen at least a couple of the previous films in the series. The story is tightly woven together and the supporting cast is especially good this time around. For added comedy actors Daimaru and Racket Nakada play a pair of clowning performers. But one of the funniest scenes is reserved for one of several interactions with the two kids who aid Ichi as he starts choking on rice. If you know Ichi, you know he eats like a pig! The two kids are great and this is the first episode that puts child actors in prime roles. The women in the film are all "victims" and therefore forgettable. Miwa Takada returns to the series in an unrelated role after appearing in Zatoichi 4: The Fugitive. There is an odd swordsman hired who is smart enough to steer clear of Ichi, but he just fades from the story. Ichi's main opponent is Gounosuke as played by Mikijiro Hira who plays the role a little to stiffly and generic for my tastes.

Where it really counts is the action and although portions of the film are slow in this regard, there are several excellent matches. By this point, Katsu has truly mastered the underhanded sword technique for screen fighting and looks extremely natural in his use of his cane sword. interestingly, there is virtually no blood shown and certainly no dismemberment. But that's not really the point of this series and Katsu would make up for it by producing the Lone Wolf and Cub series starring his brother.

Any real faults with Adventures of Zatoichi would lie solely with the noticeable setup for most of the scenes. This is a formula series and no matter how entertaining each episode is there is this feeling that we've been down this road before. But it's such a wonderful road to travel. Like any great series, you as a viewer become emotionally attached to Ichi, which is not hard to do with Katsu's gregarious, yet fierce character. Whether he's offering to massage two women he just met as an ice breaker, accepting good-natured heckling from kids, or running the edge of his sword through the bellies of four attackers in a split second, you cannot help but cheer for this unlikely hero.

Zatoichi enters a town on the eve of the New Years festival. While staying at an inn, he befriends two women with a connection. One woman, Miss Saki, is searching for her lost father, the leader of a village nearby. Her father disappeared while going to report the wrongdoings of the local intendant, who is in league with gang leader Boss Jubei. The two are jacking up the taxes of the struggling villagers and keeping the excess money for themselves. The other woman, the inn owner, is busy caring for her brother, a low level crony of Jubei who was sent to assassinate the Miss Saki's father and now finds himself taking the fall for the crime instead of being promoted.

Fair Zatoichi entry. Pretty much the standard plot for an Ichi film- the corrupt leaders in league with gangsters oppressing the townspeople, Ichi aiding some ladies in need of help. He finds another rival in the employ of the gangsters, a swordsman for hire out to prove himself and desperate to face Ichi, all despite the fact the Ichi tries to make friendly with him. One of the standout moments involves Ichi overemphasizing his blindness and tripping up the gangsters on a staircase. As they get forceful, he gives one a quick swipe with his sword, the man goes tumbling, Ichi says "Oops.", and sends them scurrying away in fear.

The real change up and what makes this film standout is in its reveal of a little more of Zatoichi's past. The town is located next to Mount Myugi, where Zatoichi was separated from his father eighteen years before. In the town, Ichi meets the local drunk, who claims a similar incident, perhaps, making him Ichi's long lost father. This father connection makes a nice parallel between Miss Saki and Ichi, both searching for their fathers and forced to confront the world on their own.

The film was directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda, who previously directed Zatoichi on the Road and would go on to direct the classic Daimajin as well as a few more Zatoichi's (including the Japanese/HK crossover Zatoichi Vs. the One-Armed Swordsman) and some Sleepy Eyes of Death films.