Cool News
Win a Copy of the Live Action Tokyo Zombie!
Logo handmade by Bannister
Column by Scott Green
I was recently corresponding with Deb Aoki from About.com's Guide to Manga concerning manga (lowercase m "manga," as in the medium) that was overlooked by the North American comic industry's prestigious Eisner Awards. One of the works that I mentioned was Yusuku Hanakuma's Tokyo Zombie. This is a book that was released by Last Gasp last July (reviewed here). I praised Hanakuma's ferociously sketched heta-uma ("good-bad") style of art, but I also said that in this zombie crazy, MMA crazy moment, the proposition of jiu-jitsu versus the undead is absolutely a winning one.
To quote Hanakuma's description of what he envisioned for his manga "I made sure to give fans what they wanted (or at least I tried). I crammed in zombies, trucks, pro wrestling, martial arts, factories, Mt. Fuji, pigs, intense battles, wealthy people, slaves, porno, gym teachers, a little dog, Calipis, tonkatsu, a prince, a professor and so on, to try and create a comic that was a sort of fin de siecle celebration of manliness." If that doesn't pique you're interest, why are you reading this site?
This month, Manga (capital m "Manga," as in the video publisher) released the live action adaptation of that inspired dark comedy. (Reviewed earlier this week. Here, Tadanobu Asano, probably notorious to North American genre fans for his portrayal of Ichi the Killer's masochist gang captain Kakihara and Show Aikawa, a Takashi Miike yakuza film mainstay from works such as Dead or Alive and Gozu, play against type as comical, jiu jitsu obsessed buddies "Afro" and "Baldie." With the likes of legendary horror manga creator Kazuo Umezu along for the ride, these underachieving martial arts enthusiasts are about to play an insignificant role in the coming zombie-apocalypse, in which they'll basically put themselves and others in danger by continuing their shallow thinking ways as they contend with hordes of the undead.
Manga is working with Ain't It Cool News to offer readers a chance to win one of five copies of the live action Tokyo Zombie on DVD. If you're interested, see the form here. The content ends May 22, 2009.
From the writers and starz of "Ichi The Killer" and "Gozu," comes a hilarious romp through zombie-laden Tokyo! Tadanobu Asano and Show Aikawa star as fulltime slackers and wannabe ju-jitsu champions who bring the body of their murdered boss to Tokyo’s towering toxic waste dump known as 'Black Fuji'. But when an army of undead rises from the massive trash peak, these bonehead buddies must survive a non-stop onslaught of hasty decapitations, pervert teachers, tasty snack foods, stormy romance and zombie professional wrestling. Can even the most devoted of friendships survive an apocalypse of the undead? Horror manga legend Kazou Umezo co-stars in this wild comedy written and directed by Sakichi Sato— and based on the best-selling manga by U-saku Hanakuma — that fans call "the Japanese SHAUN OF THE DEAD!"
-
+ Expand All
-
I'll get my coat...
-
I'll have some of that!
-
Hey, it IS kinda fun...
Sounds like "Shaun of the Dead" mixed with "Bill and Ted" or "Dude, Where's My Car" How can THAT be a bad thing?
-
Got Dance of the Dead instead.
-
It's got about 3 times the camp, and there's no real physical law of physics. There's just over the top violence. It's fun, yes, but nothing like Shaun of the Dead. It's more like...a zombie movie directed by the guy who directed the latest Scary Movies and Superhero Movie and Disaster Movie, but with a lot more Japanese humor.
-
Not as good as Shaun, imho, but has some memorable scenes, especially at Black Fuji (and some good life lessons that I won't spoil).
-
similar, better, worse?
-
And I'll tell you how it compares to WILD ZERO - it's FAR better. Wild Zero sucks so badly. Asano is great in this.
-
I'd say it's a solid "pretty good" movie with some truly great performances from Asano and Aikawa. The movie itself I'd give three stars out of five, but the lead performances make it a four.
For ranking amongst the movies it's being compared to (for some reason): Wild Zero <<< Tokyo Zombie < Shaun of the Dead. It probably has most in common with Happiness of the Katakuris (spelling? I'm terrible with Japanese names), though it's really its own thing. -
Anyway, it goes, from worst to best: Wild Zero, Tokyo Zombie, Shaun of the Dead.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 325 total posts 322 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 106 total posts 106 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 63 total posts 60 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 74 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 159 total posts 51 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 47 total posts 41 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 161 total posts 34 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 488 total posts 33 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 121 total posts 23 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 70 total posts 20 posts