Finally, my JLPT N3 is over so I can finally get back to catching up on my gaming, jdoramas and movies. First off the bat is Inuyashiki which I really enjoyed as a manga and anime. I tried not to keep my hopes up but the director is Sato Shinsuke who did the Gantz movies so he knows how to maximise budget while keeping a movie true to its core concept.
Inuyashiki is a show about what happens when superpowers are given to two very different people: a meek old man who is looked down upon by everyone including his family and this teenager who is angry at the world and his dad and how this power ends up being used differently.
What I liked about the manga was that it was a high concept that produced a lot of cool moments and it never dragged on too long. Some of the moments could not be in the movie such as Inuyashiki saving the homeless man or fighting the yakuza due to time and budgetary reasons.
Director Sato Shinsuke did the same thing as he did in Gantz, save most of the special effects money for crazy ending. Wish they had the money to do the planes.
Inuyashiki has plenty of good actors playing very minor roles like Nikaido Fumi and Iseya Yusuke it feels like a waste their roles are so short. I wish they could have done the story in two parts.There are definitely enough material to make it two movies and they could let the scenes breath more.
Speaking of two movies, the ending is different from the manga and seems like it could continue. They completely missed on the asteroid ending though.
I wasn't too impressed in the beginning of the movie because I felt too much was skipped and the Inuyashiki trying to lose Hachiko scene is weird not to mention the Inuyashiki finding Ando at the same park scene screamed we're doing a couple of scenes here to save money! And one final thing I didn't like, how am I suppose to feel for the underdog Inuyashiki if he is portrayed as someone who can't even do his job properly?
I still enjoyed it because the movie still had the heart of the manga. Watchable movie that needs some polish.
I read somewhere it was supposed to be a trilogy, though I am not sure there is enough material for 3 films (didn't read the manga). I ended up rooting for Shishigami - Sato Takeru aside, the character just felt better developed in the film. Agree about Nikaido Fumi being wasted in the film, but did like her scenes with Sato. Overall, an enjoyable watch for me.
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