I only just finished it and I already want to rewatch it!!
This was honestly really fun to watch. I made predictions at the start about what I thought would happen so I was on the edge of my seat for the majority of the film.Suda Masaki's character (Yamashiro Keigo) just want to succeed with his art and manga. And once he finally does, things go south. Despite him drawing upon a murder he witnessed, the murderer decides to follow the murders in the manga. It's a bit of a full circle moment, especially during the climax. It's relatively slow for the most part but the director did an amazing job at building up the tension. Especially when Morozumi started appearing in Keigo's life. I was worried for all the other characters but also excited to see and know more.
The acting was phenomenal. The fact that Fukase Satoshi who played the serial killer - Morozumi Shuichi - only just had his acting debut with this film is insane because of how good he was. I did wish we knew more information about his character and how he used another person (Henmi) with his killings, but I'm still satisfied. Suda Masaki was great as usual. I expect nothing less from him. He really captures different emotions well - from joy and happiness to anxiety and frustration. I also love Seida-san. Seeing Oguri Shun act is always so enjoyable. He wasn't just a detective. He also had interests. And of them happened to be reading manga, specifically Keigo's manga. The other actors also took on their role well.
I really do recommend this film. If you love any of the actors in the film (especially Suda Masaki and Oguri Shun), and psychological thrillers with serial killers, and manga, this film is for you.
PS. Sorry if this review is all over the place, I might go back and edit this. I'm also glad that I am the first review for this amazing film!!
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This review may contain spoilers
Who is he? A character.
This was a wild ride.It had a slow start and a fast end.
The build up takes forever, he draws, something happens, cops ask him stuff, he lies and so on...
Story
There are a few plot twists and anyone who watches this type of movies can predict what they are. Plus we get a bunch of hints through the movie, it's pretty obvious what will happen.
That doesn't make it less interesting.
There are a lot of graphic scenes and blood. It's a story about murder after all. The blood is everywhere.
- Yamashiro Keigo, the manga artist. He is a good person but not completely. How could he draw all those things if he didn't have a little darkness in him.
He is a coward and he does some stupid things but he pays for them. I felt sorry for him because the psycho killer was following him and he felt like everything was his fault.
- Morozumi, the killer. Welp. He definitely had something in his eyes. I wondered why those people stopped and gave him a ride. They were too friendly to someone in the middle of nowhere.
He read the manga and then made it happen. Obviously he has some issues but they weren't shown directly, it was mostly hinted why he is doing what he is doing. I wish we saw more of his reasoning and motivation. I feel like he could have been developed more.
- Seida, the detective and my favorite character. At first I thought he would be the typical detective they show in movies but he wasn't. He followed clues and listened to what other people say to him. He was Keigo's fan and he believed him and tried to help him.
The characters are great and the concept is great but I feel like something is missing and I don't know what.
Overall, an interesting movie.
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Compelling
Character is the type of film you want to see in the theatre or at least with 1 other so you can grab a bite to eat and talk about it. You want to inject yourself into the film to come up with motives, figure out what a character was thinking and why they did (or didn't do) something.Yamashiro Keigo is a talented artist and assistant to a popular mangaka. He has dreams of publishing and becoming a successful mangaka himself. The only problem is Yama wants to draw horror and thrillers, but lacks the experience in which to make his characters believable. He's too nice to get into the mindset of a villain. While on assignment by his boss, he stumbles upon a grisly murder scene and witnesses the murderer leaving the site. This flips a switch for Yama and he uses it to jumpstart his career. The only problem is the killer recognizes himself and uses the Yama's manga, 34, as a blueprint to commit murders. Inspector Seida Shunseke recognizes the similarities between Yama's manga and the murders and begins using 34 as the basis of his investigation.
The production is splendid. The directing and camera work are very well done. I noticed no continuity issues, but to be honest I was too involved in the story to notice any little issues. Script writer, Nagai Akira, did a good job mixing genres and keeping us engaged. You would think since the police were trying to catch a serial killer it would have been a bit more action oriented or at faster pace. But, honestly, you don't even realize it's character driven and psychological. My only complaint is that we don't learn enough about the killer. We're left only supposition. I, for one, would have liked to have some hint as to his resources. He was able to find things and/or people that he really shouldn't have been able to.
Suda Masaki plays Yama and heads a talented cast. Fukase Satoshi was brillant as the serial killer, "Morozumi." He was just plain creepy. The encounters between our 2 leads were uncomfortable for Yama and the watcher. The supporting cast including Oguri Shun as our intrepid Inspector Seida were excellent.
The music really supported the movie and wasn't overpowering. While I'm not big on re-watching dramas, I do re-watch movies. I can see myself watching this again
Overall, this is a great watch. No perfect but it accomplishes it's goal. It's dark, psychological, creepy, and engaging. A very good murder thriller.
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My heart beat too fast watching this
The actors themselves are amazing itself, adding such a great plot of story. The effort of the production to make such a realistic movie, I really respect that! Well, the starting maybe a bit slow, but please watch till the end, as for me, the plot twist is so great, I definitely didn't expect that..! The thriller level is high! If you love thriller, should give this a try! Feel like everyone need to watch this now! This deserve to be played at all cinemas in my opinion! The ending are so suspicious, it make it like it have another sequel but at the same time it not, like it leave to the watcher to decide what will happen next. What are you waiting for, watch it and think what will happen next!Was this review helpful to you?
a solid serial killer story
I'm not usually a fan of open-ended stories, but the more I watch Japanese entertainment, the more I get used to it. Because apparently the non-ending is something they love or they wouldn't create so many stories that just end abruptly with the potential for more.Suda Masaki can be hit or miss for me, but he's definitely on point here as Yamashira Keigo. He gave a really solid performance. Oguri Shun as the primary detective was equally brilliant, if not more so. I really enjoyed his character a lot. He was designed with a lot of thought and care and Oguri Shun was up to the task of playing him. I'm not a "Hana Yori Dango" fan, so it's nice to see him in something else where I actually like him. Fukase Satoshi as our serial killer is new to me. I can't say I'll be chasing down any of his other work, if he does decide to pursue acting. That tends to happen for me when someone plays a villain so convincingly, it can ruin anything else they might do because they're just too darn scary. I like stronger females. I'm just gonna say it. So the character design and performance by Takahata Mitsuki as Yamashiro's wife didn't work for me. She was a little too prim, proper, and meek. She annoyed me.
I'm a fan of the "Red Dragon" movie in the Hannibal Lecter franchise, and this had several of the same components. So it's not very original, but it still feels like a solid addition to the serial killer genre. I wish we'd learned more about our serial killer, that would have been nice, but we can't have everything. I don't regret watching it and while it's not one I would ever go to again for warm fuzzies, I can see Sunako-chan from "Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge" loving it, so that's something.
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i’m so impressed
i loved it. the first murder scene was perfect, the music made it so memorable and as it was the first one it had to be memorable and the producing team really did that well! the actors also did an unbelievable job, fukase satoshi in the role of morozumi shuichi was spectacular. he portrayed the character so well i was in awe. i love these types of movies, violent but realistic and a serious tone, and this one was so good. i was invested the whole way through the movie, beginning to end, as the plot kept me intrested with twists and development. i saw someone on here saying the pacing of the movie was too slow in the middle and too fast at the end but i thought it was perfect! and it left us with an ending that gives us closure and also gets us wanting more. my favourite scene was the last murder (attempt) scene, i guess i found it quite beautiful, i’m not sure why, maybe it was the change in dynamics, or how it was so realistic in that the main character was finally feeling some relief from fighting morozumi, after he had been the biggest thing in his life since the first murder. and morozumi also got to see that maybe yamashiro does enjoy killing just as he does, even if it wasn’t a family of four you could see the content-ness on morosumi’s face after seeing that he was right. i really hope there is a second part. i’m desperate to see more of how similar morozumi and yamashiro are.Was this review helpful to you?
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This review may contain spoilers
Such a nice movie!
The plot is beautiful. I personally love these kind of stories. We were given some graphic scenes which is appreciated.For a movie that its about a serial killer, we don't see him killing in many scenes. Actually we just see Morozumi hurting Yamashiro once, but I think this might be intended hence the ending.
The actors did well, Fukase Satori's role was nailed, he really looked crazy and its good that way. I was expecting a "fuckboy" style of murderer because that's what's hot right now and it was a nice reward it wasn't that way.
Midway through the movie I got a little bit lost regarding time lapses. The movie appears to go slower than it really is, which is confusing. Although with the crime scenes you can notice time has passed since the bodies are rotten, its strange and it feels like they were running out of time when they actually had plenty.
The details put into the backgrounds and the scenery shows this movie was made with love and care. It was pleasant to see so many things, so stimulating and encouraging to rewatch and not lose any detail! It does makes you want to read the manga.
Characters could've been developed/described better but overall a nice movie, enjoyable and would rewatch of course.
It leaves some holes and a semi-open ending, I'm afraid a sequel could screw up what we have, I didn't see any news about it, but I hope its good in case its coming.
TL;DR
Good plot, excellent scenery, nice actors. Weird execution regarding time, characters could've been better.
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A character that follows the Manga arc that has been directly based on, the thing that must be admitted is that the actor Masaki Suda's acting is really good. In addition to the side character, Shun Oguri has a leadership spirit and is brave even though he acts in doing his crazy things.
This film has two well-known and most expensive actors in their time, so this film is highly recommended for fans who like films about murders like psychopaths. But be careful, I'm afraid your mental soul can be honed like the one in the film, so who else if not the actor Fukase. He is the original singer of SEKAI NO OWARI.
OVERALL : 8.5
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This review may contain spoilers
alurnya sedikit lambat, jadi mungkin sedikit bosen di awal. tapi penggambaran latar belakang pembunuhnya kurang tereksplore menurutku, jadi keliatannya alasan pembunuhannya kurang kuat dan meyakinkan. so seems like he's killing spree just for fun. tapi aktingnya Fukase keren sih, aku nggak nyangka kalo ini debut pertamanya di dunia akting. yang agak disayangkan disini mereka nggak nunjukin proses pembunuhannya gimana, cuma liatin mayat-mayatnya aja. jadi kurang gereget, kurang gore buat seleraku.
untuk aktingnya Suda Masaki dan Oguri Shun nggak usah dipertanyakan lagi lah ya, udah jelas solid. ada potensi lebih baik lagi sebenernya, tapi akhirnya agak nanggung gitu, bukan tipe film yang gereget dan membekas. overall tetep perjalanan yang menyenangkan, mereka tetep bisa manage bikin aku penasaran nonton sampe akhir. kalo lagi mood nonton film thriller tapi nggak begitu berat bisa nonton ini.
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