Ichi - 盲劍

Ichi (盲劍) is a 2008 film out of Japan. The movie stars Haruka Ayase and Takao Osawa. Shido Nakamura and Yosuke Kubozuka both have supporting roles.

Ichi, played by Haruka Ayase is a traveling goze looking for a master blind swordsman, Zatoichi. On one of her travels, Ichi saves a Ronin Toma, played by Takao Osawa. Toma is struck by Ichi's beauty and starts to follow her. The arrive at a city known to be an "inn town". But the yakuza of the town are in a battle with bandits called, Banki. After a gambling house visit, Toma is again saved by Ichi, as she takes out 5 Banki henchmen. Toma is given credit and converts the opportunity into a gig as a bodyguard for the yakuza. Ichi continues her search, but stays a few days extra to wait for a entertainment that has a "master blind swordsman".

The movie was pretty good. It was nicely paced and the story was predictable but enjoyable at the same time. Haruka Ayase is stunning as the goze and her action scenes are quite believable.

If you're a samurai movie fan, this one shouldn't disappoint.