Azumi

Plot synopsis:
Azumi focuses upon the life of the titular young female assassin. The manga begins an indeterminate number of years after the Battle of Sekigahara. As Azumi begins her duty, the manga introduces its characters into mainstream history. Many of the early missions that Azumi undertakes are the assassinations of the prominent supporters and generals of the Toyotomi Clan, against whom Tokugawa Ieyasu expected to again go to war. The manga 'reveals' that many of the Toyotomi leaders who conveniently died of diseases or accidents prior to the final confrontation between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa were actually victims of assassinations by Azumi and her comrades, thus indicating to the reader when the events were taking place.
Azumi is raised by an old man known as Jiji (Grandfather), whose name is later revealed to be Gensai Obata, as the only girl among ten students. They are secluded from the society in a tiny valley called Kiridani (Fog Valley) to such an extent that they do not know the difference between men and women, what a baby is, or customs like marriage. Early in the manga, as part of their training, Azumi and her comrades are ordered to go to Shimotani, a hidden community of ninja who became farmers, to learn the basics of ninjutsu. The manga sets a very chilling tone early on. The 10 erabareta senshi (chosen warriors), who are all young children (Azumi has her first period well after her first missions, so she appears to be somewhere between 10–12 years of age at the onset of the manga) are told by Jiji that they have completed their training. For their first mission, they are to form a pair with whomever among the 10 that they feel the closest. Azumi pairs with Nachi, and all others pair with their closest friends. Having formed the pairs, Jiji tells them their first mission is to kill their partner—whoever is too weak to kill their partner is too weak to fulfill their life's missions, and will not be allowed to survive. The ten children each fight their respective duels, and Azumi slays Nachi, an event which appears to deeply traumatize Azumi, but she hides her feelings, as do the others. Then, their second mission was to massacre all 53 residents of the peaceful ninja village, including their teacher, women and children, as they know of the group's existence. Azumi slays three men and four teenagers but is unable to kill a woman with baby, a task which one of her comrades quickly accomplishes.
The remaining five warriors proceed to go on assassination missions of the various important supporters of the Toyotomi faction. As the manga proceeds, it evokes various moral concepts such as the morality of assassinations (and killing in general), the dehumanization effect of politics, as well as leading the reader to question basic assumptions of right and wrong. For example, throughout much of the middle volumes of the manga (Vol. 8-19), Azumi frequently fights and kills many bandits—many of whom are depicted robbing, murdering, and raping innocent victims. Azumi does not question that her killing such bandits is right, and few readers probably question her righteousness. Later on in the manga, the political background to the reason for the banditry is revealed. The Tokugawa ruling family deposed and ended many previously prominent daimyo feudal lords who opposed them leaving the samurai and mercenaries in their employ without work or any means to live—therefore they resorted to banditry. Azumi questions whether it was right for her to have killed so many men who had been driven to banditry not by their own choice.
A consistent recurring theme is the contrast between Azumi and other prominent characters. Azumi is compared to a bodhisattva—a kind of enlightened being. This is indicative of the theme in Azumi where characters around Azumi are motivated by a variety of obsessions. Some are motivated by a kind of blind idealism, others by religion, others by a lust for battle, greed, or even normally sanctified motivations like honor. Not all the forces (particularly those motivated by more noble incentives, like a pair of ninja assassins whom Azumi kills, who are participating in the planning of a revolt as the only way for a ninja community to survive) are depicted as if their single-minded drive towards their goals are somehow evil. However, nonetheless, in each case, those who are attached intensely to something in the world are killed by Azumi, while she, who seemingly has little attachment to the earthly world and few personal desires, survives.

Tags: revenge, murder, violence, romantic

Review:
As things start going downhill for the assassins, Azumi begins to doubt herself and begins to long for the life of a normal Japanese woman.This film is all about sword-fights and Kitamura delivers more than he probably should.
I really think if 10 minutes of slow-motion sword fights were cut this movie would flow much better.Now, "Azumi" is not a bad movie, by any means.
Adapted from the manga by Yu Koyama, directed by Ryuhei "Versus" Kitamura, and starring the ultra cute Aya Ueto in the title role, Azumi is a highly enjoyable period/fantasy samurai epic.
Azumi takes itself much more seriously, and, for the most part, it works.It's nice to see that Kitamura is now getting a modest budget for his film, as this looks noticeably better than the somewhat juvenile "Versus".
It also shows how small is the "life value" in their world.The acting is good, the dialogs are all in place ( no scenes where the characters are saying things that are pretty obvious for themselves, and make them look stupid) and most of the characters are great.
It fits the movie perfectly and keeps you alert.There is some resemblance to the Chinese "Hero" with jet Li. The main idea of both of the films is the same: A bunch of assassins tries to kill warlord(s).
Although the visual effects in Hero are much better and the fights are impressive also, I still got lost in the movie's dialogs trying to understand the meaning of what was said and sometimes looked for the watch.
Azumi "compensates" the philosophy time with ongoing plot and a lot of action, also providing us with some feelings for the characters.If I had to choose between the two, I definitely would choose the Japanese movie.Overall i enjoyed it much and would recommend it to anyone that likes action and does care for the plot..
I think I can see this movie a million times for the man in white and the woman in black...to understand which of them is the good one and what is evil one...to understand the power of red color...The Japanese made from this film a paint same as "Hero"..
I'm not too familiar with Japanese cinema  especially the Chambara genre  but I had come across director Ryuhei Kitamura's cult favourite Versus a couple of weeks before viewing this flick, so I wasn't expecting great things.
Sometimes, the term 'cult' seems to be a euphemism for 'popular with undemanding teen horror-fiends'.Luckily, Kitamura handed over the writing duties to Yu Koyama, creator of the Manga comic script upon which it's based, and producer Mataichiro Yamamoto, and I only hope Kitamura steers clear of his lap-top from now on, because Azumi is an absolute pearl of a movie that seems to revel in the mythical warrior story it relates.
True, there is a huge amount of bloodletting (the death toll runs into the multiple-hundreds, and we get to see them all in vibrant in-your-face bloody colour), but there is also a reasonable  if a tad simple and clichéd  storyline, and, for this type of movie, a lot of attention is given to character development.Japanese teen-star Aya Ueto plays the eponymous heroine, an orphaned waif rescued from the roadside by a master warrior and his small entourage of equally waif-like protégés.
Hidden from the world until they reach their late teens, this unlikely 'family' is trained in the art of swordplay by their master as preparation for their mission to rid the country of three troublesome warlords who are committing wholesale slaughter throughout the land.Half of these orphans are killed within fifteen minutes of the opening credits, and the manner in which their deaths are contrived serves notice that this is to be no ordinary mindless action flick.
By subjecting the survivors to such a horrifying ordeal, the writers slickly manoeuvre the audience into identifying with the previously nondescript bunch in a matter of minutes, where less accomplished writers would have needed half-a-dozen scenes to achieve anything approaching the same result and probably convey little of the emotional impact created by Koyama and Yamamoto.Ueto, while looking far too cute to be a fierce warrior, gives a good account of herself.
This film is crammed with memorable characters and scenes: the fey but deadly bad guy, Bijomaru (Jo Odagiri, looking like an undernourished Phil Oakey, c.1983), decked out in flowing white robes and carrying a red rose, who giggles with glee when fighting a worthy foe, and swishes his sword distractedly through the long grass as he observes the effect of the latest wound he has inflicted upon his adversary; Saru, the warlord's sidekick, possessor of an astounding hairdo and a habit of uttering monkey noises as he fights, and Azumi herself, who is never just a cipher, but who questions the validity of her mission at every turn, and resists, futilely, the life that has been mapped out for her.
Cinematographer Takumi Furuya's kinetic camera-work is also worth mentioning  especially the astounding sequence in the climactic battle between Azumi and Bijomaru, during which the camera vertically rotates 360 degrees around the action.Azumi is a real barnstormer of a movie; great fun to watch, and deserving of a much larger audience than it has received in the West..
As we all know, what usually makes these films good is a profound story about trust and betrayal, coupled with the showcase of sword-fighting skills and war strategies.
If you are looking for an action movie and you don't really care about the story that much, then you may find this film thrilling; although you might be disappointed if you are looking for realistic fight scenes.
I would have liked to see a heroine who had a little more substance beyond her sword fighting skills, but Azumi's definitely worth a look for action fans.
The story is about a little orphan girl who is raised with 9 other boys to become assassins and carry out their 'mission'.The movie is basically a coverstory for a whole lot of unconvincing sword fighting, cheap green-screen shots, and gallons of fake blood.
But it works for two reasons: (1) it follows the rules it establishes for its world (2) it succeeds in creating an atmosphere in which those kind of feats seem possible (as long as you are able to suspend your disbelief as anyone must in order to enjoy something like it, or the Avengers films, or Lord of the Rings, etc).Azumi failed in both of those aspects, and on top of that was probably as contrived as a movie could get.
No matter which genre we see her first, she will no doubt win us over with her beauty, intelligence, vigour and maturity.Azumi is a movie set in early Japanese society were the Samurai, the Ninja, the Warlords, Honour and the way of the Sword still presides, a time of death, destruction, and the Wars between the three feuding Warlords of Japan have turned this great Country into a battlefield of hate, misery, and mistrust.Azumi is a highly detailed period action movie, with a meticulous setting to both costumes and set design, production and art designer Yuji Hayashida studied Cowboy movies to get the right feel for his masterpiece at the climax of Azumi, this is definitely not a thrown together hastily movie, time, thought and effort have gone into the making of Azumi.
Ryuhei Kitamura can take credit for his fine role in nurturing and developing the acting skills of Ms. Aya Ueto, playing the lead role here, into a wonderful and charismatic Azumi, with her supporting actors adding drive and emotion to a movie of such brutal ferocity.
This magnificent choreographed action movie with its many fight scenes and battles are very well placed and put together, driven along with a finely tuned musical score, both classical and modern, that sets both pace and emotion.The Awards of the Japanese Academy, in 2004, have given awards to both Aya Ueto and Jô Odagiri for Newcomer of the Year, along with Ms. Ueto Popularity Award for Most Popular Performer and a nomination for Best Actress too.
While VERSUS is a drawn (way) out, laughable, mindless, B-rated zombie/action spoof, AZUMI is a very serious swordplay/martial arts film about a band of teenagers trained from a young age to assassinate those who would start another bloody civil war.I could easily figure out that this was a Kitamura film by spotting out similarites between this and his past films.
Like BATTLE ROYALE, AZUMI has one too many mushy mushy scenes.Another Kitamura trademark is how this film is way too drawn out.
movies that do not get the kind of play that they could on my side of the ocean but films, nonetheless, that are as powerful, insightful, and complex as any of Hollywood's best.AZUMI is a tremendous step forward for the folks behind VERSUS.
But AZUMI is the kind of film that'll earn the talent far more respectability around the world -- as this experience deserves to be discovered by as broad an audience as it can.The story is classic: a group of warriors head on to fight one final quest to rid their lands of evil ...
In the end, only Azumi -- a petite samurai who lost her faith along the way -- storms the stronghold to save her mentor, facing over 200 enemies in a sword-to-sword battle as much for redemption as it is for survival.Granted, the film is not without a handful of campy moments, but they are easily dismissed against the backdrop of the warrior's epic struggle to accept the fact that -- regardless of how hard she tries -- she cannot escape her destiny.AZUMI sports some of the best swordplay I've seen from anything I've purchased at AZN, and that includes the stellar ZATOICHI rebirth at the genius of Takeshi Kitano.
There are only 2 things memorable to mention in favour of this film.1 = Aya Ueto, breathtakingly beautiful and the camera loves looking at her, save your time though and download her screen saver as she is utterly hopeless in the role of action heroine.2 = During one of the fight scenes there is a very impressive camera shot where the camera rotates several times 360 degrees over and under a one on one fight with Azumi but you can see this on the trailer so there is no need to waste time on the film..
Hell, the kindergarten gang-bangers in City of God had a higher life expectancy than this...If you can say one thing about the juveniles in Azumi though it's this: they certainly kick a lot more ass than their Hollywood counterparts who do nothing but go to proms, flash award winning smiles and have names like 'Ryan.'Set in an unspecified moment in Japanese history, the story revolves around a group of youngsters who have been raised in seclusion in the mountains by a wise, battle scarred and really rather cruel old Samurai, instructed by his master to train them to be assassins.
I've enjoyed films with low budget and good thinking, but I will never back movies that have a relatively high budget and a bad story..
Don't expect Kill Bill fighting scenes that get you on the tip of your seat, and don't expect choreography like in Hero, or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon either.In the end, the plot doesn't look like much either, it is hard to explain without spoilers, but you will see what I mean if you do choose to watch it.Poor acting, no plot, endlessly long fighting scenes, it may seem like a kids movie, but I wouldn't recommend that either.
The movie is not as bloody as Kill Bill, but the fighting is still very bloody, dozens of men get sliced or mutilated, and there are some dirty men trying to rape some girls in it.So I recommend you don't waste your time on this, and if you really want to, just put your brains on zero, try to ignore as much of the poorly acted dialog and watch the fighting scenes like video clips..
With the highly tuned and masterful direction of such action films as "House of Flying Daggers" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the fight scenes in this movie seemed half- baked.
If you're looking for a nice change to the regular martial arts fare coming from Hollywood these days, Azumi is a refreshing film.The Villains, while still a little stereotypical are just psychotic enough to be fun.The action is well paced, and the story adequate to drive the film towards it's inevitable climatic scenes.The timing used during many of the fight scenes feels a little different to your typical Hollywood work, it's hard to pick the exactly difference, but it leaves you with a strangely different feel to the action on screen.
After having a good impression on Japanese films i decided to watch Ryuhei Kitamura newly made "Azumi".
The end result being I saw both the good qualities and flaws in the film.By the end I had come to the conclusion that how well you receive "Azumi" is based centrally on how you look at it.If you go in expecting some serious "Seven Samurai"-like fare and being told this movie rivals the great Kurosawa films then you'll be sorely disappointed.
Looking at "Azumi" in this light will make every scene look ridiculous  the acting, the script, the plot, the cinematography, the effects, the costumes, the camera work, the direction  all of it will have Kurosawa fans walking out within the first 15 minutes.By contrast if you go in expecting a movie based on a manga comic book (and this is key to understanding why the film is the way it is) then you'll receive an enjoyable ride of samurai mayhem based on comic book storytelling.
But before that in 2000s Japanese movies took world with great blockbusters like Battle Royale, K20, And this little gem Azumi, and epic action adventure with samurai.Azumi get trained in assassins martial art as a child together with other orphans, their master is a former soldier who lost his son in battle knows there is a lot of evil in this world and only his students can save the world.
The only films that feel this way for me are films that have one great scene after another and Azumi delivers exactly that.Character development, while not slight, takes a backseat to the action and atmosphere.
You might think that you've seen enough Sword-fighting movies in the past few years but Azumi really does out-do Kill Bill, House of Flying Daggers and The Last Samurai.
Especially the final fight scene.Definitely worth getting if you want a bloody good movie!.
For the moments of peace, the director uses calm and beautiful landscapes, but for the fight scenes the landscape changes from beautiful into a sad one, like the desert landscape when the film begins and we find Azumi next to her dead mother.Acting is also great.
Kiyomasa now aware that he's being targeted for assassination, plans a counter strike on Azumi and her team.The sword fight and the general carnage that follows at the end somewhat resembles Kill Bill 1, although I think Uyeto Aya is several notches better looking than Uma Thurman.If you liked the style of Kill Bill, you'll be entertained by this movie.
I've heard there should be an 148 min version of the film also, but weather or not seeing this version, would be an eye opener like in the case of the Leon directors cut, I dare not say, but one thing is certain: In all three versions of Azumi there is a standout scene, which catches the essence of the movie, and thus pushes it past being strictly an action flick, but still not a full character study: The scene is mesmerizing and doesn't even has the protagonist in it: In a field of yellow, a young man in love has to battle to the death with a devil in white, and as the battle becomes a ballet of blood, an emotional tension even stronger than the whirling swords, are created by the fact, that the young girl is watching and neither she, the young man who loves her or the audience has any clue as to weather or not, she will survive whatever the outcome of the duel might become.
The film makes good use of flashy and over-the-top (and sometimes anachronistic) tactics to make the battles fun to watch.Aya Ueto does a pretty good job portraying an innocent girl whose only skill is to kill people and, while most of her supporting cast are somewhat dorky, they do okay with the roles they're given.The best part is the villains, however.
A master samurai trains 10 children to grow up to be the ultimate assassins whose mission is to kill these warlords and restore peace to the land.The only girl amongst the 10 is Azumi.This is a wonderful movie - well paced,with a competent cast and some truly spectacular action set-pieces.Aya Ueto (17 when she did the movie) makes for an unlikely but extremely engaging lead.Cute and charismatic,she alone is worth the price of a rental.Mention must be made of Jo Odagiri,who nearly steals the show as the maniacal Bijomaru Mogami - an assassin sent by one of the warlords to assassinate his potential assassins!
Azumi reminded me in bits and bobs of the 1950's samurai flicks of Akira Kurosawa, the Evil Dead films of Sam Raimi and the Chinese blockbuster Hero.Like Hero, this is set in medieval times - Japan not China.
I'm not as well versed in the genre, but I enjoyed the film greatly.There was enough story to keep me interested, but lacked the deep, well developed characters and plot that make great movies.
This film gets a very high recommendation to fans of sword fights and just having fun while watching a movie..
If you want a good Samurai action-packed movie I recommend "13 Assassins".
If you'd like a satisfying action flick with a very pretty girl as the lead and a few genuinely sad moments, this is a good movie to try..