1Finally something decent (even more) for our hungry brain after Crows Zero era.
HIGH & LOW: The STORY OF S.W.O.R.D is a comprehensive entertainment project by EXILE TRIBE that encompasses various forms of content media. Aside from the members of EXILE TRIBE, there are a lot of high quality cast for this drama, not only actor & actress but also other musician & models. So visually, you will be pampered with a lot of candy eyes with great acting too.
As written in the synopsis, it’s all about fighting between organization in a certain town. But the core story in this first season is about friendship and brotherhood, and more like a prologue to introduce each organization and the story base. Later, there will be HIGH&LOW Season 2 and HIGH&LOW The Movie. Let me summarize all the organization first:
=Organizations Before SWORD=
1) MUGEN
In this story, MUGEN was told start from the second generation, led by Kohaku. Other main members: Tsukumo, Cobra & Yamato. The strongest organization.
2) AMAMIYA BROTHERS
Only consist two members, Amamiya Masaki (Kyaaa Takahirooo! *oops please excuse my fangirling) & Amamiya Hiroto. They’re fighting against Mugen.
3) HYUGA GROUP
Hyuga Group is a part of GURYU GROUP (I think Guryu Group is kind of strong group but in outside of Mugen’s domain) & they’re not that popular. Hyuga Group fought against Mugen in order to make their names well known, but Hyuga Group lost and abandoned by Guryu Group.
=S.W.O.R.D=
1) SANOOH ASSOCIATION
Or Hoodlum Squad, led by Cobra (ex Mugen). Other members are Yamato (ex Mugen), Noboru, Dan, Tetsu and Chiharu. Cobra, Yamato & Noboru are childhood friends. Sanooh doesn’t have specialty or aiming any particular thing, the association just made naturally by the members who are good in fighting.
2) WHITE RASCAL
Their specialty is always white (as white as their name XD). Led by Rocky, his main subordinates are Golden Bomber* members (Bito, Aizawa, Shimura & Enari). Despite being famous with their madness, White Rascal also known for always protecting woman who have been hurt by men.
*) A visual kei rock band
3) OYA KOUKOU
School of Yankees!. The leader or they rather call it as Class Rep (lol) is Murayama Yoshiki. Just as other typical Yankee school, the one who rule the school is the strongest one. Murayama Yoshiki played by Yamada Yuki, he can pull his yankee expression but his height sometimes a little bit distracted me. He looks much shorter & smaller than his friends, in contrary he is the the strongest and unbeatable.
4) RUDE BOYS
They dominate and protect a Nameless Street, a town where people who abandoned by their parents lives, hidden and dirty. Led by Rocky played by Kubota Masataka (Kyaaa *oops once again please excuse my fangirling ;-). They declare themselves as a family who protect each other. Their specialty is parkour, this is that makes their fighting skill more artsy. This drama use a lot of camera angle, epic setting and a lot of ikemen with abs XD. Visually, I like this team, maybe because the members are actually athlete and model, whenever they walk together and make a way, it looks like they’re walking in runaway even with rag-like fashion that they wore, they can pull it off nicely. Kubota Masataka looks so charismatic with messy hair, too bad he has a weakness,what is that weakness? Well you better watch and check it by yourself :p.
5) DARUMA IKKA
Led by Hyuga Norihisa, forth son of Hyuga (played by Hayashi Kento). Alongside with Totetsu Brothers (Toutetsu Ukyo & Toutetsu Sakyo, both were kicked out from Mugen in the past) they formed Daruma Ikka to make a way for their revenge towards Guryu Group and the remaining Mugen member. I think this is the most unique organization. As their name, Daruma is their icon with blasting red color. Even when they fight, they’re using Daruma and drums as music accompaniment. Hayashi Kento looks deep but madly and vengeful here, for me it’s such a rare to see him in that kind of character, so it’s cool!.
=Organization Outside SWORD=
1) IEMURA GROUP
Iemura Group is one of the Guryu Group, the main leader is Iemura Tatsumi. With other 8 leads member, they’re called themselves as Nine Dragons. This organization is more like executive people who dominate a lot of field, including black market and greedy, so they own a lot of money. Basically they’re a bunch of rich uncles with suit and necktie.
2) MIGHTY WARRIORS
Led by Ice. This organization hasn’t been told a lot in this season, their main movement will be told in season 2 later. So, more Exile Tribe member are coming, yaaaay!.
2) STRAWBERRY MILK
The one and only girl gang. 4 members, Junko as the leader (she's so cute and funny), Asuko and Twin Towers (member of E-Girls). I love these girl, they're so funny!
There are so much red line right? All SWORD organization make their own world, never touch each other in order to keep peace in the town. The main story is started in Sanooh, Sanooh is the center of the whole story that connects all of the organization. The conflict appeared between childhood friends (Cobra, Yamato and Noburu). Noburu who just released from prison, but rather than go back to Sanooh he joined to Iemura Group. Feel betrayed, Yamato tried to persuaded Noboru to go back to Sanooh. Because he knows that Iemura Group is greedy and merciless. Noboru is trusted by Iemura to take over SWORD authority, but each SWORD organization refuse. This situation raised misunderstanding and betrayal between them. In other story, Chiharu (before he joined to Sanooh), who is actually a student in Oya Koukou, beaten up by his fellows but then he was accidentally helped by Yamato. Chiharu pled to join Sanooh, but this makes a conflict between Oya Koukou with Sanooh.
With 23 minutes average duration, you can enjoy fighting scene around 50% of its duration with great music accompaniment. HIGH&LOW also contains some sentimental, sad and funny part.
The editing, I’m so sensitive when it’s come to this point whenever I watch movie/drama. HIGH&LOW succeed this series with dramatic color correction, point of view and angle for each organization differently which is emphasize each organization’s character.
The fashion, since there are big companies who backing up the casts, they give all out in fashion too. Each organization has their own fashion style. No matter how you look at them, it does look pricey and detail from head to toe. They use a lot of expensive motorcycle and cars. One more thing, all the cast are looks neat and clean, this is one of the reason that I enjoy this drama. Or maybe they‘re just handsome and charismatic :D.
And now about the music. The music itself plays as the biggest part here, it makes this drama looks more appealing and nice. In fact, EXILE TRIBE’s album is also part of this HIGH&LOW project. There is not much I can review here because it so cool and perfectly matched with the drama. It’s EXILE TRIBE you know, what do you expect is what will you get. Each organization has their own special music background. The combination between music, fashion, editing, camera view and the cast themselves makes this drama looks like a MV. I love to re-watch this drama especially in some part like when a certain organization present themselves with powerful soundtrack, or just enjoying the each actors acting, their close up face, their cool movements even their poses. Sometimes I feel like are they doing photo shoot or what??. Seriously, their visual is on high quality level despite this is about delinquent story.
And here the list of the songs that included in this drama, it could be more than this but these are so far that I know:
J SOUL BROTHER - MUGEN ROAD
PKCZ feat EXILE SHOKICHI - WHITEOUT
GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE - RUN THIS TOWN
DJ DARUMA from PKCZ [VOICE OF RED feat.GS] - DARUMA FAMILY
THE SECOND from EXILE - ONE TIME ONE LIFE
DOBERMAN INFINITY - DO OR DIE
DOBERMAN INFINITY-JUMP AROUND 8
E-GIRLS - STRAWBERRY SADISTIC
ACE OF SPADES feat HIROOMI TOSAKA- SIN
Ryuji Imaichi - FOREVER YOUNG AT HEART
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and the music.. each gang has an excellent sound track linked... The characters are well defined... each gang has its own sets of rules (policies) that make people come together as a team... S believes in fighting to protect, W protects women, O (well its a high school, i never understand what kids fight for except for maybe just fighting), R are also all about protecting their family, and D.... what to say... they just fight (i still like the leader).....!!
I watched both the seasons back to back and did not regret even a minute of it..... overall the drama was awesome...!!! just waiting for the subbed version of the movie to be uploaded somewhere....
Cheers...!!!
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This review may contain spoilers
lots of action but lots of heart as well
I think there are too many installment in this series for me to write a review for every one of them, but I will write a quick short review for this one since it's the first in the series. Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it more than I was expecting to.Many of the world's conflict exist because we have different values and different things we are fighting for. In between the fight scenes, there are some emotional and heartfelt stories of friendship/brotherhood and protecting the the people, things, and ideas that are important to each individual and faction. The core and heart of the story is centered around the Hoodlum Squad (Sanooh). Its founding members and childhood friends are Cobra, Yamato, and Noboru. Due to an incident in the past, Noboru was sent to prison. However, upon release, Noboru joins the Iemura Group instead to recruit SWORD or take them down if they refuse to join. That is the setup for the conflict of this first season as Cobra and Yamato work to resolve some troubles but also to convince their friend Noboru to come back to them.
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● REVIEW
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LIKES:
--The tracks accompanying the fight scenes are very nice and fitting of the vibe. Love the music
--Many sweet/sentimental and emotional heartfelt moments. This is not a story about violence but one about brotherhood/friendship and fighting for a place to belong and go home to.
--There's a guy for everyone depending on what your personal taste are. Half-jokes aside, there many handsome men and some pretty ladies.
DISLIKES:
--It's a huge cast and there is a lot of names being introduced in the first episode all at once. It felt really overwhelming in the beginning
--Lots of guys fighting, I kind of wish we also got to see some of the ladies being badass fighters as well. I haven't watched the sequels, spin-offs, or side stories yet, but it'd be cool to see to that girls can fight too. Kind of my own desire so not really taking off any points for this
--Sometimes, the characters' acting are exaggerated. I know this is common in Japan though, but I still cannot help but cringe.
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● NOTE
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I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.
♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥
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Much More than Just Action
This series is the first installment of the franchize. Aside from telling a beautiful story of love, friendship, forgiveness, and sacrifice, it introduces the world of High&Low, and particularly the five gangs that comprise SWORD, a shaky alliance created to limit aggression among the gangs in the area.Each of these groups has an episode dedicated to it, so I think that you will not have any difficulties memorizing them. If you have already watched High&Low The Worst, the spin-off that focuses on the delinquents of Oya High, you will see both familiar and unfamiliar faces here, but you will figure out what is going on quickly.
Each gang has its own ideals and mission. The White Rascals aim to make the town a safe place for women. Rude Boys have created a haven for the most desolate people, who have nowhere else to go. Oya High? Well... They fight for the sake of fighting. Comprised of the worst, or best – depends on the perspective – students in the country, whose average age is 23, they spend their time punching each other to determine who will rule Oya. After graduation, the strongest and most unhinged are recruited by other gangs.
The story revolves around Sannoh Association, which the S in SWORD stands for, and its founding members, the Hoodlum Squad. Quiet but fierce, wise but scary, their leader Cobra values the well-being of the Squad above everything else and goes to impressive lengths to protect it. His childhood friend and right-hand man, Yamato, distinguishes himself with the kindness of his heart, which at first glance seems so unsuitable for gang life that he is deemed stupid by some of those close to him, but which proves to be a powerful force for good in the course of the story.
The delicate balance of SWORD is upset after Yamato spontaneously protects Chiharu, who has recently transferred to Oya High, from the school's leading delinquents. Not to spoil this twisty story for you any more, I will just say that from that moment on things go south at a rapid pace, the stakes are high, and the action never ceases.
Aside from the thrilling fighting scenes, what makes this series so special, though?
1. "If we keep fighting like this, in the end we'll all perish together."
If you are tired of putting up with unlikeable characters, which are a dime a dozen in modern cinema, and of not being able to tell the good side from the bad side because both are using the same horrible methods, this series is for you. The gangsters of SWORD might be violent, but they have principles and a clear understanding of what is good and what is bad. For instance, the production and distribution of drugs is strictly forbidden. Although problems and misunderstandings are usually solved with fists, the characters do not tolerate the "end justifies means" mindset. They are also loyal and forgiving, and ready to put their pride aside and compromise for the greater good. Two of the story's main messages are that people make mistakes, but they deserve second chances, and that no matter how strong you believe that you are on your own, dismissing and betraying the friends who want to stand by you makes you weak. By making the villains well-dressed and sophisticated, the story also reminds us that the real evil of society are not the poor people who survive as they can.
2. "Wounds from fighting will quickly go away, but bonds will never disappear."
The true treasure of this series are the friendship and bromance. If you have had enough of toxic onscreen couples, this is the right series for you. From Cobra and Yamato's unshakable love for their friend Noboru, to Yamato and Chiharu's bromance that borders on romance – yes, what they have for each other has no heterosexual explanation – to Rude Boys' devotion to Smoky, it will make your heart swell from happiness and restore your faith in people. Outstanding.
Overall, this series is a gem not only in its genre, but also in general. It will keep you entertained and rooting for the Hoodlum Squad and the others for all of its ten episodes. You might have seen that some of the reviewers were not satisfied with the ending. I think that it fits the story, though, and sets the stage for season two. My only complaint is that Noboru's escape from his captivity was not explained.
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Must Watch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is one of the best dramas I've ever seen. If you love action, great storytelling and hand-to-hand combat then watch this drama!HiGH&LOW has excellent fighting choreography and brilliant characters.
Although HiGH&LOW introduces a lot of characters at once, you'll quickly get to know and love all of the S.W.O.R.D groups, their leaders and members, and the supporting characters. All S.W.O.R.D groups have their own style. So you can tell them apart and you can easily follow the fight scenes.
This drama is so awesome.
A MUST WATCH!!!!!!!
~ Sorry if my English reads strangely. English is not my first language.
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Badass street fighting, crazy gangs, great bromance and amazing music - best combination!
Okay, first of all: This series is so much fun!The story takes place in a town whose territory has been divided into 5 parts - each part belongs to a gang. Together they form the S.W.O.R.D. area - each letter represents a gang.
S: Sannoh Rengokai (Hoodlum Squad)
They protect the people of the Sannoh Shopping Street. Their leader is Cobra - intimidating but actually soft and selfless. He originally belonged to Mugen but this gang no longer exists. We learn more about Mugen in season 2.
W: White Rascals
They fight to protect defenseless women. This gang always dresses entirely in white and owns a nightclub - so stylish. Their leader is Rocky - I love his teeth.
O: Oya Koukou (Oya High School)
A school that is pretty much in ruins and without teachers!? The gang consists of full-time and part-time students. They refuse to graduate and prefer to fight - best attitude. Most of them are over 20. Their leader is Murayama - best boy.
R: Rude Boys
They are orphans who live together as a family on the very dilapidated and dirty Nameless Street. Their leader is Smoky - what does he use for his hair!? This fluffiness can't be from this world.
D: Daruma Ikka
This gang is all about revenge on former Mugen members. They stay in the Daruma Temple and wear red haori - I want one too.
Their leader is Hyuga - another man with beautiful messy hair.
In addition to these gangs, there are other interesting groups. You'll get introduced to a lot of characters, which can lead to confusion, but once you've made the jump and become amazed by HiGH&LOW, you'll quickly find your way around this chaos of gangs and action.
It's very important to emphasize that every gang has its own song. And all these songs are awesome. Listening to them immediately evokes this unique HiGH&LOW vibe. They make the fights even more fun!
I'll list a few of my favorite things of HiGH&LOW Season 1:
My favorite gang: Naah, I can't choose. Each of the main gang has something very interesting.
Most wholesome: Sannoh Rengokai
Most respectable: White Rascals
Most amusing: Oya Koukou
Most heart-wrenching: Rude Boys
Most mysterious: Daruma Ikka
My favorite song: The theme of Daruma Ikka (= DJ Daruma from PKCZ® - "Voice of Red feat. GS").
My favorite fighting style: The specialty of the Rude Boys: parkour. They are so agile, nimble, skilled and take advantage of their surroundings - it's just epic!
My favorite fight scene: Murayama vs. Cobra. I could watch them flirt... ehhh fight like that forever.
My favorite fighter: That's easy because he stole my heart in an instant. Murayama, my little crazy cutie.
I finished watching this series this year in the beginning of January and then finished watching the second season as well as the movies and mini-series in the months that followed. The HiGH&LOW franchise is now definitely one of my favorites. It just puts me in a good mood, it's light entertainment and I can't get enough of the songs. I absolutely recommend it!
[finished watching on 5 January 2024]
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This review may contain spoilers
I was told that I would love this drama. But I didn't realize just how much I would love it. It truly feels like a manga come alive and it's so mesmerizing. The fights, the cinematography, the bonds among the characters - and especially Cobra, Yamato and Noboru.And to the surprise of exactly no one, Iwata Takanori's Cobra is my favorite. There are so many characters, so many gangs and gang members, but he's certainly the lead even though he doesn't have more on-screen time than the others and even though Yamato is undoubtedly H&L's heart, Cobra is the centerpiece. The founder of Mugen first, then the leader of the Hoodlums, when he enters the scene you sit up and notice. When Cobra enters a fight, everyone starts paying attention because he doesn't do it often so when he does, it means something. And when it's then revealed at the end that he has done all this for Noboru... wah!
Also, I love the parent figures of the Hoodlum gang. Both women, Yamato's mother and the bar owner, love the boys - and especially Cobra and Yamato - so much and I love that they are not all "don't fight" or whatever but simply "do the right thing". I think that the Hoodlum gang is the one closest to living a normal life in SWORD.
Yeah, I have much, much, much love for this drama. It hit the right spot at the right time for me!
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A Review of the High & Low Drama and Movies...
After watching two seasons of the drama and three movies, I finally finished the Mugen/Sannoh Hoodlum Squad saga of this High & Low franchise. I'm not gonna lie, I did enjoy it to a certain degree, especially the drama, but the movies not so much. The films, to me, are like the Fast and Furious movies, they get bigger, crazier, and blatantly worse with each installment despite the flashy action choreography and huge action pieces. But I felt compelled to keep watching because I have grown attached to some of the characters, particularly Murayama, Smokey, Tetsu, Todoroki, Seki, and the rest of the guys from Oya Koko. The plot is completely bonkers! I won't even try to discuss that here. The characters, for the most part, are caricatures. The different street gangs appear cool at first but I grew weary of most of them as I kept watching. The Sannoh guys are quite possibly the most wholesome and boring bunch of gangsters I've ever seen on screen. Their leader, Cobra, is an emo kid with a default expression that he probably believes to be intimidating and eyes that are as dead as the black button eyes of Coraline's other parents. It doesn't help that the actor who plays him has the emotional range of a wet paper bag. Yamato and Noboru are slightly interesting but they don't get enough screen time, which is a shame since the actors that play those two can actually act.The White Rascals are just plain creepy. They claim to have started their group to protect women and call themselves “scouts”, which is a nice way of saying that they are pimps. Okay, I get the sad backstory of their leader, Rocky, but come on, if they really want to protect women, then why are they selling them like pieces of meat? Instead of “helping” them become prostitutes, why not help them live decent lives??? Every time Rocky says he's only doing it to protect women, I cringe and get the urge to throw up. The actor who plays him also can't act well enough to sell that lie. This is why you shouldn't cast idols (who can't act) to play these roles. But do they listen? No!
The guys at Daruma are led by the psychopathic and drugged out Hyuga whose motivations have been questionable from the start. Hayashi Kento is a good actor but the character he plays is just despicable, I'm sorry. I can't blame him, though. He did the best he could to make that character sympathetic at least.
The Rude Boys are probably the most interesting bunch and their unique fighting style is the best in the whole series. Their fight choreography is a combination of parkour, gymnastics, and breakdancing, which is awesome! They are led by the self-sacrificing Smokey played by Kubota Masataka. He brought gravitas and soul to that character despite his relatively small part in the story. He rarely makes an appearance but when he does, he brings his A-game and manages to make the character memorable.
But my favorite among the SWORD gangs is the Oya Koko or Oya High school, which is home to the most notorious delinquents in the city, led by the legendary and charismatic, Murayama Yoshiki. Of all the characters in this series, Murayama sees the most growth both as a leader and a person, and that's what makes him the best written one. The fact that they chose to cast Yamada Yuki in the role also greatly contributed to how lovable the character becomes as the series goes on. Personal biases aside, he really does exude charm, wit, and an unmistakable humanity to him that you can't help but think of him as a real person and cheer for him as he fights for what he believes in and grows up to be a more reliable adult. It's no wonder that he became such a fan favorite that the producers of these movies decided to make a movie with him as the main character even though he was originally written to be just a supporting one.
The Mugen guys like Tatsuya and Kohaku are somewhat interesting, but I still couldn't care less about them. The Amamiya Brothers are probably more interesting in terms of their origins and personalities. The elder brother, Masaki, is funny and pretty badass. Takahiro plays him well. I have no complaints there. I have yet to see their movie, Red Rain, which is a kind of spin-off. I will get to that after I finish High & Low: The Worst, which features the Oya Koko characters and a crossover between the High & Low and Crows Zero franchises. The other groups like Doubt and Mighty Warriors are annoying and forgettable. I'm guessing they were included so they could cast and promote more EXILE members (more people who can't act). See, I almost forgot to write about them. Hahahaha. All in all, High & Low is a fun you-must-suspend-your-disbelief type of series with mostly bad acting, badly written characters, and a plot line that Vin Diesel would envy. But they're not meant to be taken seriously so you shouldn't.
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Love it so much
Omg I can't believe I finish this drama on two days only. This is so good. All the fight scenes is so cool. I love all the characters in this drama. And all the leaders of SWORD are good looking. I love their acting too. I'm surprised they did all the fight scenes which is totally cool. But I really doesn't like they overused the same clip where Noboru get arrested by police. I know it's a flashback but you know. If you like action with no romance and about friendship, you can watch this. I highly recommend this.Was this review helpful to you?
