Crows Zero

Crows Zero is a manga adaptation about factions of students fighting for control of a Japanese high school. Not exactly a new idea, as every other anime and manga is about that very subject. But that's not what made Crows so uninteresting to me, I've previously enjoyed many movies and shows with similar plots. My issues with the movie were that I never felt any connection to the characters, and couldn't care less about what happened to them. Add that to the unremarkable fight scenes, and you've got a recipe for "meh". I did appreciate the sporadic humor, but that quickly (and unfortunately) faded away as the movie progressed. 

Die-hard fans of the manga may want to check this out, but I can't recommend that anyone else go out of their way to see it. If you want to see high school students beating each other to a pulp, there are much better (and more exciting) options.

This is fully based on style. It's an exploration of what it means, in a certain moment in time, in a certain culture (arguably global...), to be cool.

Everything here is designed to look cool. In fact, whenever we hear about wanting to 'rule' the school, what's in fact at stake is being the coolest there. The fighting is a fundamental issue of that coolness, the best fighters gain admiration, not for their physical skill but for the coolness with what they get out of the situations - even when Genji is defeated after fighting dozens at the same time, he falls in a cool way. To underline this, we come to understand that in fact the strongest guy in the school was in fact away from the main disputes all the way, probably because he is not cool, in the notion of the cool guys (he is cool in his uncool way).

This is a thin notion, which probably will appeal to a teen mind (with 24 i'm not quite sure yet if i've ever been a teen). This film gets away with that single thin notion because it is able to support it visually. The director knows a few things about framing and pace, even though he doesn't take many risks (or none at all) in how he shoots the fights.

In a way, this is no different, in root, of series like Rambo, the filmography of Chuck Norris or the urban hip-hop acting pose. Different moments in time, and different places on earth, and an important element: this film doesn't take itself seriously, as the others do. This is all staged, and that's clear to us, and it's OK. The comedy bits exist to underline this. Also the parody of the Yakuza, as inferior guys who get beaten up by the school kids.

My opinion: 3/5

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Welcome to Suzuran High School, a high school whose students are scrambling to earn the title of King of High School. Genji, a transfer student, is no exception, now trying to take the title and find allies to be able to defeat Serizawa as a tough opponent.

Good. Exclamation. Explosive. A nice fight look to watch. A nice storyline to enjoy. Carrying the concept of the problem of power struggle as a ruler in schools, this film presents a classy inter-class brawl and is full of strong violence. The fierce battle scenes are the attraction of this film, especially in the final battle between Genji and Serizawa. So is how they can strengthen each other's alliances and bring down opponents both from cunning means and by force. This film also brings an element of comedy that adds excitement to this film.

All characters have their own portions and conflicts that give color to the story. Shun Oguri as Takiya Genji and Takayuki Tamada as Serizawa are the key characters and as the soul of the film. Genji's appearance as a Yakuza boy was indeed a children's idol at that time. A fierce look and full of ambition. Meanwhile, Serizawa became a leader with a flamboyant, hilarious, decisive and respected style.

Being an adaptation of a Japanese comic book, Crows Zero offers some of the most entertaining fight scenes I've seen in awhile and the soundtrack is awesome. However, just because this film begs not to be taken seriously, doesn't mean I can ignore the shortcomings. There is a Yakuza angle that is never really explored or tied in coherently. The number of loose, underdeveloped subplots is astonishing. Last but not least, the English voice-overs are atrocious; I'd much rather just have subtitles. Everythign else sums up a fun time at the movies. You'll be dropped dead center in one of the toughest schools in the country, Suzuran, which is over run with gangs and violence.

The film is reason enough for Western fans of the Japanese medium, such as anime, manga, and video games to rejoice and I am pretty sure fans of the comic won't have reason to complain either. For its male target audience, it is sure to be a hit. Also, if you watch this film and enjoy it there is also a sequel out in the works which I will cover in the coming weeks

This is the kind of movie where even though there are some noticeable shortcomings, they don't feel like they matter as much as they would in most other movies. Crows Zero kind of feels like a cross between a yakuza movie and a high school movie, and there's a decent amount of action in there for good measure. It takes place at a high school where classes don't seem to exist, and teachers I think are only visible in the first 10-15 minutes of the film. The school is just a battleground, really, with various factions and ambitious gang leaders (largely teenagers) all battling to "control" it.

It's a little strange how it begins sort of comedic and then decides it wants to be serious (albeit in a very heightened way) in the second half. There are probably a few too many characters to keep track of, but at the same time, considering the size of the cast and the pacing, the way they're all balanced is decent. It probably helps that most characters are straightforward, and like a lot of yakuza movies, they're all after essentially the same thing.

It's got a few action scenes throughout, and a pretty big one at the end that's a highlight. The wet, greyish mud a whole heap of people fight in reminded me of the opening action scene in The Raid 2 (2014). Like most times one film reminds me of another - and neither is the kind that EVERYONE has seen - it left me to wonder whether it's intentional, or just by brain methodically finding connections that aren't really there.