Customer Reviews

Zatoichi - Collection 1

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes, that's sarcasm. The product description is less of a description and more like confusing haiku (at least that was my impression when looking at an actual DVD case in the store; haiku only really works in Japanese anyway).

What you're looking at here is a 6-disk set containing the first 13 episodes from the television series, which came after the films. These 6 disks are also available in pairs as "Zatoichi, TV Series" Volumes 1 - 3.

This collection is a great deal, especially considering that the 2-disk sets sell for $20-30 a pop--this is what they should have released in the first place!

Original Japanese audio, excellent English subtitles.

As stated in the title, Zatoichi Collection I contains Episodes 1-13 of the First Season.

Whether you are a die-hard Zatoichi fan, or a casual viewer looking for something different, the Zatoichi Collections are great place to begin (Or end, if you've already seen all 26 of Katsushin's movies. If you haven't, well...what are you waiting for?!?)

Each of the 13 episodes (1-13) averages *about* 50 minutes. If you find yourself questioning "how many scumbags can our hero possibly dispatch in only 50 minutes?", well, the answer is "as many as he wants".

Each episode is a mini-movie, with all the action, humor, drama and tragedy of a full-length movie packed into 50 minutes. I've seen all 26 episodes of the 1st Season, and I enjoyed every single minute of my time spent with Shintaro Katsu as the immortal-beloved, Zatoichi.

Fans of Zatoichi will notice repeat plot-lines, gags, and similar stunts during certain action sequences, but don't even think of letting that dissuade you from purchasing these treasures. The true beauty of Zatoichi is that it's star, the very soul of the show, Shintaro Katsu, could make a humorless joke funny, or a cliche' pratfall look new, interesting, and even dangerous. He could make eating a steaming bowl of rice look so delicious, that I just had to stop and cook myself some right then and there, while Ichi-san waited on pause in the living-room. And last but certainly not least, his swordsmanship is truly something to behold. Regardless of clever editing, even after multiple viewings one can marvel at actor Shintaro Katsu's impressive skill with a sword. Hat's off to the stuntmen/extra's as well.

Now, writing a review of each of these 13 episodes is a lot of work, and I'm far too lazy to even consider doing that, so just take my word when I say that even a *not so good* episode of Zatoichi, is still twice as good as almost anything out there. In my book, there are a few *not so good* episodes, while the rest (and there are 100 episodes in all) fall into the *Oh my god, that was awesome!* category.

In closing, I'll just say if you don't already own Zatoichi Collection I, buy it right now. If you already own it and are reading this review of Collection I, you can stop reading now and go buy collection two; I won't be offended you didn't finish reading this, I promise.

This a joy to watch. I have pre-ordered the collection 2 with English subtitles. Well the series is like our old westerns yet you see things like action and humor in close quarters not like the long range of rifles and horse chases. And there is a deeper understanding of human nature of the actors rolls. I see why it was so popular in Japan. Its a fun watch and with most of the stuff on TV now, this is like a trip to the lake. Very refreshing and enjoyable.

Product: ZATOICHI: The Blind Swordsman (Television Series), Collections One & Two (Season 1, 1974)
DVD Supplier/Format: "Tokyo Shock" DVD (6+6=12 discs total), 1:33 Full Screen, NTSC, Japanese with English subtitles
Rating: 5/5 (excellent) for the TV Series, but only 3/5 (fair) for this DVD collection.

Note: Scroll down for a full list of the episodes included in this collection.

I'm a die-hard Ichi-fan, and it was a brief run-in with several episodes that prompted me to study Iaiado back in the late 1980's. It is widely reputed that the American "Kung Fu" TV series (1972-1975), starring the late David Carradine was directly inspired by this series, and the hit Graphic Novel "Lone Wolf and Cub" was a nearly direct adaptation.

The basic premise is this: blind lower-caste loveable Japanese "peasant hero", wanders the countryside, from village to village, helping the downtrodden, during the Edo period of Feudal Japan. He poses as a masseuse, with a huge appetite for food and sake, but it's his superhuman skills with his hidden cane-sword, and his gambling dice, that make him an irresistible force to be reckoned with, and the bane of local yakuza. Every week featured a new orphan, couple, family, or village in trouble, and Ichi's passage though town is always the catalyst for a dramatic resolution to the conflict du jour. It's a feel-good formula that's been used again and again, in endless permutations, in TV and comic book series the world over, be they sighted or blind ... The Gunfighter, Robin Hood, Zorro, Daredevil, etc. It's rightfully considered a cult classic, and spanned 26 theatrical movies, and a hit TV series that ran for 4 seasons (approximately 100 episodes).

That brings us, at last, to this DVD collection, which unfortunately, was not labeled and assembled very well:

The Good:
* Collections One and Two together include the complete first season (1974) of "Tales of Zatoichi" (TV Series). Twenty six episodes of pure Zatoichi goodness. Love it !

The Bad:
* Confusing Amazon product description that fails to list much of anything about the series, or the episodes included in this collection.
* DVD Jackets that fails to list the episodes included.
* DVD labels that are confusingly marked by collection, volume and disc number, rather than by season and episode numbers.
* Top Menus that fail to list the episodes included on each disc ... you have to navigate down to, and through, the individual scene selection menus in order to find the episode numbers present, and even then they're not always present, and don't include the English episode titles.
* Clumsy DVD cases with a fragile inner hinge, and holders that grasp the discs much too firmly (you have to nearly bend the discs in half to detach them).
* The digital transfers were apparently made from an un-restored copy of the original series ... the quality is somewhat below average.

Bottom Line: Zatoichi is an awesome series. It's a shame this particular collection (by "Tokyo Shock") was released with such mediocre packaging and confusing labels and digital menus ... but despite that, it's still highly recommended, if only because it's Zatoichi.

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p.s. As a courtesy to my fellow Ichi fans, here's a manually typed index of all the episodes included in this collection. Enjoy.

TV Series: "Tales of Zatoichi", Season 1 [1974]

Collection 1:

Vol 1 Disc 1 Episodes:
1. A Challenge Of Chance
2. The Flower That Bloomed With The Lullaby
3. A Memorial Day And The Bell Of Life

Vol 1 Disc 2 Episodes:
4. The Kannon Statue that was Bound
5. The Heartless Man, Touched By Compassion

Vol 2 Disc 1 Episodes:
6. Pouring Rain
7. A Bird Lands On Ichi

Vol 2 Disc 2 Episodes:
8. An Unforgettable Flower
9. The Second Zatoichi

Vol 3 Disc 1 Episodes:
10. The Sumo Wrestler That Found His Home
11. The Whirlwind Of Kisoji

Vol 3 Disc 2 Episodes:
12. Humanity And Justice
13. The 1,000 Ryo Raffle

Collection 2:

Vol 4 Disc 1 Episodes:
14. Fighting Journey With Baby In Tow
15. Festival Song Of The Raven

Vol 4 Disc 2 Episodes:
16. The Wind From Mt. Akagi
17. Burning Sunset on the Bridal Pass

Vol 5 Disc 1 Episodes:
18. A Rush Trip
19. A Rainbow Over My Homeland

Vol 5 Disc 2 Episodes:
20. The Female Yakuza Boss
21. The Little Flower By The Lake

Vol 6 Disc 1 Episodes:
22. A Father And Son's Song
23. A Lover's Suicide Song
24. The Coming Of Spring

Vol 6 Disc 2 Episodes:
25. The Yakuza Ways
26. Traveling Alone

I watched the originals in Japan in the 70's. This is what I watched. I didn't have the luxury of english subtitles then, but they are on this set. I have shown these to friends who are very impressed with the old shows. I like them.

The 4 stars are for the "The Blind Swordsman". I give zero stars to the company that put this out. Last Year I bought all six double DVD packages of the first year of the TV Series. When I saw this compilation I thought it was all 26 episodes of season 2 in two separate packages. I was happy at the reduced price from last year and "Very Unhappy" that it was just a repackaging of Season One. I will now wait and be sure that what I'm buying from this company is what it purports to be. They should have listed the episode titles on the box, then I would have known I'd seen them before. I'm really disappointed with Tokyo Shock & Media Blasters. I've been waiting year for season two and they do this. I think on purpose. NEVER AGAIN!

to say Zatoichi is just an action series is a sin. you can learn so much about the japanese feudal system from this series. the genre is action and adventure drama. Zatoichi is one who has nothing to lose and would still know how to appreciate life. he hates killing but his instincts are just too good that he doesn't get killed. And, he's lucky too. You will not regret the [...] bucks you spend on it (hint: looks like my storytelling skills are really bad that my friend wouldn't watch this initially; but once I forced him to sit and watch this, he wouldn't turn the tv off for me to sleep). I am lazier still than the other reviewer to write any more. Just enjoy it for I fear I will ruin your fun.

Zatoichi is such a likable, and original character from way back, that it's always a pleasure to watch all those many great movies. Though this is from the television series, it is indeed very similar to the Zatoichi motion pictures. I have to admit though, that I was tempted to give it four stars only because the sound and picture quality wasn't as good as the Zatoichi movies, which I thought this particular distributor might have been able to remaster and correct somewhat. But, of course, that's not the fault of the original TV series in any way, so I kept it at 5 stars for the usual great stories, and predicaments that Zatoichi always manages to find himself in.
So far, my favorite episode I believe is called "Zatoichi, and the Sumo Wrestler" which starts off with Zatoichi sitting outside an abandoned shack, eagerly gobbling down some rice, as usual, when suddenly the shack collapses and, (without giving away anything vital), Zatoichi finds himself reluctantly befriending an enthusiastic, but likable 18-year old Sumo wrestling student whom Zatoichi can't seem to get rid of. Because the kid has such a insatiable appetite, he ends up eating too much Sushi in a gambling establishment they wander into, which he didn't realize he had to pay for which is where the excitement begins in this unique, and often humorous, as well as touching episode!
As far as each story goes, they're much like mini-Zatoichi movies as a reviewer "Moonstryfe" noted, and if you need a real Zatoichi fix, watch two in a row, which should equal or even surpass the length of a Zatoichi movie.
Finally, though the two middle discs have identical covers (unlike the rest, which are all different), rest assured that disc one is disc one, but disc two is simply not labeled, as "disc two". I used a "Sharpie" marker and printed "disc 2", on the upper lighter colored portion of the picture. And, yes, both discs contain different episodes.

The quality of the movies are great, if you like the movies you will like the tv series actually you might like them better because they are shorter. The quality of the footage has few mistakes and noticeable marks in the footage some weird audio, but it's what you can expect for a movie made tv show.

My only complaints are the case inside is a horrible idea, when i opened the case the middle page which held the discs broke, and each disc lays on each other which I think is not a very good idea, another thing is you should skip this and buy the collection 1 & 2 together save money, and get all of the episodes released so far, I bought this because I had already received vol. 4 from someone so I didn't want to buy doubles.

Five stars because these episodes are magical and really draw you in they leave you wanting more, the tv series has some really great characters like a samurai/bird keeper with this large stick and gooey sap, he never uses a sword.

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