Ichi

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Movie: Ichi
Romaji: Ichi
Japanese: Ichi
Director: Fumihiko Sori
Writer: Taeko Asano
Producer: Toshiaki Nakazawa
Cinematography: Keiji Hashimoto
Release Date: October 25, 2008
Runtime: 120 min.
Genre: Action
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot

Ichi (Haruka Ayase) is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters problems every step of the way. Fortunately for Ichi, she is also a gifted swordswoman and carries a lethal blade within her walking stick.

One day, members of the notorious Ban-ki gang surround Ichi and prepare to rape her. A passerby then comes to defense of Ichi. The man’s name is Toma Fujihira (Takao Osawa) and although he seems terrified of the men, he still attempts to stand up for the seemingly defenseless blind woman. Once the Ban-ki members draw their swords on Toma Fujihira, Ichi now comes to the defense of the shaking man. After unleashing her blade, she methodically kills all of her attackers.

Ichi and Toma Fujihara then travel the countryside together developing a friendship that hints at romantic interests between the pair. When the couple arrive in the next town they are then confronted by other Ban-ki gang members who attempt to exact revenge on Ichi.

Notes

Ichi is directed by Fumihiko Sori, who previously directed movie Ping Pong. Actors Yosuke Kubozuka & Shido Nakamura from Ping Pong also appear in "Ichi".

Cast



Haruka Ayase	Takao Osawa	Shido Nakamura	Yosuke Kubozuka	Akira Emoto
Ichi	Touma	Manki	Toraji	Chobee



Riki Takeuchi	Go Riju	Mayumi Sada	Ryosuke Shima	Tetta Sugimoto
Izo	Kihachi	Mitsu	Kotaro	blind man



Megumi Yokoyama	Eri Watanabe
Touma's mother	Obama

Additional Cast Members:

Trailers

Image Gallery

Film Festivals

2008 (41st) Sitges Film Festival - October 2nd-10th

Comments

Comment #5
tam Says:
Feb 04 2012 10:51 am

not bad . kind a creative . the lead character is quite interesting , plus haruka ayase did an amazing job .
Comment #4
MissTamTam Says:
Oct 21 2011 9:59 am

anyone else notice that, no matter how many people she kills, her sword is never bloody??? Oo
Comment #3
LQ Says:
Oct 12 2009 11:08 am

iliekater, it's not a COPY of "Zatoichi," it's a deliberate REFERENCE and homage. It is *supposed to* make you think of "Zatoichi" and deliberately acknowledges its connections to the "Zatoichi" films. If anything, it's implied that perhaps Zatoichi himself was her trainer. It's not a copy or ripoff. Many films relate or reference each other in this way; it's a cinematic tradition.
Comment #2
iliekater Says:
Jul 05 2009 2:21 pm

Wow , lunapark6 , I hadn't noticed that even the name of the film copies the name ZATOICHI ! Now that you said that I feel even more sad that this movie tried to copy the great Zatoichi movie . Anyway , it's still a good movie .
Comment #1
Ki Says:
Apr 18 2009 8:23 pm

“Ichi” is another Japanese film that reprises the old (Edo era Japan), but adds a new twist or two. The film doesn’t make as wide of a departure as say “Azumi” or “Sakuran” in stylistic terms, but you will notice one very attractive lead actress (Haruka Ayase) playing a deadly swordswoman who is also blind. Ichi also marks the long awaited second live action pic from Fumihiko Sori, the director of the incredibly hyper-kinetic 2002 film “Ping Pong.”

“Ichi”, produced by TV station TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System), is oriented towards to the young and old and thus you’ll have to make do with its overtly commercial feel. If you can get past this and the obnoxiously over the top performances by the main villains ,then you can still have a lot fun with the film. Haruka Ayase, who probably got acclimated with action orientated scenes from her work in “Cyborg She,” does a fine a job as the blind swordswoman. Although she’s always dressed in rags, the film’s many close-ups of Haruka Ayase’s attractive profile makes you take notice of her presence. I didn’t completely buy Takao Osawa’s performance as the fearful swordsman. Towards the end of the film his trepidation got tiresome enough that I just wanted to blurt out “pull out the damn blade you idiot!”

For those wanting to know how “Ichi” stands up to Fumihiko Sori’s prior film “Ping Pong” … well it doesn’t. Fumihiko Sori brought along pals Yosuke Kubozuka & Shido Nakamura from “Ping Pong,” but both of their performances were sub par compared to their prior earlier film. The story of “Ichi” is also simplified to excessive degrees and lacks the undeniable charm of “Ping Pong”. The technical merits like F/X scenes are noticeably weaker than his first film. With that said, even though “Ichi” won’t be thought of as a memorable film in any sort of way, there is Haruka Ayase roaming around feudal era Japan, slicing and dicing evil foes while gazing down like a model in commercial advertisement. There’s a lot worse things one can sit through.