Takashi Miike's (Ichi The Killer, The Bird People in China, Young Thugs, Audition) latest opus flexes his action muscles in a way not seen since 2005's Great Tokai War. Based on the 32-million selling Manga, Crows Episode 0 is loud, brash, playfulling violent, filled with an over-riding love of life and absolutely crammed with little character flourishes that bring the world to life.
Crows 0 is an effective, engaging, touching and hugely entertaining reminder that Miike has plenty of substance to back up his style.
Suzuran Boys' High, aka School for Crows, has a reputation as the toughest educational institution in town (not that we ever see the students getting any education). Thither goes beanpole punk Genji Takaya (Shun Oguri, "Sukiyaki," "Azumi") to prove to his dad, yakuza boss Hideo (Goro Kishitani), that he has the smarts to eventually take over papa's operation.
Arriving at the rundown school, Genji is mistaken for its numero uno fighter, Tamao Serizawa (Takayuki Yamada), by smalltime gangleader Ken Katagiri (Kyosuke Yabe). After Genji whips Ken & co.'s asses without breaking a sweat, Tamao realizes the school has a new pretender to his throne.
Cross-cutting in the final reel, which has Tamao's and Genji's men going at it in the pouring rain, while Tamao's sidekick is undergoing surgery and Ken is paying a heavy price for an act of selflessness, is worth the wait.
Classification:
