Wonderful character development!

Some things I liked some I did not.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Director Kimiyoshi Yasuda's Zatoichi films are so far my least favorite of the bunch, and this one, while not plain bad like Zatoichi on the Road, is fairly underwhelming and didn't really leave an impact on me.Zatoichi's Cane Sword is unusually talky for a Zatoichi film and the majority of it is just a long slow burn. It really takes a while for things to get going, and the plot isn't really the most interesting one too. Some aspects of the story were unclear to me, and there was some filler material. I don't know what's the point of the gambler character who appears several times (most notably in the final scene), and the appearance of singer Kiyoko Suizenji (who's here just to sing her popular song "Ippon dokko no uta") seems lazily shoehorned without much effort to weave her into the plot more fluidly.There are some interesting moments in the film, most notably the final fight scene and the dice throw in the final scene which assumes Zatoichi is a bloody wizard, but aside from those, there isn't much to recommend here.Highlight of the film would, once again, be the climactic fight scene taking place on the streets of the snowy town. Zatoichi's enemies are getting more and more creative - they use everything on him; barrels, even carpets!

This is another fine performance by Shintaro Katsu. First he gets a ride with a group of traveling performers. The woman singing the song had such a beautiful voice, she sounded like a professional singer. Then, he befriends a swordmaker, who tells him that his sword is about to break after another kill. So Zatoichi reluctantly gives him his sword, and has to fight only using a bamboo cane. The best part of the movie is when he does his song and dance routine about the ducks. He looked so goofy wearing that scarf around his head. It made him look like a woman. It was SO funny, I could not stop laughing even after that scene was over.

This entry in the Zatoichi series has been reviewed extensively at IMDb for good reason. If you have grown to admire Zatoichi and enjoyed earlier films in the series, you are sure to love Zatoichi Tekka Tabi. If you are a fan of samurai films with a lot of action and spurting blood, then you will lose patience with this film. Warning for the before-mentioned samurai film fans; Zatoichi doesn't make his first kill until the 77th minute!All of the most interesting scenes have been described by others. There is a great variety of scenes and Katsu Shintaro is at his best. I do have to mention the Duck Song scene. It is absolutely devastating. It's a short little song and dance performed by Zatoichi that blasts the boss who is hosting the party. Zatoichi finishes his song, waits, and doesn't hear any applause. The audience is stunned by his audacity. The scene continues with fabulous dialog between the boss and Zatoichi. It's pure gold.The film eventually does take the viewer into familiar territory and by now you should know what to expect. The cinematography of Zatoichi entering the town holding an umbrella under falling snow is one of my favorite images from the series. If you are looking to add to your Zatoichi DVD collection, this one is a no-brainer. It's terrific stuff served up by Katsu at his best.

In the beginning of this installment of the Zatoichi series, Zatoichi comes across a dying man, who only gives his name, before he dies. Zatoichi then accidentally kills a raven, which he says is a bad omen for things to come. Unfortunately, almost an hour of the movie goes by before these events are revisited. What the viewer sees in the meantime is a lot of plot about how Zatoichi is weary of his lifestyle and that his cane sword's useful life is coming to an end (the cane sword is not a walking cane with a mini blade hidden at the end, like the westerner that I am thought it would be, it is just a walking stick that serves as a sheath for the sword). Once all that is done, then the typical Zatoichi film begins. There is a town in fear of an evil mob boss (who is more fleshed out than in the other films), a young woman in trouble and a huge battle at the end which features a nifty scene with a barrel. The last 40 minutes of this film rank up there with the best of the other Zatoichi films but it's the hour before that sinks this film.