Teito taisen

Swapping the dark fantasy and wild surrealism of its predecessor for sheer unnerving terror, Tokyo: The Last War still manages to feel ambitious even with its relative limitations and plenty of spine-chilling imagery. The story is much more straightforward, with a narrower narrative focus which lends the plot a greater degree of urgency and momentum; teeming with plenty of visual flair. You don't need to dig very far to find out the film was predominantly ghost-directed by Lam Nai-Choi and even features some choreography by Philip Kwok, expanding on the Hong Kong-styled elements of the first film. There are plenty of truly harrowing sequences throughout this film, the tone is consistently bleak, rarely containing a moment of hope for its characters, with the firebombing sequences especially delivering goosebumps whenever they grace the screen. The combination of having effects work by Screaming Mad George and H. R. Giger doing the art direction gives the film a strikingly gruesome edge to it in which people are dispatched in horrifically brutal fashion. The performances from the central cast are all solid but it's really the returning Kyusaku Shimada who steals the show, Kato is given a much more menacing edge this time, with plenty of build-up as this darkly oppressive figure. Combined with a great musical score by Koji Ueno, Tokyo: The Last War is certainly an escalation of that of The Last Megalopolis, a dramatic departure in tone and style but that only makes it more compellingly different and mesmerising. One that is certified to leave chills lingering long after it's over.

For those very few of you who have seen "Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis" (or the more renowned anime version "Doomed Megalopolis") and enjoyed it, you might be interested in seeking out this continuation of the story. Apparently IMDb got things mixed up here, and they're displaying the "Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis" cover in the section for "Teito Taisen" ("Tokyo: The Last War"), which is the official sequel to the aforementioned movie. Somebody needs to fix this quick! Right now, I'm reviewing "Tokyo: The Last War", not "Last Megalopolis".

Alright, I admit that this film has not been subtitled, and I don't understand Japanese. So how do I know what's going on in here? Repeated viewings and lots of translated summaries. However, even if you don't know Japanese, this film has just enough action and scenery to make it worthwhile.

The story starts out at the end of World War II. Tokyo lies in ruins due to repeated fire-bombings from the American army. However, one surviving magic-user brings together a new group of mystics. His plan is to "turn defeat into victory" by using spiritual psychic powers to assassinate the evil world leaders from a distance (I know Hitler's involved). Unfortunately, the surge of spiritual energy along with the repeated horror of all those who endured the nightmare of the fire-bombings, rouses up all the souls of the dead, whose resentment and anger come together and revive...Yasunori Kato. Now it's up to a young apprentice of the psychic magic user to stop Kato before the evil sorcerer ruins their plans for victory. Kato also seems intent on torturing and gaining revenge on Yukiko (his "daughter" from the previous story), whose all grown-up now and works as a nurse in a hospital.

It should be noted that this is the only film that I've seen that Takagise Ichise (the producer of "Ringu", "Ju-On", and "Dark Water") directed, and it definitely shows in the style. "Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis" was going for an exotic fantasy atmosphere, while this movie aims to be more of a dark and gory horror movie. The silly creatures that Kato summoned in the original film have been completely dumped here. The only magic he really uses in this movie is throwing stuff around with psychic energy like Darth Vader. He even acts differently, coming off more like a slow-moving and leering "Terminator" rather than the more dynamic way he was portrayed in the original. Strangely enough, the sets aren't as varied as they were in "Last Megalopolis" either. Everything's dark and brooding, putting a greater emphasis on the grim historical setting. The beginning of the film felt like a docudrama or just some historical war movie. It's not until Kato arrives that the film begins to explore it's fantasy roots more.

I liked this movie. The story is easily more comprehensible than its predecessors, the characters are better defined, and the production just feels more taut this time around. But I can only enjoy it as a standalone production. When viewed as a sequel to "Last Megalopolis", it's an incredible disappointment. "Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis" was a very unique production in that it was a genre bender of a film: an epic that was equal parts fantasy, horror and historical fiction. This film feels more like some commercial horror film in a historical setting. It didn't even try to follow up the promises of its predecessor (for example, many plot threads left hanging at the end of that film are not resolved here). From an entertainment perspective, it's decent, but not in the same way.

Two years later, Rintaro would take the story of "Last Megalopolis" and the dark atmosphere of this film and make the anime "Doomed Megalopolis". Ironically, since the atmosphere between the latter production and "Last War" is more consistent, "Last War" serves as a better sequel to the anime than "Last Megalopolis".

I had a really good time with the previous film, 'Tokyo: The last megalopolis.' The truncated writing of adaptation was flawed, yes, sometimes even losing sight of the basic information of the plot, but it was above all built as a dark fantasy-horror spectacle of 80s effects and visuals, and by that measure it was a great success. Sequels are another matter, however, and often inherently raise doubts about achieving the same success as their predecessors; that this was accordingly afforded a smaller budget is also possibly cause for concern before we even sit to watch. Now, granted, I'm unfamiliar with Aramata Hiroshi's novel and can't speak directly to the source material as a comparison, but it's also not specifically necessary here. As screenwriter Hayashi Kaizo returns, working under new director Ichise Takashige, it's evident quite quickly that with a smaller budget, an effort was made to reduce the amount of effects this time around, or at least save them for where they were needed most. The front end of the presentation is therefore more conventionally dramatic in nature, exercising effects a little less while trying to foster atmosphere through sparing use and "creepy" imagery and music. Yet this was not a strength for Hayashi and director Jissoji Akio in 1988, and frankly, it's not a strength in 1989 either. It's hardly that 'Tokyo: The last war' is bad, but it very distinctly lacks the vitality that made its antecedent so fun.

For the first full forty minutes or so the picture just dawdles, trying to more softly lay the groundwork for the remainder to come but unable to do so in a manner that's convincing or meaningful. Once again, information about major characters is at best weakly imparted. Those operating behind the scenes turn in fine work as the budget allows, and the cast earnestly try to make something of the material. Yet whether we say that the feature took the shape that it did owing to the limitations of the production, or simply owing to a skill issue on the part of Hayashi and/or Ichise - or, I don't know, maybe the particular book being adapted had its own problems - this struggles to really even make an impression even as the plot picks up. The storytelling substance is wanting; there was much for this to explore with regards to the state of Japan and its people as 1945 rolled on, but then, such is only intended to be the foundation for the supernatural tale laid on top, and the actual plot feels thin. The anticipated stunts and effects are decidedly fewer this time around, and while we indeed get treated to some here and there, there never actually comes a point when the movie absolutely leans into that facet; even the climax lands rather gently. In fact, it's true more than not that 'Tokyo: The last war' is an ordinary wartime drama, and the trouble is that it was meant to be much more than that.

The production design and art direction are terrific. The costume design, hair, and makeup are sharp. Other aspects like Ando Shohei's cinematography are fine, and I certainly like Ueno Koji's music in and of itself; I don't know why a Janis Ian song plays over the end credits, but I'm not complaining. Where practical stunts and effects do come into play they look fantastic, including a late dream sequence that's straight out of 'A nightmare on Elm Street' (or maybe an Aphex Twin video; you know the one). With some forced exceptions I think the cast give capable performances. And still the title fails to in the slightest degree reproduce the experience of the previous adaptation. Even if we say, in a spirit of utmost magnanimity, that this isn't what the title was trying to do, it's still the case that this wanted to be a follow-up, and it comes across as no more than a pale shade of what it wanted and tried to be. I was fully locked in with everything that 'The last megalopolis' was doing; for 'The last war,' I kept glancing at the clock. Once more, it's not outright bad, but there's nothing here that's especially grabbing or noteworthy. As far as I'm concerned it earns much more concrete criticism than was the case months before - definitely for its writing, with even broad strokes that stumble, and for many other things. I guess if you've already watched its predecessor there may be sufficient cause to check this out, but otherwise, in all honesty, you can probably just not ever bother. And that kind of makes me sad.