Spam From Japan

This review contains spoilers for the movie Kamui Gaiden (カムイ外伝).

Kamui Gaiden is based on a manga started in 1965 by Shirato Sanpei, about a ninja who is on the run having left his clan. Kamui is played by Matsuyama Ken’ichi, who is probably most famous for his role as L in the live-action Death Note movies. Matsuyama also appears in Kaiji ~Jinsei Gyakuten Game~, out this weekend in Japan.

This movie starts out with child Kamui watching his master fight against a strong female ninja (Sugaru), which quickly introduces the way fights are choreographed. Ninja can jump-fly as a matter of course, similar to the wire work used in the wuxia genre. This time it looks like CGI, but my partner gave me a suspicious look when I referred to it as CGxia.

Both Kamui’s master and Sugaru fall from a cliff, but the former hangs on, while the latter is presumed to have drowned. Kamui’s master climbs up and pulls a throwing knife from his eyeball, eyeball still attached. He throws it at Kamui’s feet to teach him a lesson. What lesson? Only ninja know.

That sets the pace for the first half hour or so as adult Kamui encounters and fights other ninja and bandits in a bloody but non-gory way. I got to admit, this was often pretty cool and I love this style of cinema, even when it’s not done particularly well.

But then the plot starts. I feel terrible for typing that. For the next hour or so, there’s no more fighting and Kamui learns to fish and falls in love. Not with the tough female ninja we saw earlier, but a teenage girl called Sayaka. This is possibly more realistic, but not very interesting. However, Matsuyama does spend a scene walking around in a fundoshi and I suspect there’s someone out there for whom this will make the entire movie. Me, I liked the wuxia sharks.

Okay, they’re not technically wuxia sharks. After all, they don’t practice martial arts or exhibit chivalrous or ‘xia’ tendencies. But they linger and pose in the air as they jump. They might just know kung fu.

Then there are the ninja-pirates, confusing all internet debates forever. The pirate ninja leader is played by Itou Hideaki and the fighting resumes in the impressive final showdown between him and Kamui.

Overall, I just wanted to cut out much out the middle part and leave in all the amazing silliness and ridiculous ways of offing people. More beer would’ve been nice too.