Tokyo Zombie

Fujio (Tadanobu Asano) and Mitsuo (Sho Aikawa) spend their free time wrestling. Their boss interrupts one day and starts yelling at them. After an apparent heart attack, them dump him on the Black Fuji, a mountain of trash that contains everything - including bodies.

The chemicals in the mountain cause the dead to rise, and now Tokyo has some real problems.

You might think that writer/director Sakichi Satô would give us another Ichi the Killer, but you would be wrong. The blood is minimal. This is a comedy. There are a lot of people losing their heads, but no little gore.

The good thing is that they are real zombies, and you can outrun them.

After five years, Tokyo is completely zombified. Fujio is stuck with Yoko (Erika Okuda), a girl Mitsuo saved before he was bitten, and those that are not zombies are slaves for the rich.

Things do get really funny at the end, and a little crazy, too.

I just wish they wouldn't have repeatedly used the "R" word.

A great fun watch. Two workers who prefer to spend their time training in jujitsu accidentally kill their boss and bury him on Black Fuji, an enormous pile of rubbish. There are some great scenes on Black Fuji with the young couple burying the mother of the boy while she continues to call the girlfriend a tart. When the girlfriend soccer kicks her head off the mother still yells abuse. This sets the tone for the whole movie. Our unlikely heroes are afro-ed and bald and spend a lot of time wrestling with each other. When the zombies attack the main motto is "head north to Russia and become a man". American is dissed and maybe that's why Americans haven't taken to this excellent cult manga film. It's not overly violent and has lots of humour.

This movie is one of those rare gems you come across. It is an excellent example of great, odd films you can find from Japan. First of all, this movie is funny. Secondly, it has zombies, and Tadanobu Asano, probably one of Japans finest actors. Even though this is a zombie movie, it feels like a fresh take on an old idea. Anyone who is a fan of Tokyo shock, or weird Asian films will love it. Asano shines as a jujitsu training, zombie killing, laugh factory. Sho Aikawa plays his mentor, and provides plenty of comic relief. The female lead also lends a good deal of humorous dialog and action. Something for everyone. great movie!!!

TOKYO ZOMBIE is an oddball 'Buddy Flic' within 'The Genre Of The Undead". Director, Sakichi Sato, who is probably best known for playing Charlie Brown in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film KILL BILL:VOL. I, has crafted a horror film of equal parts buffoonery and blood. Whatever ironic elements that were inherent to classic Horror are ramped up and played as belly laughs. SHAWN OF THE DEAD is certainly a prime example of this trend. Tadanobu Asano is a highly regarded Japanese model and film star, and plays Fujio,the fright-wig wearing half of the dimwitted duo. Asano is better known for his more serious roles, yet is able to deliver the laughs as required. However, both lead roles remain sketchy, and the film strives for more character development in the second half of the movie, but doesn't go far enough. TOKYO ZOMBIE will probably best be appreciated by aficionados of contemporary Japanese art films, while the majority of viewers will be left in the dark.

Two Japanese friends accidentally kill their boss and dump his remains in Black Fuji, a mountain/landfill hybrid. This leads to poor results when the chemicals of the landfill mix with the corpse (and many other corpses) to give rise to a zombie infestation in Tokyo.

This is a pretty bizarre film. Two men fight zombies with jujitsu. Not swords, not guns, but face-smashing jujitsu. One of them has a 'fro haircut while the other is bald. It's just an odd pairing. The film has been called the Japanese "Shaun of the Dead". I see it. I think it's a stretch, but I see it. Comparisons to other recent Japanese films, such as "Machine Girl", seem more appropriate -- there's a similar style of dark humor and violence coupled with cheesy CGI.

There's also an attempt to connect this to "Ichi the Killer". Don't be fooled by that. "Ichi", along with essentially all the work of Miike, is better than this film. "Q", "Audition", and others just put "Tokyo Zombie" to shame. Perhaps it has the same writer, but the fact this film was based off a manga is evident and infuses a humor that doesn't play as well in live action.

This film's biggest flaw is a lack of zombies. Sure, we have plenty of zombies, but there still seems to be a shortage -- there are periods of up to ten minutes without zombie action. These scenes are often filled with sentimental blather. Maybe in the original language this comes off better, but I had little interest in hearing people talk sentimentally to each other.

Typically I watch films while drinking, but due to a cold I was not drinking during this one. That is unfortunate. While this movie was above average, it would have been even better with alcohol. The humor is lame at some points, and is either a cultural thing or just plain dumb. I'm uncertain. But all I know is that parts that were clearly meant to be funny fell flat for me.

If you like "Machine Girl", I'd say give this one a chance. Perhaps even if you liked "Shaun of the Dead", though the connection is slight. A double feature with this film and a stronger Japanese film, such as "Battle Royale", would make for a good evening. Show this one first, of course. It's decent but by no means a headliner.