Available at Amazon.com
Directed by
Kazuo Ikehiro
Cast:
Yoshio Harada …. Jokichi of Mikogami
Ryunosuke Minegishi …. Kunisada Chuji
Going into The Fearless Avenger, I had some trepidation due to the fact that the film is apparently the middle part of the Mikogami Trilogy, a trio of films I had never seen before and had very little knowledge of. All I really knew was that the trilogy dealt with the adventures of Jokichi of Mikogami (Yoshio Harada), a wandering yakuza swordsman out for revenge after the murder of his wife and child. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded, as The Fearless Avenger is easy to follow and works pretty well as a standalone film in its own right.
Catching you up to speed, the film begins with a recap of the bloody events of the previous entry, The Trail of Blood, which shows Jokichi losing his family and taking revenge on some involved. We’re then thrown straight into this next story where the wandering swordsman still thirsts for revenge. The bulk of the story involves Jokichi being hired on to escort a yakuza boss’ daughter to her home in exchange for information on one of the men he is trying to find. Along the way there are some fearsome battles and plenty of bloodshed to go around.
If you’ve ever seen a Zatoichi film, or watched some of the more exploitive Samurai titles, such as Lone Wolf and Cub or Lady Snowblood, you’ll know what to expect from The Fearless Avenger. Along his journey, Jokichi faces many other swordsmen, most of whom meet their demise in bloody fashion including several severed limbs and eviscerations. The real difference is a darkness that plays throughout and works against your expectations. Characters that you would expect to make it to the closing credits are killed off, even horribly. Scenes that seem to be predictable, one in which Jokichi is about to be beaten to a pulp, completely changes gears.
It’s these little differences that give The Fearless Avenger a distinct flavor among its genre. With its funky score, an over the top performance from Yoshio Harada, and a myriad of fun villains, the movie ends up an enjoyable romp. Though its running time is short and there’s not a lot of plot to work with, those who like their films filled with Samurai swords and buckets of blood could do a lot worse than The Fearless Avenger.
The Video
The print on this disc is good enough. It’s not spectacular and there is a fair amount of debris, but it’s still around the same quality as AnimEigo’s other offerings. The film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1
The Audio
The Japanese language Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack is fine. It’s not particularly dynamic, but inoffensive as well. Once you start grooving to the movie’s 70’s soundtrack, you won’t even think about it.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailers, Image Gallery, Interactive Program Notes
Trailers – You get trailers from for this film and other Samurai movie titles, such as Shogun Assassin, Demon Spies and Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman.
Image Gallery
Interactive Program Notes
The Inside Pulse
This is a terrific Chambabra entry with tons action and other Samurai goodness. The disc is horribly light on extras, but that’s pretty much par for the course with AnimEigo. Still the movie’s good enough that it’s easy to reccomend this purchase.
