A Karate Sensei dies leaving his only black belt to his two students, one whom believes that he should use his Karate to become the best...while the other prefers to practise alone. The story ultimately reveals their paths and were it leads.
I thought the opening was magnificent, you truly felt the rich history of Karate through the scenery and the shots of the students practising; you were immersed in the beauty of the art of Karate and then the film took a surprising twist, one character chooses the wrong path and the other is thought to have perished...But then came the middle, while Tatsuya Naka gave a fantastic performance as 'Taikan' the rouge student, his counterpart Akhito Yagi known in the film as Giryu seemed completely lost..his acting was quite weak and the character's sudden realisation of his Karate is tarnished by the fact that he does not stand up for the girl who saved his life..I just found it odd and confusing.
But the fight scenes are brilliantly choreographed, the fights are very realistic and show Karate at its best in terms of film. It's also ironic that Tatsuya Naka who played the wayward student would go on to star in a film called 'High Kick Girl' in which he is the sensei trying to reign in a wayward student.
I thought the opening was magnificent, you truly felt the rich history of Karate through the scenery and the shots of the students practising; you were immersed in the beauty of the art of Karate and then the film took a surprising twist, one character chooses the wrong path and the other is thought to have perished...But then came the middle, while Tatsuya Naka gave a fantastic performance as 'Taikan' the rouge student, his counterpart Akhito Yagi known in the film as Giryu seemed completely lost..his acting was quite weak and the character's sudden realisation of his Karate is tarnished by the fact that he does not stand up for the girl who saved his life..I just found it odd and confusing.
But the fight scenes are brilliantly choreographed, the fights are very realistic and show Karate at its best in terms of film. It's also ironic that Tatsuya Naka who played the wayward student would go on to star in a film called 'High Kick Girl' in which he is the sensei trying to reign in a wayward student.