Plot from Kurotokagi: "Tange Sazen, the one-armed one-eyed swordsman, one of most beloved characters in Japanese literature, has gotten a make-over. Meet O'Kin the one-armed one-eyed swordswoman, aka Lady Sazen. As a child, she was disfigured by Lord Daizen-dayu, who was after her family's most treasured possession, the famed Drenched Swallow sword. As an adult, she has become a skilled swordswoman and lives a carefree life with her adopted family. One day, O'Kin saves a girl from a group of yakuza, and in doing so, gets involved in a grand conspiracy involving religious leaders, government officials, the yakuza and Lord Daizen-day, the man who killed her father and destroyed her body..."
Kimiyoshi Yasuda, director of a numerous Zatoichi movies (including one of my favorite, "Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman"), is doing a nice job here, in a classic swordsman (or swordswoman in that case) tale. The second movie in the Onna Sazen series, "Onna Sazen - Nuretsubame Katate Giri " delivers a cool entertainment and make the most out of a ultra classic figure: the crippled but lethal mistress of the sword. The mix between a political scandal, a samurai looking to fulfill his mission (even if it's a morally wrong one) , a strange beggar who appears at time and a long time revenge story about a greedy lord who collects Swords (and who is responsible of O'Kin mutilation) is getting the plot a bit confuse at time. As a female "Zatoichi", Michiyo Ookusu is doing a good job, despite a poor make-up. She appeared in some Zatoichi movies and some of the "Lone Wolf and Cub" series. She also had a small part in the last Zatoichi, from Takeshi Kitano. Almost no gore, very few erotic scenes, lots of fights and most of the plot revolving around corruption and politics make this one only interesting for the fans of the Chambara genre and the ones definitively hooked on popular Japanese cinema from the 70's. Like me.
Sorry, no trailer available.
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