Ichi the Killer

Kabukichō, Shinjuku's neon-lit pleasure district, serves as the stage for Hideo Yamamoto's nightmarish yakuza thriller. The story opens with the disappearance of Anjo, a crime boss, along with 300 million yen. This sets off a bloody chain reaction that pulls in two very different men. One is Ichi, a fragile, brainwashed young man who transforms into a superhumanly violent killer when triggered by his handler Jijii. The other is Kakihara, a flamboyant, sadomasochistic enforcer whose obsession with finding his boss leads him on a path of grotesque torture and murder.

Yamamoto serialized the manga in Shogakukan's Weekly Young Sunday from June 1998 to February 2001, following a precursor one-shot titled Ichi in 1993. The series was collected into ten tankōbon volumes. Its stark, visceral artwork and unflinching portrayal of violence earned it immediate notoriety. The narrative reads like a black comedy at times, the extreme gore pushed into surreal territory where physics bend to the needs of the story.

The 2001 film adaptation by Takashi Miike turned the manga into a global cult phenomenon. Starring Nao Omori as Ichi and Tadanobu Asano as Kakihara, the movie became a landmark of extreme cinema. It was banned in several countries and reportedly handed out sick bags at film festivals. A prequel OVA, Ichi the Killer: Episode 0, directed by Shinji Ishihira, was released in 2002. Seven Seas Entertainment now publishes the manga in English omnibus editions. [edit]