Ichi is the tale of a blind woman who wanders the countryside in search of her father, a blind swordsman who left her to learn to be a musician and play the shamisen (a three stringed instrument). In her wanderings she comes across a hapless Samurai that she ends up saving. Together they end in a town being terrorized by a large group of bandits lead by a former head samurai and once favorite of the shogunate.  Ichi and the Samurai end up helping the town fight to win back their lives and break free from the tyranny of the Bandits.

Highlights

Being a staged as a standard "samurai saves the day" film with connections to the famous Zatoichi story, it delivers on many levels. The initial meeting of Ichi and Toma Fujihira (the wandering samurai) is interesting. Toma comes across as a helpless weakling who is too naive for his own good, then Ichi has to step in and slay the three bad guys just to help this bumbling man. 

As their relationship deepens you find out that Toma is really a very skilled swordsman, he just has an emotional block and cannot draw his sword. Too bad everyone does not fight with sticks, he would always win.

The ending is rather touching and the simple relationship between this lovely blind girl and the bumbling samurai turns out to be something of a life altering event for both of them.

Overall

There is nothing really new about this film, they even stage a big battle just as a Western show would, with an empty dirt street and wind blowing dust around to help set the stage for the drama to come. The real strength was the relationship between the two main characters. They each had their own issues to deal with. The way that these issues are played out is very nice and very touching. 

Of course the action is done very well, even if the blood is a little too vibrant (candy apple red). The slow motion may be overused, but for an Eastern film, it tends to be right on target. The filming is very nice and production values are top notch. It is great to see new arrivals that have a Hollywood production quality.

The bonus section provides some standard behind the scenes footage, but the section on the CG blood and fighting additions was very slick. I found it enlightening to see how smooth and interwoven CG has become. The flowing slicing of cloth and the splatter of blood is something to behold. Even though this has become a stand practice in most film, it still blows me away of how it is made to be well incorporated.  After watching this fine feature in both Blu-ray and standard format it is very easy to recommend the Blu-ray, but it does not matter which way you go as long as you take a look and make up your own mind.

If you are into period samurai films with a little romance, you might find Ichi to be just the thing. I found it to be highly entertaining and lovely to watch. 

ComicsOnline gives Ichi, 4 out of 5 pretty blind chicks who can cut you down where you stand!