What is famous for Japanese cinema? For the most part, the cinema of the Land of the Rising Sun is rich in animated films and series called Manga. To the great surprise of all those who are not familiar or have little knowledge of Japanese- made paintings , it is worth saying that this country is also famous for its fairly widespread and popular genre. From this direction we will single out the best films. Japanese action movies worth seeing are the focus of this article.
The classic must be remembered
The philosophical drama “The Seven Samurai” was directed by Akira Kurasava, one of the outstanding directors of the last century. And although the film was released in 1954, it still remains a vivid example of the Asian era of that time. Militants (Japanese) using films such as The Seven Samurai, for example, determine, according to many critics, the significance of this genre for the entire world of cinema.
For three and a half hours of on-screen narration, viewers will travel to the 16th century, to the very epicenter of the
civil war. To protect themselves from robbers and looters, the poor peasants hire seven samurai, designed to bring at least some order into the general confusion ...
How to kill a best friend?
A screen version of Kosyun Takami’s novel of the same name, “The Royal Battle”, was released in 2000 and immediately received encouraging reviews from critics and viewers. This allowed her to be included in the category of "Best Japanese action movies." The writers tried to give this film all the components of a thriller, adventure and drama, not forgetting a fair amount of tragedy. In a word, the impressions of the “Royal Battle” turned out to be unforgettable.
The plot of the film is somewhat reminiscent of the American Hunger Games. Adolescents who are not subdued by adults are sent to a mysterious island. There they have to fight for life. Only one will remain the winner. But for this you need to destroy all your friends, opponents.
How to prove that you are no longer a child?
Another story worth mentioning. A teenage action movie exploring adult topics such as betrayal and revenge tells about a 15-year-old girl studying martial arts. Kay tries his best to show his skill to mentor Matsumura. But a strict teacher cares too much about the girl, not allowing her to fully demonstrate all the skills. Secretly from him, Kay joins a group of destroyers, top-level fighters, not yet knowing that this is a trap. The teacher will save the naughty student ...
Modern examples
One of the latest Japanese action movies, “Complete Mayhem,” the sequel to the film Mayhem, appeared at the box office in 2012. The plot is built around the Sanno family, which seized power in virtually all areas of the city. He is confronted by a local police detective, but he still does not know about the imminent release from prison of his long-time enemy Otomo, who is even higher, which means even stronger than the powerful Sanno clan ... A picture that can be attributed to the category “Japanese Militants” was shown in many other countries. With little box-office success of $ 20 million, the film was nominated at a festival in Venice.
Adventure action movie “Red Shadow” tells the story of the lives of three children, whose upbringing was the master who turned them into ninja warriors. Cold-blooded and unprincipled, they carry out any order of the owner, becoming in his hands a powerful tool. Once their paths diverge after the death of one of them. After a period of time, the rest of the heroes will meet again to avenge the offenders ...
The key storyline of this film is dedicated to the main character. Blind masseur and master of fencing Zatoichi is imprisoned. Here the man tells the details of his life to his cellmate Norihei Miki, who becomes his best friend. For the main character, who was released, they offer solid money. Poor Mika, who learned the story of Zatoichi, has to make a difficult choice between reward and true friendship.
“Shut Up” is one of the best films directed by Takeshi Kitano. By genre, the picture is similar to a samurai action movie. She received awards from the Venice Festival and a number of prestigious Japanese awards.
Any competition on the shoulder!
The films presented do not exhaust the full list of films in the action genre. I would like to highlight separately that the main factor in their popularity is the mixing of genres with elements of comedy and drama. Japanese fighters look at one go and, as a rule, are distinguished by the dynamic development of the plot, in contrast to the Hollywood counterparts, who build the narrative on the confrontation between good and bad characters. For those who are not familiar with the cinema of a country far away for us, it remains to wish to find interesting films, which are Asian fighters. Japanese authors will do everything to make the viewer happy. Happy viewing!