Naniwa yuukyôden (1995 Video) User Reviews

Bad but funny Miike film

[TrentReznor · 6/10 · 19 April 2007]

Makoto and Eiji are two friends that have been ejected from the school. In order to get money, they answer and advertisement on a magazine that supposedly offers a good job, but in reality this is just a swindle made by the Kinsu family to get new members for the group. Once they are members of the Yakuza, the two friends will discover that this world isn't like they imagined...

Firstly i have to say that i'm not a big fan of Miike...in fact after having seen almost all of his released works i'm still think that is one of the most overrated directors...along with Kitamura.

As for the movie, i think it's one of Miike movies i have enjoyed more with, you won't stop laughing. In fact this is more a comedy where the Yakuza world is totally mocked than an action or crime movie, and there is no trace of the typical bizarre things, Miike has become popular for.

Has its moments

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 6/10 · 12 January 2024]

I felt like I roughly knew what I was in for, watching a fairly early and low-budget Takashi Miike film, and I was mostly right- there was only really one moment that took me off-guard and felt like a bridge too far. Miike does have a tendency to push boundaries, and I guess if those moments are ones you're prepared for and they don't overdo it by his standards, that's something.

Osaka Tough Guys is just 100 minutes of action/comedy anarchy, really. Some of it's a little dull and repetitive, and some of it's really funny. Consistency is not the name of the game here, but I still had a decent enough time. It's worthy of a passing grade, I think, but isn't among the best Takashi Miike movies I've seen, by any means.

Gotta just write this one off

[Polaris_DiB · 4/10 · 15 September 2008]

Miike is well known for making live-action manga, but "Osaka Tough Guys" is more like live action Looney Tunes. Two kids, Makoto and Eiji, are dropped out of school for a long list of bad behavior, so after robbing the school and having the time of their life for precisely a single night, it's time for them to get themselves together and get a job. They answer an ad in the newspaper that promises easy cash with no experience, only to find out that they've allowed themselves to be conscripted into the Yakuza. Actually, that sounds kinda cool, except that they're conscripted into a lame family of the Yakuza, and a fellow conscription is an idiot, and they basically do nothing but petty chores and follow Saku or Daimon (two terribly bogus Yakuza members) around on unproductive schemes and hedonism. Meanwhile, Makoto is falling for an aspiring actress he keeps running into.

I haven't seen a Miike film I've really disliked until now. Even when his movies are ridiculous, they are an inspired piece of absurdity; and when they're not ridiculous, they're really good. This movie, however, I really just couldn't get into. Most of the movie is rather directionless, and its silliness begins to wear out its welcome rather quickly. The ending is definitely pure Miike, where the narrative takes a hard right turn before ending abruptly, but this time, what can I say, it only seemed ridiculous. The video effects are actually kind of cool just because he was willing to do them for the fun of it, so I can get behind that, but some of the music is stolen from Terminator and The Godfather, while the rest of it sucks, and everything is just so darned silly its really hard to enjoy beyond a few giggles. I'm rather disappointed.

This is another early one for Miike, but it's the only movie of his I've seen that strikes me like he was just starting to get a hold of the craft. At the most, it's a peculiarity, worth a rental for Miike fans and people who love b-movie cult classics. At worst, it's a mostly limp attempt at humour featuring overbearing clownishness and a lack of direction. At least Miike's the type to quickly move on and do something different--I do admit that, whatever the case may be, this movie is still different. It's just that he's done much better, and even his movies less famous than the likes of "Gozu", "Ichi the Killer", and "Audition" are highly entertaining pieces of exploitation. This movie just... isn't.

--PolarisDiB

Maybe I need to be Japanese to get the humour...?

[Malibukitten · 24 October 2007]

Honestly, I LOVE Takashi Miike's horror films. And I have seen a few Yakuza ones that I also like (Fudoh is one I LOVE), though not Family or Family II as they were too slow moving and not enough action for me (and too much gratuitous gay sex...not that there's anything wrong with that, I didn't expect to see gay Yakusa porn!).

But I digress.

Yes, I understand this is a comedy Yakuza film. I chuckled at a few things, like when they tried to hock the Kinsu badge and find out it's practically worthless, or the scene with the panties. And I loved the scenes in which Mr. Daimon running away from that . But I thought that this film was a bit too slapstick for me. That's just my opinion.

Gomennasai, Takashi-san.