Rating: ***
Review Date: 11/23/25
Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Maki Kawamura, Minoru Oki, Sayoko Kato,
Tatsuo Endo
Ichibei Shikoro (Tomisaburo Wakayama) returns in the third and final film in the "Bounty Hunter" series, sporting an odd-looking perm that sets him apart from everyone else. This time, a shipment of gold has been stolen and the Shogunate hires Ichibei to recover it in five days, before the next solar eclipse. This time he's on his own and Kagero is nowhere to be found. The trail to the gold is complicated, but a sinister and crafty woman named Omon (Maki Kawamura) holds the key. Ichibei gets the gold, but betrayal and greed lead to an explosive bittersweet ending.
Despite Ichibei's unique and somewhat ridiculous look, I enjoyed this outing considerably more than the previous "Fort Of Death" (1969). Tomisaburo Wakayama once again gives an excellent performance, but it's more mature and restrained this time around. The action scenes are straight forward and there are no attempts at humor at all. Maki Kawamura makes an excellent seductive villain, but her love scene with Ichibei is awkward and bizarre. Sayoko Kato is a super cute ninja, but her story arc is sadly unfulfilled. It's a cruel and violent film, and while it lacks the explosive blood effects that defined the 70s, the bloodletting on display is subtle and unpleasant. One hacked off limb is particularly satisfying, though.
Overall, this film feels more mainstream than the previous entries and drops the Spaghetti Western influence altogether. It ends with a nice sense of closure, and maybe Ichibei can go back to being a doctor and helping people full time. The Shogunate will definitely think twice about hiring and/or betraying him again. Although one thing still bothers me: who exactly are the "eight men to kill" in the title? That's never made clear.