Inuyashiki (2018) User Reviews

Character depth Marvel can only dream of

[ath-518-317019 · 8/10 · 11 April 2018]

If this is Japan's bid for the superhero genre, I think we have something to look forward to. As an anime adaptation, it remains a bit cartoon-esque. But the characters have a depth which Marvel can only dream of and the story actually hangs together (oh yes, and when someone gets shot, they bleed).

As an absolute, I would probably give this movie a 7, but to encourage any makers to continue on the path Inuyashiki has taken, I've bumped it up to an 8.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 8/10 · 16 November 2018]

I was surprised by this movie. It was a great action movie, with a sci fi basis. The best part of it was the creation of the evil character. We could see the premisses of his evilness, but the events that followed sealed the deal. The good guy was a surprise as well. He was an unexpected hero as he had a difficult life as well, but he choose the other path. Other than that, the performances were really good and the CGI were decent enough. So, 8 out of 10.

Loved everything about it except...

[mrifqi-48551 · 7/10 · 28 July 2018]

Watched this yesterday, the movie plot is really good, both characters' backstory were built in such a short period of time but they are flawless, plot twist that makes you wonder where things are really headed are presented in such a nice way.

I loved everything about it until at the last scenes, "my loved one is gonna die-sudden power up" cliche really turned me down, just as the evil character one said during the showdown... I hate it so much when cliche like this happen, it ruins the whole character's progress...

Watch it if you like superhero story with good animation and plot, maybe skip it if you have watched way too many superhero movies... your choice

Very good Japan comic based movie

[victor-14257 · 7/10 · 23 June 2018]

This is way better than some other else Japan comic based movie like full metal alchemist. The story behind shishikami is really far better than expected, sometime you even forget that there is another protagonist, who is also good by the way but less impressive than shishikami. However, this movie lacked some music when building the character depth making some part not persuasive enough. Anyway, this movie has good protagonist and side characters, and really good plot which makes everything make sense but was even not in the comic. Still worth watching.

It Is What It Is.

[net_orders · 6/10 · 20 February 2021]

Good special effects (but very repetitive) and fine score/orchestra. Script has its moments as does direction and acting. Ending is really dragged out adding to an overly long movie. Viewed at JICC J-Film event. WILLIAM FLANIGAN

Salty

[daisukereds · 6/10 · 26 May 2022]

For a comicbook adaptation, this is good enough.

It has pretty good CGI, machine designs and action. There's also a nice arc for some characters, while some other things simply remain the same or unchanged. In the end, it feels underwritten and underdeveloped when it comes to delivering a message or emotional tones.. but the story it sets out to tell is told well. A tad reminiscent of Death Note's character dynamic and conflict in a different genre.

I'm more surprised at the level of Tokyo destruction, specially landmarks, that were allowed to be recorded in that way.

But it might be worth a watch for the VFX alone, and changes to preconceived notions.

7/10 - Alright adaptation, but watch the anime instead.

[John-Derat · 7/10 · 16 January 2022]

Honestly, it's an _alright_ adaptation, there's way worse out there (like Netflix's Death Note for example), but you should just watch the anime instead of this movie, almost everything in the anime is better. Except for the soundtracks.

Now, for the actual review of this movie:

It misses too many aspects of the anime, it rushes them, it applies things from the anime that are purposefully developed, but without developing them in the movie. Ichiro Inuyashiki should care way more about the lives of the people he couldn't save, but in this movie, he doesn't care enough. The whole reason why he wants to save people is because it allows him to "stay human", even as a robot, it allows him to find his humanity again, but in the movie, it's not that clear why he saves them in the first place.

The CGi itself is REALLY good though, way better than the CG which was used in the anime. It's really good CGI which won't take you out of the movie.

Action scenes are also good, they were satisfying to watch.

The soundtracks are also good, maybe better than the ones in the anime, except for one thing. The song used in the trailer isn't used a single time in the movie, except during the credits, which is really dumb as it was a song by MAN WITH A MISSION, the band who did the opening of the anime.

Anyway, overall it's fine, if you're planning to watch the anime but wanna watch this movie too, then watch the movie first then the anime.

Excellent despite what you might initially think

[Quebec_Dragon · 9/10 · 27 July 2018]

After watching the trailer, reading the sypnosis and checking out the poster, I didn't expect much, but boy, was I surprised by how good and gripping it was. Despite a few far-fetched concepts, which you shouldn't think too much about, I was blown away by the story, the twists and especially how it was told. I especially liked how some of the most tense moments were some of the smaller ones, such as whether the "bad" guy would "shoot" or not, or how far he would go. Despite some great grandiose music at time, the director often knew when to cut off music to improve such moments.

The storytelling was no doubt helped by tremendous acting performances from the leads, the older man (Inuyashiki Ichiro) and the young man (Shishigami Hiro) who develop powers. I was made to feel sympathy for the kind but disrespected Inuyashiki even though he sometimes emoted too much in action scenes. I felt the menace from the usually stoic young man who sometimes showed glimpses of genuine emotion. Even felt sympathy for him sometimes. Those characters had depth, had a progression and were played so well. Even the secondary characters, such as the young man's best friend and the older man's daughter, were played believably and well. I'm often taken out of Japanese films by "exagerated" acting but such was not the case here.

As I was watching, I was struck that perhaps this wasn't a very expensive film after all, not because it looked cheap, but because there was a certain reserve used as for when and how to show special effects (witness the shooting, the analysis power and the use of screens). It probably worked in its favour as it showed story and directing ingenuity. The special effects were otherwise excellent, especially the creepy transformations and the spectacular final showdown worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. I've seen a ton of "superhero" movies, and I'm not even sure Inuyashiki would qualify as one, but the American ones could certainly learn something from it in terms of characters, suspense, sincerity and storytelling. For me, this film was refreshing, heartfelt and exhilirating despite a few silly elements. Bravo!

Bang Bang Manga movies are Saved

[kambomateo · 10/10 · 5 December 2018]

Finally a Manga movie done right. The build up of the characters is done right. The plot is meaningful and shows the two sides of the coin of having powers. Inu not the usual Hero u see in every movie and Hiro(ironically) the guy who choose the wrong path. Hoping to see more in the upcoming sequel. Kinda sad about not seeing the Yakuza "arch" hoping to see it in the upcoimng movie. There is yet to come. For every fan of manga out there you must check this out. And for the fans of Hero genre this is a must see so you can make the difference of the usual movies you have seen also when people die there is blod.

The Inuyashiki is the definition of the term "Improvise. Adapt. Overcome"

[phanthinga · 10/10 · 30 January 2019]

I really enjoyed the Inuyashiki anime for it interesting spin on the old superhero tropes with a darker tone and a unique main character but in the end it just another anime that many people will forget as soon as a new hit come out and the problem here is because how faithful it is to the manga it based on. To be a faithful adaptation to the source material is usually a good thing and need to be celebrate but with Inuyashiki the thing that hold back the anime to become a classic is how everything that helps the plot and characters to progress makes absolute no sense and far too convenient also happened exactly like in the manga which piss me off so much. The live action directed by Shinsuke Sato in the other hand do not follow the manga and anime like a robot when the writer and the director actually care about the quality of the overall movie in stead of how the fans feel and deliver a fantastic retelling story of the good vs the evil with a more grounded and realistic story and to my surprise it works. An important character that badly undeveloped in the source material got more screen time to shine and although it not like something I have never seen before I'm just glad that they put in this time. The ending leaves an open for a sequel that I don't know how it gonna played out but that the beauty of doing your own thing so let's keep our fingers crossed everyone

Truly amazing movie

[syarwanhamid · 9/10 · 18 November 2018]

I can't say anything but, this movie is truly amazing. Good writer, intension, twist story and also truly emotional. Is really recommend movie you must watch. 👏👏👏

Unusual superhero movie

[zakonline · 8/10 · 4 November 2021]

I would say this is better than 85% of the stuff coming out from Marvel. Good backstory and character development. Not just mindless action and tiresome "jokes" which make a farce out of everything.

Good adaptation

[sugarcane-17691 · 8/10 · 24 January 2022]

Just recently found out there was a live action adaptation of Inuyashiki and I was surprised how good it was compared to other anime adaptations. The anime is much better than this movie but that's because they could tell the story in more detail over a 6 hour period compared to the 2 hours they had to work with this film. But the cinematography and flow and graphics were beyond what I could have imagined as this must have had a good budget to do what they did with this movie. Very impressed! The set locations were almost identical to the anime which blew me away because I found myself comparing places with the anime.

I found the first half to flow better than I thought it would and did the anime justice for what time frame they had to work with, BUT when it reached the point where he grabbed Hanako and flew away is when it seemed rushed and a lot was glossed over until the end. There were some key instances in the anime that should have been in the film after this point that better drove the character development in my opinion and some stuff in the film that should have been shorten or taken out completely, as I didn't see the relevant importance compared to the other plot points that should have been in there.

Plus there were key character development issues, like learning all his powers, that weren't shown and he just did it without explanation, such as flying with the Hanako which he didn't in the anime because his flying abilities took time and trial and error as he made mistakes, but not here as he was a professional right from the beginning.

Also there was no real good explanation about how they got their powers really, while in the anime it is talked about a few times with the beings who bestowed the powers on them. If people just watched this and not the anime first, there is A LOT left out. Thankfully I did watch the anime a few times and knew what was what.

But as adaptation and in comparison to other adaptations (which is what I'm basing my rating on), I give this an 8.3/10.

Worth Seeing

[kupukupumu · 8/10 · 11 September 2021]

I just watched this streamed from Netflix.

First off, I did not read the manga or know anything about this title so I cannot compare to the original source, which was also an added bonus for me because then I was not sure about what going to happen next.

This movie is amazing in the visual department, almost comparable to the Marvel big budget movies. And, the main reason I am logging in here to write this review is I literally dropped my jaw during the old man first transformation for many seconds. Something I don't remember doing in watching so many movies, be it sci-fi, fantasy, horror or whatever.

If there is one thing lacking in this movie, maybe is the main antagonist cast. The actor is perfect as Kenshin, but here he could not express the why he became the sadist he was. I know it was told: family and social background mainly, but he was so flat. I guess he is better suited for protagonist role.

Overall, this is a great movie which in my personal opinion in the score of 7/10, but I really want to see more movies like this from Asia, or any non Marvel or DC sources.

one of the best anime based movies I've seen

[JacksonW0523 · 8/10 · 2 June 2020]

This movie has good character development with the main character and the villain. Both of these characters you feel sympathetic for. But one thing is that I felt like the villain guy wasn't that tormented in life and by society that he would try to do what he wanted to at the end of the movie (no spoilers). The pacing of this film was good, it never really slowed down where I felt bored. There were a few emotional scenes. The actors who play the villain and the main role were great. Also the CGI was pretty solid for a Japanese film.

My favourite superhero film

[Shewattsi · 10/10 · 22 August 2021]

Two things stand out for me in this film. The first is the acting, excellent performances from all involved but especially our hero Inuyashiki and anti hero Hiro. Inuyashiki himself is a mistreated older man, quite a unique angle vs the usual beefed up offerings cluttering up our cinema screens.

The other is just the amount of feeling and heart present in the film. That is in large part down to the above mentioned performances, but there's also character development and a storyline that's straight forward and hangs together properly. Again, quite novel vs anything coming out of Marvel or DC.

My review hasn't done this film any justice at all, but if you get the chance to watch it then do!

Just no

[silencehamid · 13 July 2021]

Just watch the anime serie it's so batter.

And the movie is so long 2hrs most of it is just don't matter.