1-Ichi

A good prequel to the GREAT Ichi the killer, only a few bad things such as NO KAKIHARA!!!! which is a shame, even if he just made a small cameo it would have been great. the story is simple and violence OTT (which is a sign of MIIKE ) there doesn't seem to be as much style put into this film as Miike was only the assistant director but there are still signs of him in it.

i wouldn't recommend you see this before Ichi the killer as it may not want you to watch Ichi the killer as much, SO watch it as a prequel and not before.

But If you have seen Ichi the killer and liked it give this film ago as at then you can make your own judgement.

I did not like this movie at all. I feel that the digi cam directing was limited especially in the hands of these uninspired directors. How Dull they were! And the Dai character...what terrible acting. Where is my Japanese tradition of extreme tragedy? This actor had no clue just always revealing his own insecurity as an actor - Bleech! And the Ichii character? Another case of bad casting - Phew! Couldn't stand him. And the fight choreography...Pass! Unrealistic. Obviously the director didn't know squat about camera angles for fight sequences and if he did get it right it was a fluke. The special effects were amateurish and used when obviously they had no other ideas of how to convey an idea. I say go back to directing school fellas. You are missing the boat. But I do have one good thing to say which is why I am here. The Koji Chihara who played the joint twister guy. Now that was a step in the right direction...the guy was so great. You need to take a tip from this actors confidence and use people like that in the future without exception. Really it was a director asleep at the wheel but some of the cast knew what to do when a movie is being made.

It's an OK movie. Decent performances, the make-up FX are fine and the story is interesting. It has all the low-budget film limitations (especially bad edition and ambiance).

Being a prequel to one of Asian cinemas master works, this film, 1-ichi has a lot to live up to. Directed this time by Takashi Miikes right hand man, Masato Tanno, the assistant director of Ichi the Killer brings a fresh take to the world of Ichi. Apparently closer to the manga than Ichi the Killer was, though I wouldn't know as I haven't seen the manga comic.

The primary setting for 1-ichi is a school, so this is presumably supposed to have taken place before Ichi the Killer. Nao Omori returns as the emotionally imbalanced Ichi, though the main character is really Teah from a Miike film the City of Lost Souls. To many people, Teah probably fills the shoes of Kakihara (Tadanobu Asano), and does an admirable job at it. He retains the coolness and equal sadism that Kakihara possessed. By the way the original music for this film was apparently composed by Tadanobu Asano, showing just one of the mans many talents.

Teah plays Dai, the toughest guy in school. After a short intro of Ichi watching a boxing match we see Dai involved in a fight. He easily wins and spots Ichi watching the fight and smiles at Dai's initial misfortune. (One of his opponents hits him on the head with a flower pot.) Dai notices Ichi watching his fights. This seems to get under his skin.

Dai remains the tough guy until Koji Chihara turns up, playing Onizame. A guy who just transferred and is a real bad ass. Its an interesting fact that Chihara forms one part of a comedy duo, who are famous in Japan. Rivalry flares up and it isn't long before their is a showdown between Ichi and Onizame. Who no one else can seem to beat up....

For much of the film Ichi's rage is suppressed and it takes a lot of bullying for him to snap. There is a lot of fighting in this film and much of it is, in my opinion more disturbing than in Ichi the Killer as it is more realistic.

The movie is also lighthearted as Dai's friends provide some comic relief. One of them has a fixation with part 3's of movies and the other one keeps changing his hair.

Masato Tanno does an excellent directing job, with some great camera work and interesting filming. Slight tinting and fading shots etc. The film evidently has a smaller budget than Ichi the Killer and some of it seems to have been shot on digi cam, though this just adds to the great look of the film.

To conclude I recommend that you see this. Its entertaining and a neat addition to the story of Ichi, who is a superb character. You don't need to have seen Ichi the Killer to enjoy this either.

'Ichi-1' was a no budget movie with no plot or point until the very end, and even that is simply to tie it vaguely to "Ichi the Killer". It would have served more of a purpose as source footage for some flashbacks to Ichi's past in "Ichi the Killer", rather than a full length movie. In other words, if you liked "Ichi The Killer", you really don't need to watch this movie. There are a few slightly humorous parts though - the movie seems to waver between twisted comedy and just plain twisted. It did have the actor who played "ichi" in "Ichi the Killer", and TEAH from City of Lost Souls, which helps counteract the otherwise amateurish feel of the movie - a few good actors helped float the movie even among the rest of the bad actors and the lack of purpose to this movie. I'd say watch it if you have nothing better to do and can get it real cheap, or if you just have a need to watch every Japanese movie at least once, no matter how bad (like me).