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Movie Review: Samaritan Zatoichi (Zatôichi kenka-daiko)

I was a little confused when I started watching this Zatoichi movie. It reminded me of the first movie, where Zatoichi is unquestionably a gangster. It was surprising to see him actually kill someone for no reason other than because the local boss asked. It was also surprising to not only see him lose at dice, but to see him actually try to cheat. This seems to go against the style of most Zatoichi movies - if his heart is pure, he always wins. Maybe this was an attempt to get the series into a darker, more "realistic" territory. Unfortunately, this movie also includes a silly fight scene where Zatoichi is wrapped up in a mat and has to hop around. And this could have been such a good entry in the series - the scenes between Zatoichi and Osode were really well done, with both actors being convincing as Zatoichi spends the whole movie trying to make up for his mistake at the beginning. But ultimately, this one didn't work for me.