Billed as “Blue Fight” in Japan, “Blazing Fists” is inspired by MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura’s autobiography “Street Legend” but also retains intense anime/manga elements, as much as a subtle homage to Japanese cinema of the 90s and 00s, including Miike’s own works.
Blazing Fists is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam

While in juvenile prison, Ryoma meets the strongest individual there, Ikuto and the two soon become best friends, even though their relationship owes a lot to the fact that the latter does not know the role the former played in his arrest. Inspired by a lecture by martial artist Mikuru Asakura, the two soon decide to join Breaking Down, a fighting tournament he organizes. Before they do that though, they have to train, pass an audition, and deal with Jun, the guy who has taken Ikuto’s place as the strongest in the area, and his gang. Furthermore, another, rather bigger gang made of adults this time, named Krishna, and led by a man who is as strong as he is brutal.
Regarding the homage aspect, there is a Kitano-esque element for sure here, at least in the non-action scenes, that are reminiscent of “Kids Return” and the presence of Susumu Terajima adding even more to this sense (he didn’t play in the particular film but was a Kitano regular). At the same time, the mention of Suzuran from “Crows Zero” and the winks towards the film in the face of Nobuaki Kaneko who was the main villain in the second installment, Wataru Ichinose who made his film debut there, the music by The Street Beats who were also in charge in the first film, and the very ending, intensify this element. The same applies to the mention of an audition, which also takes place in the most impressive montage in the whole film. Lastly, the presence of Anna Tsuchiya, who was about to become a star with films like “Sakuran” and “Kamikaze Girls” in the 00s but was sidetracked due to various personal reasons, and of Gackt as the final villain, conclude the ‘tribute’ aspect here.
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Beyond that, however, it seems the film has fallen victim to its star-studded cast and a rather problematic script, whose most significant issue is that it treats the events in the movie as ones already known by the viewers. In that fashion, the progression of the story does not make much sense, as the whole thing would be much better if the whole Asakura ark was actually not included, since it seems forced into a narrative of gang warfare, in the style of “Crows Zero”. The characterization is also problematic, particularly regarding the motivation of the protagonists, the drama is misplaced, while the appearance of stronger and stronger opponents seems as if drawn from a shonen anime, which are not exactly known for their depth or context.
There are, however, a number of elements that make the film worthwhile. For starters, the last part, where the action takes over, is rather impressive to watch, with the brutality of the fights, the music, the frantic editing by Naoichiro Sagara, and the overall drama involved with the fact that all involved get significantly punished, creating a truly impressive amalgam. In general, all the fights in the movie are quite fun to watch, with the choreography being excellent and the overall excessiveness quite fitting. The same applies to the cinematography of Nobuyasu Kita which screams big budget from the get go, and presents a very appealing switch from rather polished to gritty throughout the movie.
Lastly, the three main protagonists, Danhi Kinoshita as Ikuto, Kaname Yoshizawa as Ryoma and Chikashi Kuon as Jun have enough charisma to move beyond the writing’s shortcomings, while exhibiting a very appealing chemistry, with the same applying to the presence of Gackt.
Although the drama does not work particularly well and the movie suffers in terms of script, the charisma of the protagonists, the homage aspect and the action definitely compensate, making “Blazing Fists” a movie definitely worth watching, even if just for the fun it offers.