Two years before he starred in his first Zatoichi film, Shintarô Katsu played a very similar character. He is also a blind masseur who travels Japan during the feudal period. But he is NOT a swordsman righting wrongs....nope...this blind guy is a one-man crime spree! This blind guy, Suginoichi, is a sociopath...a guy who steals, rapes and murders. He's sort of an anti-Zatoichi.
The premise isn't bad. After all, at times Zatoichi is just too nice to be true--so it's refreshing to have such a bad blind guy. But there is a serious problem with this. He is SO bad that he is also repellent--and it makes the show difficult to watch. Fortunately, the rape scenes are handled delicately and they don't show the rape (something they do show in quite a few Japanese films). But afterwords, the first lady kills herself and he is so cold and uncaring about his causing this--it makes you truly despise the guy. Then, only moments later, he's raping another woman! This seems to be beyond the limit for most viewers and I could imagine many turning off the movie at this point. I kept it on...as I was curious where all this would lead. Regardless, I can sure see why "Agent Shiranui" ("Blind Menace" or "Shiranui Kengyô") never became a series. And, if your thing is seeing Katsu raping ladies (and I hope to God it isn't), his later Hanzo the Razor series is right up your alley.
Well made and it ended well, but also quite repellent, that's for sure! I conclude with a quote from one of Suginoichi's partners in crime--"He's the creepiest guy I know. No one is safe when he's around!"
2 out of 3 found this helpful