[Japanese Movie Review] Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler / Kaiji: Jinsei Gyakuten Geemu

Today's review is about a movie released in 2009, Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler / Kaiji: Jinsei Gyakuten Gemu.

Ito Kaiji (played by Fujiwara Tatsuya) had a large debt and couldn't pay for his debt. The debt collector gave two choice, 10 years paying off his loan or one day boarding on a ship and gamble to repay his debt where he could get even more by it. Kaiji chose the second choice and started gambling on the ship. Because he is smart and genius, he should have won the game. However, because of his partner's mistake, he was lost, arrested, and forced to work underground to pay his debt. Kaiji thought that the Teiai Corporation (who held the events) was sly and got angry. Once again, Kaiji was given a choice where he must gamble for his life.

This movie is made based on a manga written by Fukumoto Nobuyuki with title Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji (Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji). The story is excellent, and Fujiwara Tatsuya is even making it much better. The movie is quite thrilling and somehow sometimes makes me annoyed, hehe.

I don't really have much comments on this movie as it is quite perfectly made, the effect, the scene, everything is just cool. I recommend this movie to everyone who likes thriller movie and I give 9 out of 10 points for this movie.

*this review is just a personal opinion and made by me who is a newbie reviewer,if there are any mistakes, feel free to make a correction*

[Japanese Film / Movie Review] Battle Royale

Battle Royale is a famous Japanese film which was released on 2000. It’s adapted from a novel with the same name by Koushun Takami.

The story is about a class of junior high school student which is claimed to be a rotten class that is chosen to be destroyed on a game called Battle Royale, an annual event to kill each other on an island until one remains. The main character is Nanahara Shuya (played by Fujiwara Tatsuya) who is trying to survive with his girlfriend Nakagawa Noriko (played by Maeda Aki). They tried to cooperate with the other classmate, but due to panic and fear, most of them tried to kill them.

This film has so many controversies, as expected since it’s a really cruel movie and claimed to harm the teenagers. I also felt this film is a little bit crazy, so cruel and psycho, as I don’t like this kind of movie genre, actually. However, this film can be entertaining for those who likes thrilling movie. I found that most of Japanese film, movie, and dorama always give us a good message. Even though this film is cruel, we can see what is a ‘true friends’ meaning from this film.

The idea itself is very great, however, I can explain this film with two word; Hunger Games. Why Hunger Games? It’s because maybe most of you would know Hunger Games more than Battle Royale, as Hunger Games is a Hollywood movie. However, Battle Royale came out first before Hunger Games, and the one who is criticized to copy the idea is the author of The Hunger Games. The author of The Hunger Games herself claimed that she never heard of Battle Royale before and it was mentioned to her that there were huge similarities between the two. The difference between the two is only the continuation of the story. I love Battle Royale more than Hunger Games (I don’t know if this is because I watch Battle Royale first before Hunger Games), but for the continuation story, I love Hunger Games series more. I start loving the Hunger Games series after watching the 2^nd movie, Catching Fire, and as for Battle Royale, I don’t quite like the Battle Royale II which was released on 2003, so I don’t want to talk about Battle Royale II: Requiem. 
The bad thing about this film is the quality of how the film is taken. I can't really explain it too much, but just when you watch the film, you will get the feeling "This is indeed an old film, a film from 2000".

As for the cast, I'm actually not a fan of Fujiwara Tatsuya, but I couldn't agree more that most of his film, movie, and dorama are the best; Death Note, Kaiji the Gambling Apocalypse, and many more.

This film is recommended only for those who likes thriller, bloody movie. I gave 9 out of 10 points for this fim.

*this review is a personal opinion and made by me who is a newbie reviewer, if there is any mistakes, please feel free to make a correction*