Noriyuki Kunihiro (played by Yoshio Harada) just got out of prison after serving a very long sentence for murder and is living with his old cellmate, Sakata (played by Ko Kitamura). When Kunihiro’s yakuza friend, Naoto (Sho Aikawa), shows up and encourages him to come back to the gangster world. Kunihiro reluctantly takes the job of chauffer for the high ranking yakuza that aren’t even aware of his badass reputation. After Kunihiro rescues two idiotic “tough guys” from the clutches of a rival gang, Naoto takes him out to celebrate.

While at the party, a young pianist by the name of Asako (Reiko Kataoka) catches Kunihiro’s eye. They develop a relationship and as Asako learns more about his past, she asks him to help her kill a pervert that was abusing her. Kunihiro threatens the man, who turns out to be a brother of a respected yakuza, and all hell breaks loose. When Kunihiro’s actions threaten everyone around him, including Asako and Naoto, he decides to take action and set things right in the only way he knows how.

This intriguing film is directed by Rokuro Mochizuki (Another Lonely Hitman, Mobsters' Confessions) with precision and subtlety. The plot is very well realized, thanks to screenwriter Toshiyuki Morioka (Fudoh: The Next Generation). Onibi looks great with razor sharp cinematography that has a much more objective style than most yakuza pictures. The story unfolds calmly and the violence moves very quickly with very little choreography making it less beautiful or stylized than one might expect in this type of film. The film also sports a beautiful and haunting score.

All of the actors are superb in Onibi, especially Yoshio Harada (9 Souls) whose portrayal of Kunihiro is top notch. This character is extremely likable but not without a number of faults. For instance, Kunihiro is lazy, restless, and prone to violence. He is so perfectly suited for yakuza life that he can’t hold a real job for very long. After working one day on a construction job he decides to quit because he is too sore to get out of bed the next morning. Harada gives Kunihiro (nicknamed “Fire Ball” for good reason) a slow burning fuse that helps the film’s tension grow even greater as the viewer just waits for him to explode.

Reiko Kataoka’s portrayal of Asako never falters as she learns hard lessons from her life with Kunihiro. Fortunately, she is an intriguing character (who also happens to be incredibly sexy) instead of a flat caricature. Asako is the catalyst in Onibi and propels the film towards its conclusion. As always, it’s a pleasure to see Sho Aikawa (Rainy Dog, Dead Or Alive) again but I couldn’t help but wish that he’d had more screen time.

Although nowhere near as violent as its contemporaries, Onibi: The Fire Within is a masterfully directed film that is as much a yakuza picture as it is a love story without any of the schmaltz. There are even some great comic moments in it until everything in Kunihiro’s world begins to crumble. Fans of Japanese cinema will be delighted by this subtle and sexy film filled with riveting characters.

DVD Stuff

This Artsmagic release looks incredible in its 1.78.1 aspect ratio and the sound is excellent in either its Dolby 2.0 Stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. As usual, the extras on this Artsmagic disc are great. There is an informative commentary by Tom Mes. There are also extensive Bio/Filmographies for the cast and crew. However, the best extra on here is the interview with director Rokuro Mochizuki where he discusses the 19 day shoot (!) of Onibi and how the character of Kunihiro came to life.