"This feature has been transferred from the original 1974 elements. Due to the age of the materials some imperfections do exist."

Picture: Full-Screen, Standard. Now, Media Blasters was kind enough to preface every episode with a warning (see above) about the age and wear and tear on the transfer. Over the years, any clip or still that I saw from the tv series looked pretty poor, so I expected as much. Surprisingly, I think they didn't really need the warning. To me, the episodes looked rather good. Yeah, they look old because... well, they are. So, they may be a little spotty with dirt damage here and there, but overall it is a pretty good job considering the elements are from a 30+ year old Japanese television show.

Sound: 2 channel, Japanese language with optional English subtitles. Same as the above, really. Yeah, it shows some age and mix limitations, but the distortion and wear is minimal. The dialogue recording has an occasional weak bit, like a scene where keen listeners will note the sound of highway traffic in the background. But mostly the dialogue and fx are nice and clear, as well as the great Spaghetti Western-ish soundtrack. The subtitles appear to be quite good with only minor quibbles with some of the translations.

Extras: Nothin'... just some Media Blasters release trailers.

Conclusion: As a samurai film fan, a Zatoichi fan, I'm very pleased that Media Blasters has picked up the tv series. I'm crossing my fingers that these discs continue and pray just a little more that they might pick up other shows like Sonny Chiba's Shadow Warriors. Considering the series age, the transfers are quite good, and while there are no extras, who's complaining when you've got five 45 minute episodes worth of solid entertainment featuring an amazing actor and a timeless, treasured Japanese character? Certainly not me.