Thank you, Be! I am having fun already! 

You did Zatoichi research? That sounds pretty amazing.. I only know the Kitano-Version, but I like it very much.

Yeah, sounds a tiny bit different.. I am checking my calendar for 100 hours of Zatoichi-fun . No, I really like good martial arts scenes and budo spiritual stuff, so thanks for the recommendation, I will certainly have a look! (as soon as my Sherlock obsession fades a bit..)

Belated hellos!
Wow… just thought it was kind of neat to suddenly see someone pick 'Zatoichi' as their name!  Welcome!  I saw some of that years ago thanks to a friend into martial arts/japanese historical films… I think it was the earlier 1989 version, though, and admit I didn't really keep up on those genres, other than some Studio Ghibli, and other 'historical' style martial arts films that come out these days.

Jumping from that, to our shared favorite of Sherlock, however, you just reminded me of a long-forgotten, odd film I chanced across, that kind of combines both those things!  Ever hear of 'Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame'?  It's strange, but kinda fun, film of a detective warrior in ancient China.  Have fun!

Zatoichi wrote:

@Russell: Thank you for your welcome! Oh, you like Studio Ghibli? Me too, what´s your favorite? I think I like 'Mononoke Hime" best, or is it 'Tonari no Totoro' or 'Zen to Chihiro no kamikakushi'? I can´t decide, I guess it depends on my mood. 

I did not know Detective Dee yet, just Detective Conan which is a Manga and contains really maaaany references to Sherlock Holmes. Have you heard of it?

 
Yes, thank you!     I admit I'm not as well-versed a follower of Ghibli as I am of Sherlock, but was introduced to their stuff (among other anime, as well as getting to read the Nausicaa manga) many years ago, and yes, their movies are definitely something special.  Hard to pick as well, but have a soft spot for Mononoke Hime too, or The Cat Returns.  Seems we have a few intermixed fans here and there, actually, as discovered from the one thread about favorite movie soundtracks.  ;)
And funny that it happened to come up, because I went to look up Detective Dee on IMDB for info again, and discovered they're doing a new one!  Haven't heard of Conan, but then… I never picked up a whole lot of manga.  Glad you're enjoying it here, though!