Tôkyô zonbi (2005) User Reviews

Zombie movie from Japan... the usual weirdness

[K_Todorov · 7/10 · 23 April 2007]

Zombie movies have been taking rather weird turns in development recently. We got romantic zombie movies ("Shaun Of The Dead"), we got super-fast zombie movies ("28 Days Later" and "Dawn Of The Dead"), we got super-hero comic book zombie movies ("Resident Evil: Apocalypse) and we got non-zombie, zombie movies (again "28 Days Later"). Well things just continue getting weirder and weirder, and now we got this, "Tokyo Zombie" a completely offbeat, comically silly representation of a zombie Holocaust in Tokyo. Even stranger, the choice of weapon against the undead scourge is neither, swords or guns. It's wrestling, Jujistsu to be more precise. I was interested enough with it's premise but when I heard it starred two of my favorite Japanese actors, Sho Aikawa and Tadanobu Asano, well I really had to watch it.

"Tokyo Zombie" as it's name suggests takes place in the Japanese capital. There, due to the unpleasant habits of the local population to throw away their garbage wherever they like to, has caused a large mountain of trash to appear. But people are not content with just that, oh no, they continue burying more and more stuff in that mountain. Ranging from refrigerators, old cars, even people there really is no limit. This is where our heroes enter the story, Fujio (Tadanobu Asano) and Mitsuo (Sho Aikawa), two obsessed with wrestling garage workers who end up accidentally killing their boss. Of course that mountain prompts the obvious solution to their disposition and they naturally decide to bury him there. What they don't know and later find out is that all the dumped trash has created a chemical reaction that causes the dead buried in the mountain to rise again, as flesh eating zombies.

Instead of trying to make a relatively serious story director Sakichi Sato takes a turn for the comedic. The plot is an obvious pastiche of classical zombie scenarios. Starting with the zombie epidemic to the post-apocalyptic society, Sato presents an over the top comical side to this all too familiar plot. The overview of how the post-epidemic survivors continue to exist is quite funny, Sato answers one of the biggest mysteries of zombie movie. How do people create electricity when the entire world is supposed to be overwhelmed by endless hordes of undead flesh eaters ? Well the answer is simple. Squeeze Electric a company that supplies all the pollutant-free electricity citizens would need. It works by using state of the art technology, requiring just a few hundred people whose's daily work includes squeezing an electric pod that in terms creates the all needed energy. Everything is completely ludicrous. Characters are no exception, with quirky outright funny dialog and a strangely obsessive singe-minded behavior, they breathe a fresh air of unseriousness to this already not very serious situation.

For a zombie movie "Tokyo Zombie" is pretty light hearted. Anyone expecting bucket-loads of gore and blood will be disappointed, there is really only one situation that could be described as disturbingly gory. A zombie starts chewing on a wrestler's guts, the whole thing lasts for less then a minute and honestly rather than disturbing it's quite funny when the victim starts making those silly facial expressions. Midway through the film there is a rather pleasant animated sequence that describes the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Other effects are generated using CGI and it's a hit or miss thing. Some look pretty well while other effects are plain cheesy, which is not a bad thing considering the fact that it's a comedy.

"Tokyo Zombi" is wacky, wild and in typical Japanese way quite weird. It's fun over-the-top plot makes it worthwhile to watch. Or if you just want to poke fun at the already way too familiar clichés surrounding the genre, this is as good as it goes.

Six rotten thumbs up for "Tokyo Zombie"...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 12 May 2012]

"Tokyo Zombie" is exactly what you would expect from a zombie movie from Japan; being cheesy, Japanese people painted ashen-gray, and an overall exaggeration of everything.

The story in "Tokyo Zombie" was actually alright. We follow the two very odd, both in appearance and personality, friends Fujio (played by Tadanobu Asano) and Mitsuo (played by Shô Aikawa), working at a fire-extinguisher factory. The people of Tokyo are burying their trash and their dead at Black Fuji, a black mountain of garbage. Toxic waste starts to reanimate the dead buried there, and the zombies start shambling stiffly about, looking for human flesh to devour. And soon after, Tokyo is in a lot of trouble...

The acting in this movie was as you'd expect, adequate and silly. Lots of overacting here and the zombies were just hilarious. You need to approach this movie with no sense of an actual serious zombie movie. This is a zombie comedy spoof, and it have so many elements that seen to be making fun of a lot of Romero's movies. So think of a Japanese version of an extreme version of "Shaun of the Dead", then you will have a rough idea of what "Tokyo Zombie" is like.

"Tokyo Zombie" is extreme in so many ways, but it works out well enough, because it is extreme in a hilarious way. I believe that "Tokyo Zombie" is either a movie that you will love or hate, I don't see any in-between here. I found "Tokyo Zombie" to be a fun movie to watch, it was a nice spoof of a zombie movie, in the way that only the Japanese can manage to bolster up.

Good Japanese Zombie Film, Not Quite Great

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 14 March 2009]

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.

Scary Monsters

[valis1949 · 7/10 · 8 April 2009]

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.

Unappealing Characters + Meandering Story = Waste of Time

[Bill357 · 4/10 · 10 April 2009]

This movie was way too long. It has left me so cold and disinterested that I struggle to even trash the damned thing!

There are some amusing scenes (not funny, just amusing) but some, like the one where bald man (I forget his name) says he has cancer, that seem to go on for an eternity.

I used to be a stickler for uncut movies but lately I've come around to the position that maybe the distributer and producers were sometimes right to reign in the excesses of wannabe epics, especially ones where so little actually happens that you can probably describe the whole 104 minutes in a few sentences.

This isn't so much a zombie picture as a character study that just happens to have zombies in it and the characters are a bunch of idiotic whiners.

If you want to see a good Asian zombie flick, go check out one called Bio Zombie. It's actually funny (not just amusing), has a better buddy sub-plot, and has real action and suspense.

Grappling with the undead...

[poe426 · 7/10 · 18 April 2009]

The often way-over-the-top humor is what makes TOKYO ZOMBIE worth checking out. Some of it is of a decidedly oddball sexual nature, but that's one of the film's strong suits; another is the pair of oddball heroes. To put it bluntly: they just LOOK funny. Watching them "roll" as they grapple (praticing jujitsu, a traditionally Japanese martial art co-opted these days by Brazilians), their expressions set and serious, is hilarious without really "trying" to be. While it's a far cry from SHAUN OF THE DEAD (the movie to which it seems to be most often compared), it IS cut from the same cloth- with a generous dose of LAND OF THE DEAD thrown in for good measure. If you like seeing heads lopped off with wild abandon, TOKYO ZOMBIE is right up your alley.

Lacklustre

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 14 June 2013]

The box bills TOKYO ZOMBIE as the Japanese SHAUN OF THE DEAD, but sadly that turns out not to be the case. This is a very low budget, entirely offbeat Japanese comedy, that's more interested in the sport of jujitsu than actual zombies. In fact, the zombies themselves turn out to be a mere plot device, a background for the central storyline which is about the friendship between two demented buddies.

It starts off on a fairly good footing, reminding you of some of the classic Japanese zombie films like JUNK and VERSUS, which all seemed to be filled with loads of chaotic energy and incident. Sadly, as the storyline progresses at a very slow pace indeed, you realise that TOKYO ZOMBIE just doesn't know what kind of film it wants to be. The zombies are dull and the storyline is silly, going nowhere and offering little of the surreal humour I'd expected to see.

It all falls apart for me around the halfway mark, where there's a gap of five years, because the second half just isn't as interesting as the first. The whole idea of the satirical gameshow is just a flop from the beginning and the film concludes with a whimper rather than a bang. The characters are an acquired taste to say the least and the production values are low; I usually like offbeat Japanese fare but not this time. I didn't laugh once.

Truly, madly, deeply, hilarious.

[mintysandwich · 10/10 · 8 November 2006]

From the first minute to the end of the credits, this movie is a zombie movie lover's fantasy. Imagine crossing Shaun of the Dead and Kung Fu Hustle and you'll have a small idea of what kind of movie you're in for when you watch Tokyo Zombie.

I scour the world of film to find movies that stand out to me as being worthy of owning. I'm very picky when it comes to movies, and I've seen many films that fall into the "zombie" category which end up being nothing short of wasted time in my life once I reach the ending. I am a fan of Shaun of the Dead simply because it not only is a comedy, but it mocks the entire genre of horror movies and zombie flicks. Tokyo Zombie is much the same in the way that you try to open your mind to it and wonder how long it will be before you can accept it's another zombie movie, before you realize that you're laughing hysterically aloud at flying heads and spurting blood.

Don't think that you've EVER seen effects like these before. The movie opens to two men practicing Ju-Jitsu, one of them, Micchan (whom believes he has cancer after he forces his doctor to tell him that's what it is after the doc insists it's just a stomach ulcer) and he dedicates his life to helping his friend, Fujio, learn Ju-Jitsu, so once zombies start sprouting from the graves, why not practice on them?

The two men accidentally kill their boss, Ujimoto, and decide to bury his body on Black Fuji, a big mountain of ash which there are apparently hundreds of people burying things from satellite dishes to refrigerators to, in a funny scene, the mother of a wimp-like guy who's up to her head and yelling at the young guy's girl who is threatening him with loss of sex if he doesn't bury his mom, but well she's up to her head in the ash and the girl gets tired of hearing this woman's rantings so she punts the woman's head and it flies off the mountain at about 50 miles per hour screaming at her son "Darrrliiinnnnnggggggg!!!!" in Japanese as it flies off to the horizon. I pretty much lost it at that point, laughing hysterically at the comedy of it all. Usually in a movie like this you'll get a 5-10 min break before there's more humor, but no, they keep it going with a school teacher burying the body of one of his male students who he had killed while apparently spanking in school... Well, he was also the teacher of Fujio, and he'd spanked him quite a bit before in the past so Fujio goes down to him and beats the crap out of him with a shovel, and it's pretty funny how he does it. The teacher, you'd think, dies then, but no he gets up a few minutes later to find his pants missing, but is happy to see a young woman come out of the ground who's eyeing his exposed penis with a hungry smile, so he decides to let her enjoy it, and she does, with zombie-like abandon... Immediately following this, the two Ju-Jitsu buddies drive over the wandering body of the boy who's mother's head was booted off into the sunset because they're arguing as to whether or not the teacher had his way with Fujio in the past or not.

All of this happens within the first 15 minutes of the movie, well by 14 minutes and 11 seconds to be exact. The movie's script is well done, the acting is quite nice, the graphics and especially the zombies are very well done. I, personally, will end up recommending this movie to many of my friends, and I'm sure that it will become one of my new favorites in not only Asian cinema, but also in the realm of true horror-comedy.

If you have the chance to see this movie, don't pass on it, I'm sure you'll enjoy watching it, none of the scenes are over-the-top, and none of the acting seems forced. It's a well-balanced flick which I will keep in my mind's database of A+ movies and I'm sure I'll reference it whenever I try to explain how some Asian movies are well worth watching.

I hope this review and my comments have helped you make your decision about this movie.

Since you have nothing, anything is possible.

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 10 April 2009]

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.

Wildly uneven...and I wanted to like it more than I did.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 23 June 2016]

Among the wildest, weirdest and most creative filmmaking countries are the Japanese. I love the strange and very funny films I have often seen from this movie-making juggernaut. Sure, they have made a lot of sophisticated and artsy film by the likes of Ozu and Kurosawa...but they also have brought us films like "Happiness of the Katauris" as well as the ultra-weird films of Minoru Kawasaki. "Happiness of the Katakuris" is a hilarious zombie musical from Takashi Miike...possibly my favorite Japanese comedy. As for Kawasaki, his films got far beyond this in strangeness...such as "Executive Koala" in which the leading character is played by a guy in a koala suit, "Rug Cop" which is about a toupee wearing cop whose wig actually has a mind of its own as well as "Calamari Wrestler"...about a pro wrestler who is a giant squid!!! So, it's not at all surprising that I would get a copy of "Tokyo Zombie"...a comedy zombie film from Sakichi Satô. Apparently it's based on a manga series...though I know nothing more about this.

The film begins with two complete idiots, Micchan and Fujio, practicing (very badly) their martial arts instead of working. The boss catches them and is very angry...and attacks Micchan. To stop him, Fujio smashes the boss in the head with a fire extinguisher and the pair then take the jerky boss to 'Black Mount Fuji"....a giant mountain of garbage outside Tokyo. It seems that LOTS of murdered folks have been buried there...and soon after they plant the boss, the dead all start coming to life and do what comes natural to zombies...try to feast on the living. During this period, Micchan is bitten and jumps supposedly to his death--leaving Fujio with a really nasty lady he inexplicably takes care of through the rest of the film.

The story then jumps ahead five years. It seems that within Tokyo, the rich scum have set up a compound and they keep out the zombies...or at least most of them. They do bring in some to have them fight in an arena against various poor people who the rich have enslaved. One of them is Fujio and the awful rich women who come to the games hate him as he's too good and his fights only last a few seconds. So, the man running the games brings everyone a surprise...zombie Micchan!! What's next? See the film and learn who prevails in this battle of the titans...or at least two crappy jujitsu practitioners.

Based on the description, the story sounds incredibly strange and right up my alley, right? Well, yes...and no. The problem is that while there are many funny story elements the film also has many slow spots and some of the characters (especially Fujio's wife) make little sense and the story seems almost as if they're winging it. Also, some of the acting and special effects have an incredibly cheap quality about them. If you are a patient person and don't mind the lulls, the story is worth seeing. But I cannot help that perhaps it could have been a lot better.

This movie was hilarious! But apparently it's not for everyone..

[mwani751 · 9/10 · 30 September 2012]

I really enjoyed this movie. It has a very offbeat comedy that left me in stitches. I happened to rent it randomly from a video store one night, based on it's outer packaging and the line from a critic hailing it as "the Japanese Shaun of the Dead". I was so smitten by the movie that I ended up buying it for myself later. I recommend this if you're already a fan of Japanese Cinema. Especially anime or manga. The comedy is so hilariously off the wall and it's probably different from what we would get here in the States. I will preface the rest of my review with the caveat that I am definitely NOT a horror movie fan. At least not regularly. I watched this movie because I thought I would find it funny, and I did. A lot of other people that I showed it to didn't seem to share my sentiment. haha I don't know why. Many seemed to just find it weird/boring maybe but I found it hilarious. It definitely does have a distinct style and that may be off putting for those who can't get with it. I highly recommend it though and I think it is a very unique and quirky hilarious movie with some of my favorite and most interesting moments in cinema watching. The extras on the DVD are really worth it too.

A little about the plot..the film follows the exploits of two Japanese mechanics in Tokyo who are trying to survive a Zombie outbreak. Oh and also they are Jujitsu practitioners. It's so funny seeing Tadanobu Asano trying to Jujitsu a Zombie. They travel through the country on a plan to escape to Russia. Needless to say, they face some obstacles along the way. This is a really quirky and frankly hilarious end of the world tale.

It is a little bit long and the pacing and way the story develops may not be what some are used to, but I think if you're a fan of comic books (especially alternative ones), you like manga/anime, or Japanese movies, then you will find this movie as fun as I did. Also there are so many little things in the movie to notice that it definitely rewards repeated viewings. Like a certain snack that keeps reappearing. Also if you are a fan of JuJitsu you will appreciate that aspect as it is represented in the movie. If you get a chance watch the extras because it's really fascinating to see the interview with original creator of the comic that his movie is based on and how he himself is a jujitsu practitioner and incorporated it into his story, and how hard the actors worked to actually learn the right way to perform the moves.

Overall to me Tokyo Zombie is a really funny movie and it's well worth checking out. Give it a chance! Keep in mind that it is a bit "different" but if you stick with it, you will be rewarded by a unique experience that may just have you yearning for more....brains!

Meandering and not too good

[Bezenby · 3/10 · 21 January 2014]

Boring! You'd think any Japanese zombie film was worth picking up, but this one seems more concerned with Jujitsu than anything else. It also tries to do a switcheroo halfway through, but the whole thing feels like a bit of mess to me.

Two guys working in a fire extinguisher factory spend most of their time wrestling. The older, balder guy thinks he's dying, and wants to teach his pal jujitsu. When they accidentally kill their boss, they decide to bury him on Black Fuji, a mountain made of trash. Then, zombies rise up etc etc.

There's not much zombie action in this film, and the humour is very broad (and not funny). Take it from me – I'll watch any crap, but this one was an ordeal to sit through, especially when the film jumps ahead five years and totally grinds to a halt with some sort of post-zombie rising pit fighting and loads of arguing.

Not for me, this on – and I loved Wild Zero – so just watch that one instead. Much better

Undeadpan humour

[politic1983 · 5/10 · 19 December 2020]

While Tadanobu Asano and Sho Aikawa have the ability to make a comic turn and are far from playing-it-straight actors, casting the pair as leads in a comedy film is an interesting choice. But this is what novice director Sakichi Sato went for when making "Tokyo Zombie": an intriguing 'zom-com' that has its moments, but overall falls a little flat.

Fujio (Asano) and Mitsuo (Aikawa) are two workers in a fire extinguisher factory, though they spend the majority of their time practising jujitsu, with the elder Mitsuo showing dominance. Their boss finds them slacking once more and his attack turns violent, so Fujio retaliates...a little too violently. There is only one thing to do: head to Black Fuji.

With people disposing of so much waste, a man-made mountain has formed on the outskirts of Tokyo. But it has also become a dumping ground for human waste. After burying their now former boss in the waste they just miss the emergence of a host of zombies rising up from the ash. Back in Tokyo, a practice session is interrupted by a group of the undead. Mitsuo gets bitten and deserts Fujio and the rescued Yoko (Erika Okuda) before he transforms.

Skip five years and Tokyo is post-apocalyptic; Fujio and Yoko now a couple with a daughter living in a slum. The rich have grown richer with the poor now tasks with inhumane jobs, such as creating electricity for the rich and fighting zombies in pro-wrestling style bouts for gambling leisure. Fujio is one such fighter, putting the jujitsu skills he learnt from Mitsuo to use.

"Tokyo Zombie" starts off at a slow pace, going for a more deadpan approach to comedy. Much like jujitsu, this is not high-octane action. It's more a slow struggle, with moments of excitement bursting out. From the outset, "Tokyo Zombie" never really gets into a rhythm or creates enough of an atmosphere to absorb. Instead, you feel slightly detached from it, brought to a laugh here and there when there is a stab of comedy.

As such, this feels more like a TV sketch show about two bumbling characters caught in an unusual scenario. There is a lack of a natural flow to build towards a satisfying conclusion. While Asano and Aikawa are both likeable enough and both can deliver a comic performance, the fact that the first half of the film is very much a two-man show, this would work better with two more natural comedians in the roles. Despite both being given silly wigs to wear, a manzai act they are not.

There are laughs on offer though, and it does just about enough to entertain, but little more than that. AS ever with zombie films, there is some sort of need for a comment on society as a whole, and "Tokyo Zombie" offers this in the richer survivors now money-throwing gambling addicts baying for blood, while the poor have to work dangerously for their entertainment - which feels somewhat appropriate in the current climate.

But these ideas are not particularly explored enough and further the fact that this is a film that lacks the need for much mental investment. Brains. Brains.

politic1983.home.blog

More Jujitsu than zombies

[Stevieboy666 · 5/10 · 3 November 2019]

I picked this up cheap, the DVD case proclaiming it to be "The Japanese Shaun of the Dead". Very misleading. Yes, it's a comedy with zombies but that is as far as the similarities go. Based on a manga comic with the same name, apparently, the story is mainly about two workmates and their obsession with Jujitsu. Only there's a zombie apocalypse (yawn) so they're constantly having to deal with fighting off the living dead. Unless you are a fan of Japanese horror/comedy then this may not be your cup of tea. It is funny at times, tedious at others. Bizarre, or silly, is an apt description. There is plenty of violence but it's more comical than gory, tame enough for a 15 certificate (UK)

HEY LOOK! IT'S THE GUY WE RAN OVER.

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 10 January 2019]

Mitsuo (Shô Aikawa) and Fujio (Tadanobu Asano) are two friends who work near Black Mountain Fuji. It is at this mountain people bury toxic waste, trash, and corpses of people they have killed. Our pair start out like dumb and dumber. About half way through the film, it shifts gears into Thunderdome where Mad Max is played by one of the stooges and fights zombies in the arena.

The film is meant to be a comedy, there is no horror in spite of the zombies. It does have some slow scenes. The movie can be watched in English or Japanese with subtitles. The extras have only subtitles.

Interesting cult film.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. Male rear nudity. No sex, suggested near oral sex.

Lame and not that funny

[mhorg2018 · 1/10 · 3 July 2018]

I love a lot of Japanese films. This however, is not one of them. Too much bizarre forced humor (yes I know bizarre is a catch word in these kind of Japanese films), but it's just a silly exercise in nonsense. A few somewhat funny scenes, but overall a miss.

Black Fuji and Baldzombie

[jonb-29 · 8/10 · 23 June 2009]

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.

Tokyo Zombie

[Scarecrow-88 · 5/10 · 2 July 2009]

In the last twenty years, the "zom-com" has had a burgeoning rise throughout the world. A major proponent in this rise as of late is SHAUN OF THE DEAD. Films take the zombie genre and twist it into all sorts of bizarre directions. Sakichi Satô's TOKYO ZOMBIE is no different. It's essentially a buddy comedy immersed in the apocalyptic environs of Tokyo where a zombie plague(..caused by the polluted industrial waste buried in a rubbish heap containing the buried dead, murdered by others using this area to escape crime conviction)rises from a mountain of trash nicknamed "Black Fuji". Two working class Japanese men, older bald Mitsuo(Sho Aikawa)and his "Jujitsu student", Fujio(Tadanobu Asano) must bury their disgruntled boss after accidentally killing him after a clunk over the noggin with a fire extinguisher. They bury him in Black Fuji, encounter the dead, and must find a way out of Tokyo with designs of tripping to Russia so Fujio can "become a man"(..because Russia is a "tough country"). Mitsuo reveals to his protégé that he's dying of stomach cancer and soon, after Fujio forgets to grab a toothbrush and cigarettes when taking food from an abandoned grocery store, they discover a young women, Yoko(Erika Okuda), who expresses firmly her resistance towards joining up with them. Yet, Mitsuo insists and loads her in their van against her will, getting bit in the process(..the bite is an amusing gag, revealed at the end of the film). Soon, the van is stolen by another bald guy, Mitsuo leaps off a bridge presumably to his death, with Fujio and Yoko left to squabble endlessly slapping each other around before diving off a bridge to escape zombies coming towards them. Soon, Tokyo falls to ruin, a massive wall is constructed around a giant pyramid with the poor and zombies used as slaves for the rich(..which seem to be mostly loud, demanding women), & Fujio takes the fighting lessons taught to him by his mentor into a ring where he battles zombies for an audience who voices their criticism when his matches end early.

The character of Fujio is run through the ringer. His only means of resolve comes from his dedication to Mitsuo, who his fights are won for in the respect of Jujitsu. He is burdened by the shackles of a marriage to the insufferable Yoko, his daughter is mute(..and adorable), his boss(..the ring announcer)wants to have sexual relations(..always coming from behind Fujio, attempting to engage in carnal activity, socked by kicks for his trouble), his best friend is seemingly gone forever, and he must endure the hardships of poverty, dealing with constant combat against foes whose bite can kill, and deal with the constant angered boos of a despicable audience. The poor guy barely hangs in there. Before all this misery, the film seemed to work as a confined story about two men against the backdrop of a fallen city, which I think works rather well since both actors have good chemistry with each other. Jujitsu is a major part of their relationship as Mitsuo uses this skill as a means to prepare him for a harsh world. When Yoko is introduced, Mitsuo leaves the film for a while, and we enter the last leg of Fujio's story, the film became a bit of a trial for me. There's a dark, perverted sense of humor(..pedophilia gags galore, and a group of children attempt to hold up an office worker with a knife)and the expected zombie gore is present(..the violence is so over-the-top, it becomes a parody of the zombie films that came before). Lots of unusual images through the use of CGI and plenty of histrionics by the cast who have animated faces and reactions towards each other(..particularly when characters assault each other). The Black Fuji sequence, at the on-set, is simply bizarre.

This movie is awesome!

[general_jihad · 10/10 · 22 June 2009]

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!!!

Excellent Jujitsu!!

[noah-65732 · 8/10 · 5 November 2023]

Tokyo Zombie follows two Jujitsu practitioners Fujio & Mitsuo during a zombie outbreak caused by a giant mountain of garbage known as Black Fuji. When Mitsuo is bitten the story comes to an abrupt halt and picks back up 5 years later. At this point Fujio has become an established Jujitsu expert and is competing in the Zombie Fighting Championship. The Zombie Fighting Championship is the equivalent of the UFC but matches human fighters with the reanimated corpses of former fighters. While Jujitsu is an unlikely weapon to use against zombies this film still manages to pull it off. As someone who has trained in Jujitsu and MMA I have to say the Jujitsu in this movie is VERY realistic and accurate, more so than any other film I've seen. These are actual moves and techniques that work! While nowhere near as flashy as traditional kung-fu forms that you see in most martial arts films, it is based on real technique and style. To me, that alone is extremely commendable. The best way I can describe the story, cinematography and overall goofiness is simply live action anime. So needless to say this is a film for people who can tolerate goofy Japanese humor. Cheesy humor aside I strongly recommend Tokyo Zombie to anyone who has trained in MMA, Jujitsu, Judo or similar styles because the grappling choreography is very impressive.