Movies like Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967)
The best movies like Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967) are Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), Zatoichi in Desperation (1972) and Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964). If Zatoichi the Outlaw hooked you with its adventure and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSamurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)7.2/10 from 220 votes
- NewestZatoichi in Desperation (1972)Released 1972
- In JapaneseZatoichi's Vengeance (1966)Also in Japanese
- Same seriesZatoichi's Vengeance (1966)Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman
Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966)
Zatoichi comes upon a dying man who asks him to give a bag of money to "Taichi". Zatoichi has no idea who this is but when he comes upon a small town harassed by gangsters, he finds that "Taichi" was the man's young son. Along his travels he also met a blind monk who makes Zatoichi question his murderous lifestyle. In trying to help the town, Zatoichi kills some gangsters and becomes a hero to the boy. He must make a choice of whether to use non-violence and set a good example, or violence and set the boy on the wrong path in life.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi in Desperation (1972)
After accidentally causing the death of an old lady, Zatoichi tries to do right by buying the lady’s daughter’s freedom from a brothel - but this causes more problems than solves them.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964)
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman returning home with her baby. When gangsters mistake her for Zatoichi and kill her, Zatoichi determines to escort the baby to its father. He gains the reluctant help of a young pick pocket and together they travel to find the baby's father. But they do not reckon on the father's reaction to their arrival, nor on their own growing feelings for the child.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965)
Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with dice is turning.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi's Flashing Sword (1964)
Blind masseur Zatoichi is nursed back to health by a young woman after he is shot by a gang member. Zatoichi, who had come to the village to repay a debt, now feels further indebted. He commits himself to use his amazing sword skills to help the young woman's father, whose river-crossing service is under attack by the same gang responsible for Zatoichi's wounds.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (1970)
The blind masseuse is targeted by the leader of a powerful yakuza group while also fending off a jealous husband bent on revenge. Zatoichi tours Edo's underground via a rousing onsen fight scene, gambling houses and the gender-bending character of Umeji, before a final, flame-filled conflagration.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966)
Zatoichi's trek through 88 temples to atone for his violent past is interrupted as he stumbles into a village terrorized by a violent yakuza boss.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi's Cane Sword (1967)
Zatoichi comes upon the town of Tonda, overrun by gangsters. Using one of his favorite techniques, Zatoichi proceeds to win 8 ryo in a rigged gambling game. Of course, the local gangsters attempt to kill him, and the adventure begins. It turns out a blacksmith named Senzo examines Zatoichi's cane sword, and discovers it to be forged by his old mentor. Senzo discovers the sword is at the end of its usefulness and will break when it is used next.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi at Large (1972)
Blind masseur and master swordsman Zatoichi finds a robbed and fatally wounded pregnant woman, whose baby he delivers before she dies. He takes the baby in search of its father and finds the child's aunt, who is about to be forced into prostitution for want of a payment the dead mother was bringing. Zatoichi determines to save the woman from her cruel fate.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Zatoichi's Revenge (1965)
Itinerant masseur and master swordsman, the blind Zatoichi, is near the village of his teacher, Hikonoichi, so he decides to visit. He learns of Hikonoichi's recent robbery and murder and the imprisonment of his virginal daughter, Osayo, in a brothel. Through friendship with Denroku, a local dice thrower and devoted father, Ichi uncovers an unholy alliance between the governor and the area strongman: among their scams is falsifying tax records to put farmers in debt, then forcing their daughters into prostitution at the boss's brothel. With help from Denroku's daughter, Otsuru, Ichi comforts Osayo until he can provoke showdowns with the villains and their henchmen.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamurai Wolf (1966)
This is the story of a vagrant samurai – the solitary, savage and scrupulous Kiba – who arrives at a village to defend a beautiful, blind woman against a sinister plot. Her assailants then send against him another samurai, named Sana, who is without scruples. The fight between them will become personal, for the honor and love of the blind woman.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (1965)
Blind swordsman Zatoichi, jailed briefly, is implored by another prisoner to aid him in proving his innocence of a crime for which he is sentenced to death. Zatoichi is reluctant to get involved, because he knows how often such involvement has led to trouble in the past. But events conspire to thrust him repeatedly into involvement, and gradually he comes to believe in the man's innocence and determines to free him.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamaritan Zatoichi (1968)
Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to pay his debts. The bosses true motives are revealed and he attempts to steal Osode even though the debt is paid. Zatoichi realizes his grievous error and protects the girl from the gang. Osode and Zatoichi are caught in a dilemma as she must rely on her brother's killer for protection and Zatoichi wrestles with the injustice he has caused.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi and the Chest of Gold (1964)
Ichi travels to the village of Itakura to pay his respects at the grave of Kichizo, a man he killed two years ago. When some tax money is stolen while in transit to the governor he is accused and sets out to find the money and clear his name.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures of Zatoichi (1964)
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another young woman who is trying to help her brother, who has murdered someone at about the same time and place as the missing man was last seen.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKill! (1968)
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEleven Samurai (1967)
The lord of the Oshi fief is killed by his trespassing neighbour, the cruel and despotic Nariatsu, son of the former Shogun. After an investigation, the Oshi clan is blamed for what happened and sentenced to be disbanded. Eleven of the best samurai of the clan refuse the sentence and are willing to give their life for justice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are -- an accomplished Chinese martial artist named Wang Kang and his youthful attendant -- Zatoichi finds them and discovers that the pair's mixed up with a dangerous bunch of terrorist samurai who murdered the boy's parents. Now, Zatoichi must step in to save the day.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962)
Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi the Fugitive (1963)
After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this13 Assassins (1963)
A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai (1963)
After a salary-man's fiancée attempts suicide, he recounts his gruesome family history which saw generations of his ancestors suffer and sacrifice themselves for the sake of their cruel lords.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)
Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970)
Zatoichi treks to a village that has always been a favorite spot of his, only to discover that it’s become a living hell, plagued by feuding father and son yakuza as well as the younger crime boss’s bodyguard, scruffy, smart-mouthed, cash-hungry Yojimbo of legend.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYouth of the Beast (1963)
When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo's underworld explodes with violence.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi and the Fugitives (1968)
Zatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi on the Road (1963)
Zatoichi is sworn to protect the life of a young girl and without any real allies finds himself in the middle of a bloody turf war.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi Challenged (1967)
Ichi is staying at an inn when a woman dies. Her dying wish is that Ichi take her son to his father, an artist living in a nearby town. After arriving in the town, Ichi finds out that the father has been forced by a local boss to create illegal pornography to pay off his gambling debts. Ichi makes it his mission to save the man and reunite the family, even though it brings him into conflict with a samurai he sort of befriended on his way to the town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Zatoichi the Outlaw?
The closest matches to Zatoichi the Outlaw are Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), Zatoichi in Desperation (1972) and Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Zatoichi the Outlaw?
People who watched Zatoichi the Outlaw most often go on to Samurai Wolf (1966), Kill! (1968) and Eleven Samurai (1967).
What is the highest-rated movie like Zatoichi the Outlaw?
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954), rated 7.2/10 by 220 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Zatoichi the Outlaw?
Zatoichi in Desperation (1972) is the most recent release on this list.
Is Zatoichi the Outlaw part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman, which includes Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), Zatoichi in Desperation (1972), Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964) and Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965).
Are there Japanese movies like Zatoichi the Outlaw?
Yes: Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), Zatoichi in Desperation (1972) and Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964).
How are movies similar to Zatoichi the Outlaw chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Zatoichi the Outlaw, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.