Fight, Zatoichi, Fight is the eighth entry in the franchise and one of the most unusual movies in the series. In the beginning of the movie, a young woman who is on her way to her husband with her infant son gets mistakenly killed by a group of samurai who are actually chasing Zatoichi. The blind masseur decides to take the baby of the deceased mother to its father who is living in an isolated village about sixty-five miles away. On his way, Zatoichi teams up with a kleptomaniac prostitute who helps him nurse the child. However, the samurai are still chasing Zatoichi and have identified the presence of the baby as a potential weakness of the blind masseur. As if that weren't enough, Zatoichi must deal with an unpleasant surprise when he finally meets the baby's father.
The movie with the misleading title stands out for three reasons. First of all, Zatoichi becomes surprisingly caring, emotional and tender as he grows fond of the baby boy he protects. Secondly, the movie includes a lot of slapstick humor with Zatoichi stealing clothes on a scarecrow to use them as diapers, with the infant child accidentally peeing on two angry sumo ringers and with a group of elderly blind people who fool the group of samurai that are chasing Zatoichi in hilarious manners. Thirdly, the addition of a kleptomaniac prostitute is quite interesting as she turns out being a very clumsy, emotional and romantic drama queen who often argues with Zatoichi. These three elements add a fresh touch to the Zatoichi franchise and offer several truly memorable scenes such as Zatoichi attempting to breastfeed the baby.
On the other side, the movie doesn't really have an intriguing plot as it basically follows Zatoichi on his way to bring the child to its father. The movie is lacking action and tension as fight scenes are rarely shown and not particularly well choreographed. The movie rather feels like a slice of life promoting family values and adding lots of slapstick moments. It lacks the choreography, intensity and seriousness that gave the previous entries their very own identity.
In the end, this film is a quite unusual one. Those who are expecting vivid sword fights, a tense plot and an intriguing antagonist will end up being disappointed. If you like a more cute, emotional and humorous touch to martial arts films, this film could be among your favorites of the franchise. This is the kind of movie I would show my girlfriend if I had to introduce her to the Zatoichi franchise. The movie recalls the Lone Wolf and Cup franchise or martial arts classics like The Master and the Kid with the difference that this visionary movie was released about a decade before those movies. Even though Fight, Zatoichi, Fight isn't exactly my cup of tea and among the weaker films in the franchise in my book, one can't deny that it has quite a few creative ideas and its very own original style.
