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Poster for Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally

Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally

1989 · 116 min

A weathered, contemplative samurai tale that moves quietly between swordplay bursts, carrying a wistful sense of an old wanderer's final battles.

Overview
Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • justice
  • violence
  • corruption
  • isolation
  • redemption
Places
  • countryside
  • small town
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • serialised
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action7
Horror2
Humour3
Realism6
Romance2
Tension6
Darkness6
Complexity4
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
action, drama, adventure
Directed by
Shintarō Katsu
Written by
Shintarō Katsu, Tsutomu Nakamura, Tatsumi Ichiyama
Starring
Shintarō Katsu, Kanako Higuchi, Takanori Jinnai, Ryûtarô Gan, Yuya Uchida, Toyomi Kusano, Tsurutaro Kataoka, Miho Nakayama
Music
Takayuki Watanabe
Cinematography
Mutsuo Naganuma
Runtime
116 min
Country
Japan
Languages
Japanese

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