#Nao Omori

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[cinemaobscura]

Ichi the Killer | 殺し屋１ (2001) dir. Takashi Miike

[sukunassecondpp]

can't believe they tried to make me hate this cutie patootie

[nihillist-blog]

Ichi the Killer (2001)

[japanesedoramaandanimelover91]

Nino says.

Nao and Tae.

Today's guests: #naoomori #taekimura

A good episode about friendship.

They put the best bread on the table. When they guessed the number of grams of rice, Omori's radar went offand he went into a rage 🤣.

Kimura-san is into Argentine tango.

Nino is into it too 😍!

This was supposed to be a counselling session about problems. But it turned out really funny! 🤩🤩.

♬♬♬♬♬♬♬ rice flour bread.

Blackjack♥️♣️ hot business.

Nino:-Don't mess with me 🤣.

Fuma:-I didn't do anything wrong!

It happened 🤭.

The programme airs on Sundays at 10.25 a.m. Japan time and 02.25 a.m. European time. Don't miss it!

[smokin-symbiotes]

October Movie Review #9

‘Ichi the Killer’ (2001) - Dir. Takashi Miike

Summary: A sadistic assassin battles a masochistic yakuza enforcer after he kills the boss of the gang. Who will win? The ultimate sadist or ultimate masochist?

CONTENT WARNING: ‘Ichi the Killer’ contains scenes of sexual assault, suicide, and intense torture. These scenes will be discussed in this review. Reader discretion is advised.

Violence permeates every frame of ‘Ichi the Killer’. From the first few minutes we witness the cleanup of a gore-filled hotel room, a pimp sexually and physically abusing a sex worker under his employ, and a man being strung up from his back by sharp meat hooks while he is being tortured. The ending is just as grim, featuring slit throats, dead children, and back-to-back suicides. In short, this movie is a violent, bloody, two-hour nightmare.

But why all the violence? It’s easy to dismiss ‘Ichi the Killer’ on first pass as a mindless gory romp, but there is an important thread that runs throughout this symphony of human destruction. In ‘Ichi the Killer’, violence is almost always used as a tool for bonding. 

Enforcer Kakihara’s (Tadanobu Asano) torture sessions often have multiple witnesses: torture is used to reinforce loyalty and fear. After this torture scene, Kakihara is reprimanded for his rash actions: to keep his spot in his organization, he cuts the tip of his tongue off for penance.

The titular killer, Ichi (Nao Omori) is pressured into performing assassinations by his adoptive father and handler (Shinya Tsukamoto) by likening his victims to the kids that bullied him in school: because of this, he invests himself emotionally to each of his kills. These memories are later revealed to be implanted by his handler: violent memories are used to reinforce the bond between him and his handler.

The film isn’t endorsing this violence, of course. It’s rather an exploration of how violence is used in human relationships in every concievable way. The relationship between Kakihara and Ichi is particularly fascinating. Kakihara becomes obsessed with Ichi, wanting Ichi to inflict upon him the very extremes of pain. Ichi, meanwhile, mindlessly kills his way to the top of the organization without paying much mind to the particulars of who he kills. We are given a mixed portrait of Ichi: he invokes pity and revulsion. He “means well” and has a meek persona, but his sadistic side warps every single relationship he has, especially with women. 

When they finally meet in a battle to the death, extenuating circumstances prompt Ichi to have an emotional breakdown, leaving Kakihara unfulfilled. We’re met to empathize with both of these monsters at this moment. Kakihara is denied catharsis, mirroring our dashed hopes for a bloody brawl, while Ichi experiences genuine loss for the first time in his life, and it feels all the harm he has done comes home to roost.

‘Ichi the Killer’ is part mob movie, part splatter film, part black comedy, part psychological horror. It’s a kaleidoscope of genres and story beats held together by a passionate cast and crew. Love it or hate it for its excesses, it’s unforgettable.

P.S.: Also, Kakihara is hot as shit in this movie. In the manga his looks like a bit of an ogre, but here he dresses like Prince and has the swagger to match. Yeah, he may torture people for fun, but I can fix him, damn it. That is all.

[lostinmac]

Breathe In, Breathe Out (2004)

Dir. Tetsuo Shinohara

[twenty-words-or-less]

First Love (2019)

Summary: Up-and-coming boxer Leo (Masataka Kubota) and call girl Yuri (Sakurako Konishi) get roped into a drug-smuggling scheme.

Energetic, comedic, bloody, and wildly entertaining, even if the romance between two leads isn't as convicing as intended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Photo credit: The Last Thing I See

[redsamuraiii]

Legal High 2 : Special (2014)

"Is it okay to kill people for the benefit of science?"

[genkinahito]

Kubi 首 (2023) Director: Takeshi Kitano, Shuta Takahata [Japan Cuts 2024]

Kubi  首 「Kubi」 Release Date: November 23rd, 2023 Duration: 131 mins. Director: Takeshi Kitano, Shuta Takahata Writer: Takeshi Kitano, Takehiko Minato (Screenplay), Takeshi Kitano (Original Book) Starring: Beat Takeshi, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Ryo Kase, Nao Omori, Shido Nakamura II, Tadanobu Asano, Kenichi Endo, Susumu Terajima, Kenta Kiritani, Jun Soejima, Ittoku Kishibe, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Kanji…

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[thewailign]

Dolls (2002)

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Cinematographer: Katsumi Yanagijima

[pinkhairswagtourney]

Pink Hair Cringefail Tourney , Round One

[prodigal-explorer]

i was cursed with this life of being in fandoms where the “cute little sweet” male characters who are actually horrible people or super boring get all the attention and praise from the fandom while my favorites, the cool, complex, interesting, usually female or feminine characters are hated on and pushed aside.

[japanesedoramaandanimelover91]

The screenshots from "Nino-San". 21.04.2024.

Part 1.

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

who cares if they barely interacted in canon? if these two characters aren't secretly besties (they just forgot to say in canon) then how come they're both my favourites, hm? hm?