Ashita no Jô

Ashita no Joe is a famous Japanese manga started in 1968 that chronicles the story of Joe, a down of his luck poor chap that will rise to fame thanks to a former trainer that will teach him boxing. Basically, the Rocky story. Except... in Japanese. And done before Rocky.

So this is a live movie adaptation of the manga and... I cannot really recommend this movie. I guess they were trying to keep it manga-like, but that just made it ridiculous and impossible to take seriously.

As it is the case with many Japanese movies, the acting is overkill. Everything is exaggerated; reactions, facial expressions, drama. The acting was kind of bad. I sometimes found myself chuckling at dramatic scenes that were supposed to move you because it was so overdone. It is also plagued with dumb humor that just isn't funny.

The fight scenes were impressive and disappointing at the same time. The first ring match, for example, I thought was great. The boxing looked real and had a touch of unrealism that was exciting to watch. The problem is that Joe's signature move, the cross-counter, becomes too much of an easy way out and one hit KO. To the point where that might become the only punch he'll throw in an entire match. Rocky = good unrealistic fighting. Ashita no Joe = mixed bag. The final fight is also utterly disappointing.

What is good is the cinematography. Everything looks great. Also, seeing Japan in the 1960s is one of the highlights of the film. The sets are great and it's interesting to go back to a time when Japan was mostly poor.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this movie unless you're an Ashita no Joe fan, and even then. I gave it a five because it looks beautiful and some of the fights / training sessions were interesting, but that's about it. If you want to see better Japanese movies that are in the same vein (though not boxing), I recommend Crows Zero and its sequel, Crows Zero II. Though they suffer from some of the same flaws, it is to a much lesser extent and they are much better movies in my opinion.

Watch if curious, but you're safe to skip this one.

Based on a comic by Takao Asamori (aka Ikki Kajiwara), and Tetsuya Chiba, Ashita no Joe is a story about a delinquent orphan named Joe who's boxing talent was discovered by ex boxer Danpei Tange, and was groomed to become the top boxer.

The story of this movie tells about 50% of the tale that was told in the comic. It shows how he gets discovered by Danpei, his meeting with Toru Rikiishi at the juvenile delinquent detention center, and his eventual debut as a professional boxer, and battle with Rikiishi.

The story is set somewhere in the '60s which matches the time line of when the comic was written. It's set in the slums of Tokyo where orphan Joe Yabuki shows up one day. Such environment might not exist in Tokyo today, so the title Tomorrow's Joe might be inaccurate now, and should be Yesterday's Joe.

The quality of production is good to average for Japanese movies made these days. It might be difficult to understand the story if you are not familiar with the comic and its lore. So the movie was made primarily for old time Ashita no Joe fan, and might not have universal appeal to the audience.

If this movie is financially successful, I wouldn't be surprised if a sequel is made that tells the remaining story of Joe Yabuki. The fact that a movie is made over 40 years after the release of the comic tells the enormous popularity of this comic to the Japanese. What is so appealing about the story, you be the judge.

This is more a film on a famous manga than an usual boxing movie, as moves and fights are very unrealistic. Anyway, outcome is interesting. I loved the brownish palette, seeming vintage and bringing spectator to ate 1960s when the story is held and the manga was released. In the spirit of manga, the core characters, however, appear in brighter colours, being highlighted from the homogeneous vintage background. Settings, either the slums or the boxing gyms and arenas, are beautiful. It is curious to think about Rocky, released seven years after the beginning of the manga, but also with a similar approach for the leading character: a fast rise from nothing to stardom for an unconventional boxer who does not protect himself in the fights (no guard and no dodge, except for well shot Rikishi vs Joe bantamweight match), being repeatedly punched until the moment to reverse and win. In this movie, I liked a lot trainer Danpei Tange, and the beautiful ending with both rivals.

Directed by Fumihiko Sori, Tomorrow's Joe is that blast from the past thanks to the wonderfully crafted misc-en-scene in every scene, bringing us back to the struggling 60s and early 70s of post-war Japan. This in itself is admirable by the filmmakers to painstakingly create the look, and feel even, of the era, rather than to opt for the easy way out to adapt and update it for the look of today, and not that it can't be done, but you can bet that the magical charm that existed throughout the film in part due to nostalgia, will be totally lost.

But for a boxing film, the action counts more than accuracy pertaining to the signs of the times, and thankfully this film did everything right in choreographing action that can be seen clearly by the naked eye, and not have to resort to quick edits or cutaways to mask the actors' obvious lack of professional boxing ability. You can see each punch and block, done at normal speed and when slowed down to a crawl to achieve maximum impact, coupled with powerful sound design that puts you either at ringside, or over the shoulder of the fighter, or adopting the first person perspective. It is this variation of angles that constantly engages and allow in part to see and feel the damage caused by each blow. The fights were also deliberately stylized in design, with swooping camera movements weaving about the boxing ring, and the background crowd almost disappearing to allow your attention to be focused on the fighters.

The titular Joe Yabuki is played by Tomohisa Yamashita, with the protagonist being a juvenile drifter who found himself involved in street brawls more often than not. His most recent brawl made Dampei Tange (Teruyuki Kagawa) sit up and take notice of this raw diamond who has all the right moves, except for the polishing and training to be a pedigree bantamweight fighter. But Joe gets thrown into prison soon after, and it is there that he met his best friend Nishi (Katsuya), while becoming a fierce rival to Toru Rikiishi (Yuseke Iseya), a top fighter spending time in prison. Danpei becomes Joe's trainer teaching and imparting the basics of boxing through notes, and the narrative basically takes us through most of the first part of the manga series, save for a few minor subplots dropped that wouldn't be consequential in the film, choosing to focus strictly on the rivalry between Joe and Rikiishi.

Tomohisa Yamashita plays Joe to manga perfection, and kudos too to the art director for getting the characters all look similar to their original source material. He's almost no fat, complete with floppy fringe, with Tomohisa portraying Joe with a carefree attitude. Yusuke Iseya as his rival Rikiishi also has a body in the film to die for, and seriously one knows the kind of work that goes on behind the scenes during film preparation to achieve a body like that. Yusuke endows his character with a streak of arrogance, hell bent on taking Joe on in the ring and defeating him in the open in the same weight class, and these two are like the quintessential hero and villain pair, where one needs the other in other to justify their own existence. But perhaps the one whom you will sit up and take notice, is Teruyuki Kagawa as Danpei, whose makeup is top notch to allow the character actor to disappear behind a bald pate and broken, buck teeth.

If there is a message in this film, it is the usual never back down from adversity, and that the underdog must know and exercise perseverance and determination even if the odds are stacked against them. Joe represents that never say die attitude that's encouraged to be adopted, even when being knocked down it's almost a given to find within one's reserves, something to continue upon to stand up and fight with defiance in what you deem true and right. The story ties this in closely with Joe's distaste for Rikiishi's manager Yoko Shiraki (Karina) in a subplot dealing with her embarrassment of her background and roots, and constantly finding opportunities to get rid of a community of slum dwellers to make way for a swanky new sports community with the existing residents not being part of that plan. Given the OccupyWallStreet movement, this rise of the working class against the elite who have resources, cannot be more pronounced.

Tomorrow's Joe follows the broad outline of its manga episodes quite accurately, but in doing so doesn't offer anything new to its fan base other than to see their beloved hero represented and played out in the flesh. For non-fans, its rather generic tale of zero turned hero is thematically done to death, and doesn't offer anything compelling, with the rivalry being there without diving into depth to explore what drives these men to do what they do obsessively, especially in Rikiishi's case of having to drop his weight drastically to compete in the same class, when there is absolutely no need to given his career title-shot.

Still there will be those who will enjoy the simplistic, direct approach in telling the story using a rote formula, and find amusement in the way Joe is actually a one-trick pony with his counter-crosses and penchant for deliberately letting his guard down to lull opponents into complacency. The story doesn't end here just yet with the second half of the mythos being a larger challenge for Joe, but it's anyone's guess whether that sequel and follow up film will be made. For what it's worth with its typicalness, Tomorrow's Joe is still recommended viewing for fans of any of the actor.

Ashita no Joe is a movie adapted from the manga of the same name. The story is set in the 1960s and 70s, with its story centred around a distraught young man, Joe, played by Tomohisa Yamashita. His character is pretty close to the manga's depiction, of him growing up to be a wayward child due to the abandonment by his parents when he was younger. He meets Danpei Tange, played by Teruyuki Kagawa, who spotted his talent in boxing and expressed much eagerness to groom him into a pro-boxer. He rejected him over several occasions but eventually accepted his proposal after encountering Rikiishi, played by Yusuke Iseya.

The choice of Yamashita, one of the more recognizable idols from Japan, is probably crucial to the movie. He sparks enough conversation and curiosity about the movie among crowds which are not that familiar or akin to the manga. Contrary to belief that porcelain faced idols simply can't act, Yamashita might have just set a new standard. He has set up the character Joe well, and displayed great emotional depth and left immense visual impact on subsequent emotional scenes. Both Iseya and Yamashita deserve the same amount of recognition with regards to the extravagant amount of effort put in even before filming. The training they went through were tough, such that their sparring scenes were nowhere close to amateurish. In fact, their professionalism and moves were highly praised by pro-boxers who watched their movie. In addition to that, to achieve a toned body, Yamashita even followed a strict diet over the course of filming, and lost 8 kg. Kudos to their great dedication and professionalism!

For a boxing movie, good fight choreography is definitely important. In this respect, the movie has scored well too. The portrayal of the sport itself is unlike what we commonly think of, that boxing is brutal and sheer violent. Instead, the sport was portrayed to have a profound impact on the sportsmen, and each scene was elegantly shot. By that it means it recreates the impression of the sport for the viewers, where not only fists and violence triumph. Creative angles and new technology are employed to make such visual impacts possible, but they were not too high tech and fitted well into the set-up of the movie (recall: set in the 60s/70s). Strong symbolism was also appropriately used to convey the boxer's innermost passion.

Apart from the action sequences, there was also a great deal of balance in the depiction of the strong bonds within the relationship network. Be it between Rikiishi and Joe, or Joe and the villagers at the slum, or Joe and his trainer Tange, there were clearly strong emotional tugs. At first, Joe lived without purpose, and was avoided by villagers who had virtually no hope for a better tomorrow. However once his passion for boxing was evoked by Rikiishi, he ignited the same hope in the villagers, as well as his trainer, tearing down the barriers in between. The representation of the transformation and intricate relational ties were outstanding and for the most, really affective.

Overall, the movie has more to offer than expected. The adaptation of this manga into a real-life form is exceedingly well done. For fan or non-fan alike, there is probably a thought or two that will cling on to you as you watch this movie.

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