Synopsis
Getting an opportunity to meet with another half-Caucasian swordsman, Kyoshiro finds himself involved in a series of dangerous encounters.
1969 ‘眠狂四郎 卍斬り’ Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro
Getting an opportunity to meet with another half-Caucasian swordsman, Kyoshiro finds himself involved in a series of dangerous encounters.
Hiroki Matsukata Yôko Namikawa Kikko Matsuoka Masakazu Tamura Ichirō Nakatani Asao Uchida Reiko Kasahara Shigako Shimegi Kyoko Mikage Yasushi Nagata Seiichirō Kameishi Yoshi Katō Saburo Date Gen Kimura Atsumi Uda Yasuhiro Minakami Shinzo Hotta Takuya Kitano Kanae Kobayashi Keiko Koyanagi Chikara Hashimoto Yūji Hamada Yukio Horikita Kiyoshi Kasuga Masayoshi Kikuno Junjiro Niizeki Takeshi Yabuuchi Kazuo Mortuchi Kazuo Ōbayashi Show All…
Nemuri Kyoshiro manji giri, Sleepy Eyes Of Death 14: Swastika Swordplay, Fylfot Swordplay
The new actor plays the role much differently than Raizô Ichikawa did, which isn't a bad thing just different. In fact both this film and the previous one just feel different from the rest of the series. The tone is lighter, Kyoshiro is softer and more of a hero now, and the are musical interludes sprinkled throughout which makes this feel like a different series altogether. I still liked it but not as much.
And so we come to the last movie in Daiei series. As with many samurai series, it ends not by the conclusion of a character's journey, but by simple cancellation by the studio. Since Kyoshiro has no overarching throughline, unlike Lone Wolf and Cub, this isn't a problem. In fact, elements of this work quite fittingly for a conclusion. Kyoshiro faces a similarly red-haired young man born of a foreigner, and as such confronts his own life choices. He also is caught off his guard on a couple occasions, giving us one of the only instances of Kyoshiro visibly bleeding.
On top of this, the film also indulges in a taste of the exploitative elements that make the Lone Wolf…