Considering the low budget that most Japanese films are made with, this was a textbook over the top Miike film. He's not going to be remaking classics like Koroshiya Ichi or Rainy Dog. I hope he gets back into that mode. But that's how it is when a director becomes a cult hero.
This is really just a movie about the sociology of living in a small coastal Japanese town. There's all the main components for small time organized crime to exist and flourish. Things turnabout, people get killed, things get sorted out.
I'm a real fan of Ninkyo eiga, the chivalrous yakuza films. I believe the heart of this film is Ninkyo. The outside is all otaku jack-off material, and the wrapper is whatever the heck Tarantino did to make Miike quit making awesome films like Ichi the Killer, Rainy Dog, and Deadly Outlaw Rekka, which is everything that this movie just couldn't provide for people who aren't a huge fan of Miike to begin with.
If you don't like this movie, then watch Deadly Outlaw Rekka, Yakuza Demon, and Rainy Dog. These are the movies that are not childish in any way.
This is really just a movie about the sociology of living in a small coastal Japanese town. There's all the main components for small time organized crime to exist and flourish. Things turnabout, people get killed, things get sorted out.
I'm a real fan of Ninkyo eiga, the chivalrous yakuza films. I believe the heart of this film is Ninkyo. The outside is all otaku jack-off material, and the wrapper is whatever the heck Tarantino did to make Miike quit making awesome films like Ichi the Killer, Rainy Dog, and Deadly Outlaw Rekka, which is everything that this movie just couldn't provide for people who aren't a huge fan of Miike to begin with.
If you don't like this movie, then watch Deadly Outlaw Rekka, Yakuza Demon, and Rainy Dog. These are the movies that are not childish in any way.