From Battle Royale to Death Note to Kaiji

Kaiji is one of the newest and hottest Japanese films in the cinemas right now. Starring Fujiwara Tatsuya and the former Takaratsuka top star Amami Yuki, this is one film that movie fans cannot miss, especially those who enjoyed Battle Royale and Death Note.

Ito Kaiji was his friend's guarantor, so when his friend bolted, the loan shark Endo Rinko came to him for the money (2.02 million yen, with interest piling up by the minute as they talked). Without the money to pay and intimidated by the violence this lady is capable of, Kaiji agreed to board the gamble cruise Espoir, to earn his freedom and a fortune...

Or to fall into the depths of hell.

Everyone who has watched any movie about gambling knew that the games on the ship or in the rest of the movie are not about luck, it's about cheating. After being the game master in Death Note, Fujiwara now plays the pawn and is just as convincing as ever.

Perhaps even more so, since Kaiji is a much more human character, it gives Fujiwara more opportunities to display his acting talents and portray his growth as an actor. He is one of those actors who could play any role and bring out the essence of his character.

To make things even more interesting, Matsuyama Kenichi, L in Death Note, also makes a brief appearance. Those who live in Japan or any where near a cinema which is showing the film, go get a ticket today, those who are not, the DVD or Blu-ray disc will surely come soon, we'll keep you posted.

Spoilers from this point onwards, click at your own expense.


Without watching the film, Yui's It's All Too Much probably won't make that much sense. You actually feel the indestructible force of Hyoudou Kazutaka, the emperor who controls Teiai. No matter how much you want to stick a knife into that hateful old man, you'd feel that he won't die, because he is JUST SO RICH.

And you know, money just might be more important than life in such a society.

Still, after ripping a huge chunk (500 million yen) out of that old man, he didn't seem all that invincible anymore. But if you have read the manga, you'd know that 500 million have merely made a dent in his pride, he's still the super antagonist, the dictator with absolute power.

Because of his dictator, the embodiment of all the bad things in a capitalistic society, people are split into the group of winners and the group of losers (or the junks), we lesser humans, of course, are in the junk group.

So welcome, junkies, here is a trailer of the movie, enjoy.