The yakuza Sengoku period ends in blood, betrayal, and one last elephant-ant war.
With the death of Nobuhide Oriki (Tokuma Nishioka), a brutal succession battle erupts within the Oriki-gumi. By vote, Nobunaga (Hitoshi Ozawa) becomes second-generation boss, forcing his brother Nobuyuki into rebellion. In the bloody aftermath, Nobunaga kills both Nobuyuki and his relative Nobuyasu Iwasaki (Hitomi Matsuda). Tragedy deepens as his right-hand man Masahide Hirako (Jiro Okazaki) takes his own life, and his father-in-law Michizo Saimon (Shinzo Hotta) is assassinated in a coup. Now as boss, Nobunaga sets the underworld in motion once more: Ujiyasu Nanjo (Sansho Fukami) rises in Kanto, Motonari Mōriya (Shinichi Chiba) expands in Aki, and in Nagano the fated clash of Kenshin Uemura (Ryuji Harada) and Shingen Takebe (Shun Sugata) begins. But the greatest threat comes from Yoshimoto Imanishi (Naoya Makoto), leading the invasion of Owari. The “war of the elephant and the ant” is about to reach its endgame.
Acting
Hitoshi Ozawa's bloodshot Nobunaga carries the whole damn thing.
Direction
Minato compresses epic scope into 70 breakneck minutes.
Writing
Sengoku-period yakuza allegory that actually commits to the bit.
Director
Yūji Minato
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
JP
