This is the ninth in the series of Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman movies and I am sick of the generic titles. This one could've been titled Zatoichi's New Year instead. However, that wouldn't be right either. The new year is supposed to be promising and a time of celebration. This one is a let down and ends on a down note. It's not a good movie to watch for the new year.

Zatoichi himself is upbeat in the beginning and wants to see the sunrise from Mt. Myogi for the new year. The local entertainers and merchants are upbeat about putting on a festival and making money.

However, their optimism is soon doused by the local yakuza gang who brings a proclamation of exorbitant taxes by the corrupt tax official. They will barely make enough to survive, so some think of pulling out. Then Zatoichi is fortunate to be put up with three nice women in their room. He meets a lovely maiden who is looking for her father. Another is trying to protect her brother who got involved with the local gang and was set up as the patsy. Zatoichi is his usual self -- drinking sake, eating, gambling, giving massages, being humble and fighting and killing most of the bad guys.

He later meets the town drunk who is crafty and tells him a tale to remind him of his own father. Could this old man be Zatoichi's long lost father? This story builds drama with interesting characters and a big cast, and it pulls you in, but I was expecting a much better ending. There's no payoff at the end despite Zatoichi seeing the sunrise as there are just too many unresolved emotions and loose ends.

For those of who have viewed and enjoyed the first 8 films in the series, this entry doesn't have many surprises. Yet, I still enjoyed Adventures of Zatoichi thoroughly.

The film's strength is in the fine ensemble of characters throughout. I especially enjoyed the two traditional comedians at the beginning of the film. In addition, the boss has two very interesting yojimbos. The newly hired yojimbo has to be one of the smartest in the complete series. After watching Zatoichi fight several times, he calmly informs Zatoichi that he has no desire to fight him because he isn't getting paid enough. He then amicably turns away and walks off into the mountains! The more senior yojimbo is unhappy with his prospects as a third son of a low ranking samurai. He shares this information over a few cups of sake that Zatoichi offers him. In the end, this is the big duel at the end of the film. The duel takes place at night, with swirling snow. It's a great scene.

If you have seen a few entries in the series and are looking for something different, keep looking! If you like the formula of the series and haven't seen this entry yet, you should find this film very enjoyable.

Adventures of Zatoichi is the ninth film of the franchise based upon the blind masseur. Zatoichi wants to celebrate New Year's Eve peacefully in a town next to a mountain where a lot of artists, businessmen and comedians have gathered. However, they are soon informed that the local intendant plans on asking forty percent of their profits. This isn't the only bad news as Zatoichi must share his room with two beautiful but desperate women. One is looking for her father who mysteriously disappeared about a month ago. The other one secretly meets her brother who was tricked into committing a crime for the local intendant, just to be captured and sent into exile and who managed to escape to have his revenge. Zatoichi wants to help the two women and put an end to the local intendant's abusive reign of terror.

One element I liked about the movie was the intriguing cast of characters. The two resilient and strong women aren't as flat and stereotyped as in other films of the franchise and one actually cares about their fates. Two other interesting characters are two gymnast boys who occasionally help Zatoichi and the two women and are a welcome change if compared to the kids that usually just make fun of the blind swordsman in the other movies. Zatoichi also has to face two quite intriguing swordsmen hired by the local intendant. One of them is frustrated by his low salary and decides to avoid fighting Zatoichi. The other one is a disillusioned man from a poor family who only wants to fight Zatoichi because he sees a valuable opponent in him. Another intriguing character is an old drunkard who reminds Zatoichi of his own father.

This leads to another strong element of the story. This film gives us some more background information about Zatoichi. It tells us how he got separated from his father when he was just five years old and how he desires to meet him again. The movie exposes Zatoichi's desire to have a normal life with a normal family as he grows tired of his life as a criminal and drifter. The film adds some depth to an already intriguing protagonist.

Another element to appreciate is the movie's atmosphere. The diversified locations include traditional Japanese inns, shady bars and dark guard stations. The numerous colorful artists, businessmen and comedians are also interesting to watch. The movie is filmed with much precision and beautiful backdrops. Especially the final scenes with sword fights in the snow and a rising sun above a mountain are particularly beautiful. The film finds the right balance between gloomy backdrops and beautiful settings.

However, the film also has a few minor flaws. The story is nicely developed and unfolds smoothly but it's hardly surprising and lacking fresh elements. Most twists are quite predictable and only the side story between the blind masseur and the local drunkard tries to add something new to the franchise. Another problem is that the sword fights aren't particularly interesting. They are often brief and repetitive and especially the final showdown is slightly underwhelming.

In the end, Adventures of Zatoichi is a good average entry in the franchise as it neither stands out negatively or positively. Those who are familiar with the franchise will like this film for sure. Those who aren't familiar with it yet shouldn't start here and either watch the very first film or the contemporary remake with Kitano Takeshi.