Final Recap
Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968) 85/100
Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967) 84/100
Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964) 82/100
Zatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966) 80/100
Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966) 78/100
Zatoichi on the Road (1963) 78/100
The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) 77/100
Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman (1971) 77/100
Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965) 76/100
Zatoichi's Revenge (1965) 74/100
Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (1970) 74/100
New Tale of Zatoichi (1963) 73/100
Zatoichi Challenged (1967) 72/100
Zatoichi in Desperation (1972) 72/100
Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963) 70/100
Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword (1964) 70/100
Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (1965) 69/100
The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962) 68/100
Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold (1964) 66/100
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970) 66/100
Adventures of Zatoichi (1964) 65/100
Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973) 64/100
Samaritan Zatoichi (1968) 64/100
Zatoichi at Large (1972) 60/100
Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967) 56/100
Twenty five films makes for a protracted investment in personal time and in the end, this marathon, and the investment I made in the DVD set was well worth it. Should Toho have continued the series after the dissolution of Daiei Studios in 1968, for all intensive purposes, I have to say no? The high water mark of this franchise was during the Daiei period, with some really entertaining romps with the blind yakuza masseur. I think what made this such a successful set of films, is that Daiei used different directors, giving certain films their own unique style. My favorites all tended to be directed by Kenji Misumi, who I found, equally balanced the action with drama and comedy. I also have to give credit to the star of the series, Shintarô Katsu, who never for a moment, dialed in a performance. He saw what a great character he was lucky enough to land, and he nurtured the development of Zatoichi, from a Yakuza killing machine, to one of a philosophical vagabond who really comes across as a Japanese version of Robin Hood. Katsu would move his beloved masseur to the small screen, while creating another character that would have a shorter series on the widescreen, Hanzo the Razor.