Kurosawa regular Toshiro Mifune stars as an unfocused ball of furious youthful energy in this first installment of the famed Samurai Trilogy. As Takezo, the adopted black sheep of a small feudal village, Mifune is wild, passionate and unfocused in his quest for adventure and respect. Seeking a romanticized status as samurai, he rushes off to join the losing side of a civil war, enticing his best friend to tag along in search of similar fame and fortune. What follows is a broad adventure across the landscapes of Japan, chance encounters with a colorful batch of faces, and an awful lot of unresolved plot threads. As can be expected with the first act of any saga, there isn't much finality to be found here; it really seems as though we're only beginning to scratch the surface when the curtain drops, and that compete lack of closure left me feeling a touch jilted, justifiably or not. Later chapters have a wealth of storytelling riches to expand upon, though, with two rebellious youths beginning to come of age in vastly different ways, a fistful of foils closing in on each, an unresolved love triangle muddying the waters and a clear-cut destination on the horizon. On its own, this is little more than an incomplete tease. In the context of a three-film arc, though, it's much more digestible as a rich, diverse pin-setter. I want more.

the vagabond manga does the adoption better i think. it shows the inner conflicts and wild nature of mushashi better. also every other character beside the main men is just fodder honestly.

Primera parte de la Samurai Trilogy de Hiroshi Inagaki, sigue el origen del legendario espadachín Miyamoto Musashi: un joven impulsivo, violento y ambicioso que todavía no entiende el verdadero significado del camino del samurái. La película narra su transformación moral y espiritual, más que solo su habilidad con la espada. Visualmente es impecable para su época: color vibrante, encuadres clásicos y una puesta en escena elegante. Toshiro Mifune impone presencia y energía pura, pero también deja ver la lucha interior del personaje. No es una película de acción constante; es épica, clásica y formativa, construyendo al mito con calma y honor. Es cine samurái romántico y noble, muy distinto al tono oscuro que vendría después con películas como Harakiri. Aquí todo respira aventura, tradición y cine clásico japonés en su máxima expresión.

The original title of the film is Musashi Miyamoto.