Q was skipped because…. I couldn’t find a new movie with a Q in the title. The one I have watched was ages ago, and I rated it poorly so I didn’t want to rewatch. So we continue on!
As you can guess, this one was easy. I hadn’t gotten to it sooner due to it’s reputation, and a bit of availability issues. The latter has been resolved, and therefore I have now watched!
Cobra (Iwata Takanori), Yamato (Suzuki Nobuyuki), and Noboru (Machida Keita) have been friends since childhood. Noboru being the hope to the hoodlum kids, as he aspires to be a lawyer whereas Cobra and Yamato have no such grand ambitions. However, Noboru is struck by tragedy that causes him to spiral. Sanno Rengokai might be a place for Noboru to return, but Noboru seems more interested in having S.W.O.R.D, Sanno Rengokai included, destroyed then return to it.
I.E. The first season of HiGH&LOW, one of my all time favorite dramas, summarized in a movie. Complete with all the footage used being repackaged from the first season, and resold as a feature film.
Don’t get me wrong I love HiGH&LOW with all my soul. But even I know a cash grab when I see one, and while this isn’t the most egregious one HiGH&LOW made*cough cough The Mighty Warriors “Movie” cough cough*, it’s not the best look. It had it’s purpose – it’s a gateway for those trying to get into the franchise prior to it’s second season airing without having to watch the entire first season. If I’m not mistaken this was also released right before streaming really took off in Japan, so kinda needed if you didn’t buy the DVD box set. Plus it’s a little something for the fans of the franchise to tide them over until the second season aired.
All that being said, it’s not something I would have been too happy with if I had paid a full movie ticket price to see. I didn’t do that though, so I had plenty of fun being nostalgic, having my heart race at the fights, oohing and ahhing over the various gangs, and jamming to the soundtrack. Being the repackage of the drama, none of the quality was lost, it was a a quick recap of events so simplified story – so no complaints about acting, cinematography, etc.
So yeah, that’s truly all I got about Road to HiGH&LOW. For fans of the franchise, now that the series is more widely available this movie is an easy pass. For those not familiar it’s a solid primer to see if HiGH&LOW would be a franchise you’d be interested in, without a huge time commitment.
Phoenix Talks Pop Culture Japan 