Tokyo Godfathers

Amazon.com

Satoshi Kon's third feature (following Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress) confirms his status as one of the most interesting directors working in anime. Tokyo Godfathers centers on three homeless people: Hana, a flamboyant ex-drag entertainer; Gin, an alcoholic former bicycle racer; and Miyuki, a sullen teenage runaway. Their tenuous existence becomes more chaotic when they set out to find the parents of an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. They scream insults as they confront the lies they've told each other--and themselves--about the past. Yet they remain curiously endearing and even noble. All three care passionately about the abandoned infant, and they love each other, although they're loath to admit it. Kon skillfully uses color to suggest the bitter winter cold and the characters' alienation. Tokyo Godfathers shows that battling the inner demons that led these three characters to skid row can be a more daunting challenge than fighting aliens and cyborgs. (Rated PG-13: profanity, violence, tobacco and alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

a good film.......2007-09-05

very well done, like most of kon's films this has a number of twists and turns. and is beautifully animated.

Tokyo Godfathers-storytelling at it's best........2007-09-03

As an avid fan of Jidei Geki and Anime I am probably more attuned to the Japanese storytelling style than most westerners. This one is a really well told and beautifully visual story of a group of losers who manage to come off as heroes. Some will be offended by the side story of a love interest between a drag queen and a burned out straight, but the story wouldn't work without that thread. It really dips into the misery of the human condition and yet the ability of the human spirit to rise above it all. A must-have film for the true anime buff, but it is not for children. Very deep and complex once you get into it.

Not as good as "Perfect Blue", but still 5 stars.......2007-07-22

I've watched plenty of anime over the years. I'd consider this one to be among one of the more cool ones I've seen. I'd recommend buying this for a rainy day. I bought it used for about $11-$12. It's worth every penny.

It's So Cool!.......2007-03-11

I've never seen a Satoshi Kon film before but after seeing this one I wouldn't mind seeing more. This is the story of three homless people that happen to find each other a become a "family" of sorts. Each have their own tragic pasts, but evrything changes one Christmas Eve when they find a baby girl in the garbage. Many amazing thing happen to these three as they try to take care of the baby and return her to her parents.
This film is drawn very well, It's very realistice. If you like films in Japanese with english subtitle then you'll definitely like this one.

A Must !!!.......2007-01-26

El trabajo artistico quita el aliento, la historia es fresca y comica, el factor humano fue trabajado como la vida real.

Average customer rating:

Miike in decent form here.
what a crazy and violent yakuza story
I reviewed, watched it again, edited it, and for some reason, amazon likes to delete my reviews when I edit them. I got time.
"He walks the savage path alone..."
Another dose of Miike's cinematic medicine

Deadly Outlaw: Rekka
Director: Takashi Miike
Manufacturer: Tokyo Shock
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002JELR2
Release Date: 2004-09-14

Description

Following the death of his boss, Kunisada embarks upon a journey of revenge against the rival gang who ordered the hit. However, all is not how it seems as Kunisada uncovers the truth behind the shady deals that exist within his own clan. Pursued by two hit men Kunisada finds himself both hunter and the hunted as cross and double cross leads to murder, mayhem and a bazooka!

Customer Reviews:

Miike in decent form here........2007-05-27

Deadly Outlaw Rekka (Takashi Miike, 2002)

Miike returns to his preferred genre, the yakuza flick, with Deadly Outlaw Rekka. (Whether there's a colon in the title seems to be a point of contention depending on who's writing about the film; I chose to leave it out, as it's not in evidence anywhere eon the DVD case.) Riki Takeuchi (The Story of Ricky) plays Kunisada, a gangster out to avenge the death of his boss. The problem is that no one seems to want him to exact that revenge, including the members of his own gang. Things are complicated when Kunisada and his best friend pick up a pair of girls who end up turning into sidekicks, which doesn't make anyone too happy, especially their manager.

It's a Miike movie, and therefore it's good, but it's something of a letdown after the brilliant Black Society trilogy. I should probably stop comparing Miike's yakuza movies to Black Society; they're simply too good. It'd be like comparing all of Clint Eastwood's westerns to Unforgiven. The others are good, and some of them are great, but there's just no comparison. Deadly Outlaw Rekka is to Ley Lines as Pale Rider is to Unforgiven; you'll like both, but if you've seen the latter, you'll recognize that there's something missing in the former. In Rekka, the missing piece is Miike's sense of the absurd; it shows up in places, but it's not integral to the setting and theme. He went for a straight (well, almost straight) action film here, and while Miike is very, very good at action films, we've come to expect something more with our action--comedy (Ichi the Killer), tender father-son relationships (Rainy Dog), grotesque mythical-creature violence (Gozu), or just plain outright off-the-map weirdness (The Bird People in China). When it's just action, well... it's just action, you know? *** ½

what a crazy and violent yakuza story.......2007-05-15

the yakuza families were killing each other by manipulations, distortions and endless betrayals. all the movies that takashi miike directed were ultra violent and extremely deadly. senseless killings were the trademark and the brand name of his products. sometimes when the brutality, insanity, craziness, headstrong boldness, the bloody gory killings in japanese style would also achieve some aethetic beauty that american hollywood only wish to reach by some rough 'natural born killer', 'reservoir dogs', 'scarface(?)', 'good fellas' imitations, or a more sensitive on like 'heat'.
the yakuza, the japanese mafia in the movie is always like american mafia, they can't do anything better and right except by killing each other in endless betrayals. never understand why youngsters are still crazily dreaming become one of them.

I reviewed, watched it again, edited it, and for some reason, amazon likes to delete my reviews when I edit them. I got time........2006-03-26

So I watched this th efirsat time and was dissapointed by how slow it was, so I actually paid attention to the dialog this time and this movie has a decent story. The parts it shines in are those supernatural moments and the funny and then the absoltely hilarious moments. And it is like norm to treat your daughter like that in japan, or is this making fun of trailer trash americans, I was a little bit confused there.

The shootouts kick some serious ass in this and my only real problem was I wish they were just a little longer, because that is exitement.

But now I am gonna say screw reviewing this movie and tell you that THE MUSIC IS OUSTSTANDING IN THIS. Some of the words I heard were in English but the sound definitely sounds american, but they could be a japanese band for all I know. The music was a little underused but REALLY amped up the action scenes.

So all in all an average gangster movie with weeird things happening that you will be very pleased with if you are a fan of great cinema.

Also if you people who have seen this and seem to have an understanding over this movie than please tell me what the hell happens at the end of this not when the dude says rock on and the cridts roll, but what the hell happened it that scene, I just got the sense that it was unplanned, but still not too bad of an ending.

Also, was this made before or after the movie collateral?
BUT GIVE ME MORE OF JAPAN'S BLACK SABBATH AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"He walks the savage path alone...".......2005-08-09

When Kunisada's mob boss/father figure is murdered Kunisada wants revenge but his gang wants to call a truce to prevent an all out war. Kunisada is angered by their cowardly actions and back stabbings so he just goes ballistic and kills the hell out of everybody.

Very cool movie and one of Takashi Miike's best overall efforts especially the action scenes...absolute perfection. The garage fight scene alone is worth watching the movie, but fortunately you get more action scenes including the last 15 minutes of the movie.

And don't forget the performances, Riki Takeuchi is cool, but my favorite is Renji Ishibashi! I love that guy he always steals the show. Check out his facial expressions, especially when he sees Rekka in the hospital! Man I laughed so hard I had to rewind the movie.

Thank you Mr. Miike for making such entertaining movies.

Another dose of Miike's cinematic medicine.......2004-12-07

Takashi Miike is known for making a plethora of Yakuza movies, and DEADLY OUTLAW REKKA proves this is a subject he has finely tuned and honed. It's not as balls-out surreal as some of his other movies, favoring a slightly more accessible approach to the gangster genre. But DEADLY OUTLAW does contain some of the dirty grittiness, violence, story exposition, fascinating characters, and cynical humor he's famous for--just not in large doses.

One of the things DEADLY OUTLAW establishes from the beginning, like in most of Miike's films, is suspension of disbelief--a hard thing to accomplish under any circumstances. But that's one of the things that makes this movie so fun since he's so darn good at it. You know after the first 10 minutes you're in for a wild ride, one that'll defy logic, but unpredictable and entertaining nonetheless--something most Hollywood directors/producers could use a lesson in.

The only unaccessible things in this movie are scenes that might seem a bit superfluous at times, but really they're just Miike's sense of humor barely shining through--it's much more cynical and less in your face this time around, and really requires someone accustomed to his brand of film making to catch. But when you do, it's brilliant and totally worth the price of admission.

The structure is similar to DEAD OR ALIVE for those of you familiar with his other Yakuza cult hit: a high-adrenaline opener, followed by a toned-down middle for character exposition, and finished with an unflinchingly insane finale that'll confuse as much as pump you up.

Overall, I'd recommend this to both fans of Miike and those who just like a good, interesting, fun action film.

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