It may not be suitable for all readers. |
Ichi is a 2008 Japanese chanbara film directed by Fumihiko Sori, the film stars Haruka Ayase as the titular character, alongside Takao Ōsawa, Shidō Nakamura, and Yōsuke Kubozuka. It is a soft reboot of Zatoichi film series.
Plot[]
Ichi is a blind traveling performer (a goze) who roams feudal Japan with her shamisen and a walking cane concealing a hidden sword. She searches for the mentor who rescued and trained her in swordsmanship, a figure she believes to be the legendary blind swordsman Zatoichi.
Early in her journey, she is attacked by members of the vicious Banki‑to gang. A samurai named Toma Fujihira intervenes, but is too frightened to draw his sword. Ichi defends them both with deadly precision and kills the attackers. Though she wishes to travel alone afterward, circumstances lead her and Toma (along with a young boy named Kotaro) into the conflict-torn Shirakawa village.
Toma is mistakenly hailed as a hero and hired as a bodyguard for the Shirakawa clan, who are locked in strife with Banki’s mercenary group. Meanwhile, Ichi’s fighting style is recognized by the brutal clan leader Banki, who claims past connection to her mentor—intensifying Ichi's desire to confront him. As hostilities escalate, Ichi fights and is captured, revealing fragments of her past: she was raped, expelled from her goze group, and taught secret sword techniques by Zatoichi, whom she believes may be her father.
In the final battle, Toma overcomes his guilt (rooted in accidentally blinding his mother) to draw his katana and faces Banki. He deals a blow but is mortally wounded and dies in Ichi’s arms, urging her not to lose hope. Enraged and resolute, Ichi confronts and kills Banki, recognizing him as the man who harmed her years ago. With the village freed, she places a bell (a token from Zatoichi) on Toma’s grave, gives a keepsake bell to Kotaro, and resumes her quest for the mentor she may never find.
Cast[]
- Haruka Ayase as Ichi
- Shido Nakamura as Banki
- Yosuke Kubozuka as Toraji Shirakawa
- Takao Osawa as Toma Fujihira
- Tetta Sugimoto as Zatoichi
- Megumi Yokoyama as Toma's mother
- Eri Watanabe as Ohama
- Mitsuki Koga as Jakou
- Ryousuke Shima as Kotaro
- Yukina Kashiwa as Young Ichi
- Tetta Sugimoto as Zatoichi
- Riki Takeuchi as Izo
- Kazuma Chiba as Young Toma
- Mayumi Sada as Mitsu
Release[]
The film premiered in Japan on October 25, 2008. It was later released in other countries, including Germany on May 14, 2009, and the United Kingdom on July 10, 2009 . In North America, the film was released on December 22, 2009, by Funimation Entertainment.
v - e - d  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|