TGWTG User Blogs

 On TGTWG.com it seems we've had top 1-100's for everything now. Favourite villains, favourite psychos, favourite animated hotties, favourite movies/TV shows/anime, favourite opening themes, favourite places, favourite food, favourite Elvis impersonator, favourite form of fungus, favourite Uwe Boll quote, favourite apocalypses', favourite alternative Icelandic pop sensations and favourite ways to bury your pride and embarrass and emasculate yourself for the laughter fetishes of viewers nationwide only for you to be forgotten in a week, leading to a long struggle of alcohol addiction, family dilemma's, ‘favour' selling and eventually your own suicide which ironically brings you more fame than your 15 minutes on TV ever did. Yes, all of those things and more.

Well I'm going to try something I don't think people saw coming. It's as obscure, random and uncharted as top list topics go. As you may have guessed (or at least gathered by reading the fucking title) this is a list for the top 6 Craziest Oddballs in Japanese live action.

What creates an oddball? Well they don't have to be obviously crazy on the outside; neither do they have to be psychopathic, though it helps. They simply need to be a show stealing character that contrasts and ultimately confuses the rest of the cast, leading them to be the one thing you associate that movie with. Japan has yielded many of these sorts of these characters, and in some ways the best. They're crazy, they're bizarre, they're unheard of...they're just...odd.

Now with this list I want you to bear in mind this is strictly a personal list. I haven't seen every Japanese film, TV drama or serial out there, so my list is limited and mostly mainstream. But these six alone do it for me, I don't know how there could be more. Also, you may ask why anime characters aren't included. Well with Live action you get body language and facial expressions which are harder to pull off and far more impressive than hand drawn characters, so I'm sticking with them. Well enough explaining, on with the top 6 Craziest Japanese Live action oddballs. Why Top 6? Because add ten more and you get 16!

WARNING: Contains spoilers for the following films: Seven Samurai, Battle Royale, Versus, Death Note (both movies) and Ring.

Number 6

                      

Character: Kikuchiyo (????, Kikuchiyo) Film/Series of origin: Seven Samurai

Let's start off with someone classic. The film Seven Samurai is considered one of motion pictures most influential, uh, motion picture. The classic movie by legendary Japanese film maker Akira Kurosawa told of a village that had been, on an annual basis, been terrorized by bandits. In order to escape the fear they decide to hire a group of samurai offering only rice as pay. By chance they gather seven, who join with them to fight the bandits, even till death. The film was the first to feature epic scale battle scenes, and is easily the most recognized Japanese production in the West. But what I remember it for, is the seventh samurai himself, Kikuchiyo.

The first thing that makes Kikuchiyo stand out is the fact that he isn't even a samurai. Sporting a fake family tree and birth certificate and wielding a sword bigger than any of the samurai, the only reason he sticks with the other six is his stubborn nature. But what ultimately makes this guy an oddball is his totally erratic and extraordinary behavior. He's loud, obnoxious, wild and almost scary, everything you wouldn't expect from a samurai. He's extremely temperamental; piss him off and he'll go ape-shit on you, although you suspect deep down he has a sentimental side at least.

Portrayed by brilliant Japanese actor Toshir? Mifune, (who starred in nearly 170 feature films, and had worked with Kurosawa on several other productions, notably Yojimbo and Rashomon,) gave a life to the character that was remarkable, and along with Kikuchiyo always portrayed characters who were comically ill-mannered, which contrasted greatly to the stereotype of the noble samurai we all think of.

I recently finished watching Samurai 7, the anime steam punk remake, and I must say I didn't feel much for the new version of Kikuchiyo. He's basically a cyborg now, which is fine, but he feels a lot more one dimensional, just a hothead, and his contrast isn't so great compared to the other samurai. He consistently screws up and gets the other characters into trouble, something he only did once notably in the film, and doesn't possess the same show stealing quality. Even still, his chainsaw samurai sword kicked ass.

Greatest moment: Not to too hard to decide upon, it had to be the moment when he declares his speech about the farmer's way of life, and how neither the farmers nor the samurai trust each other. It's difficult to put into words, but his behavior is so over the top, his approach so confrontational, you think he's about to draw his sword and start cutting people down. However after it all he surprises us by becoming teary eyed on revealing that once he himself was a farmer. The extraordinary display of emotion and frightening intimidation in this scene is what eventually convinces Kanbei (the samurai leader) to accept him as the 7^th samurai.

Fate: Unfortunately, Kikuchiyo is one of the four samurai who meet their deaths in the battle against the bandits. What makes it worse is his death his right after another samurai, the quiet, battle skilled Kyuzo. After the bandit leader takes refuge in a village hut, he fires a cheap shot at Kyuzo, killing him. Sent into a rage over the act of cowardice, Kikuchiyo storms the hut only to get himself also shot. But, with his last strength, plunges his sword into the bandit leader, killing him, and proving himself worthy as a samurai.

Number 5

            

Character: L Film/series of origin: Death Note

L needs no introduction. Everyone who is remotely connected to the anime world has heard of this guy. In Death Note, the story of a killer notebook used by a college student eradicate crime in the form of criminals, L is the detective who is the only one capable of solving the case. Now you're probably wondering why L's in here. Death Note was a Manga first, so surely that disqualifies him. Well part of why L's on here is due to the awesome if not totally bizarre performance that brought him to life in the films by Ken'ichi Matsuyama.

L's mannerisms are totally unordinary. His bizarre sitting posture, his never ending (and never consequential) sweet tooth, and his bizarre way of handling things etc: none of it seems ordinary. If all geniuses are supposed to act like this then I've been brought up the wrong way. Even his clothes, a white long sleeved T-shirt, a pair of Jeans...that's it, seem strangely bizarre.

Ken'ichi Matsuyama definitely did a great job portraying the character. It's difficult to tell the difference between the two, and was so great it actually paved the way for L to get his own spin-off movie, L: Change the World.

Greatest moment: Very difficult to choose from, there are tonnes that range from either comical to just awesome. Two I considered were the ‘candy-kebab' scene in the first movie, or the ending to the first movie, where L approaches Light for the first time, brandishing the same flavor of potato chips that Light used in his camera trick to elude suspicion. The way L just takes a chip and eats it in front of Light, without saying a word, it's like he's saying: "Yeeaah bitch! I know you're Kira, and I don't even have to say it."

But undeniably his greatest moment is when he corners Light at college in the second movie. Approaching him in class, he suddenly dons the most bizarre looking mask I've ever seen. It's hysterical, in the art cinema I saw the film in, no one laughed at anything because they were too pretentious, but even then they burst out laughing at seeing that mask. But it got better. Suddenly Misa, the other Death Note bearer, TV idol and Light's ‘girlfriend' arrives. The meeting of these three is hilarious, with or without the funny mask. When people see her they start making a fuss over her being famous, but when someone ‘pinches' her ass, L starts over acting as a ‘great detective', and it's hysterical. And just to top it off, when Misa leaves, Light calls her to get L's name, but we see L took her phone all along. It's like the ultimate pwnage in a film. A brilliant scene.

Fate: Interestingly L's fate in the film is different to the Manga and anime.
Though it begins the same way, Light manages to trick the Death God Rem into killing both L and Watari, there's an unexpected plot twist that changes everything. After Light leaves seemingly victorious, the police surround him, and out of nowhere, L appears. We then learn he wrote his own name in the Death Note, suspecting Light would kill him. It payed off, faking his own death and fooling Light, giving the police the evidence they needed.
To be honest, I easily prefer this ending to the than in the Manga, which I felt was cheap and unsatisfying. In the penultimate scene, 20 days after Kira is defeated, Light's father, the head of the investigation, thanks L for his help and bids him goodbye, as L dies peacefully with a chocolate bar in hand and picture of Watari at his side. It is in this 20 day gap that L: Change the World occurs.

Number 4

              

Character: Rio Film/series of origin: Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger

One you probably wouldn't have expected, Rio is the main villain for the 31^st of Toei's long running Super Sentai series. In this series, two opposing martial arts groups, the Fierce Beast-Fist Beast Arts and the Confrontation Beast-Fist Akugata, battle each other, the first group in an attempt to stop the second from taking over the world.

Rio himself is the most out of place Sentai villain I've ever seen. Traditionally, Sentai villains are gross, unattractive rubber monsters that stay of out of the limelight for most of the series, only sending in their lackeys to fight for them whilst they only come in for the occasional bout and final battle. But Rio pretty much contrasts to all of these. For one, I won't deny it, he's incredibly attractive o_o. seriously, his outfit bears striking resemblance to one outfit Visual Kei singer and Japanese heart throb Gackt wore on stage at one of Malice Mizer's gigs. Second of all...he's human, which isn't common in Sentai for a villain, not for a main villain at least. Third and most of all: He kicks ass. This guy is the most awesome fighter I've ever seen in a Sentai series. His presence just gives off an aura of total dominance, and he isn't shy about it either. He regularly gets into battles with the Gekirangers, taking matters into his own hands. And if he didn't bring enough thunder just on his own, he also has Sentai like powers. He can call on a set of lion-based armor that is without a doubt the best looking Sentai suit since Dekamaster from Dekaranger. And his battle chant is: "As purely fierce as a lion, as powerful as a lion. The one destined to rule the world, my name is the Black Lion Rio." You don't fuck with that.
He also isn't egotistical or unsympathetic. He really shows no emotion to his henchmen, whether it's his servant Mele who sees him as the undying object of her affection, or one of his cronies who totally dominated the Gekirangers, who he kills with a single kick. In fact...he's an emo.
 I was sad to see he wouldn't be in the next series (new series, new story, new cast), but there's at least promise he'll show up for next year's team up movie.
Overall what makes Rio such an oddball is how he is so different compared to your average slew of sentai villains. He's dark, brooding, and just well, out of place. And it rules. Future Sentai villains should definitely be modeled after him.

Greatest moment: I'll be honest, due to the fact I'm not skilled with torrents, my refusal to watch the butchered American adaptation, Power Rangers: Jungle Fury, and because it wasn't on YouTube long, I didn't get to see a whole lot of Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger, so I can't tell you how it ends, and my perception of what Rio's greatest moment is may only be the tip of the iceberg. However what did defiantly stand out was his battle with the furry giant cat head of the Fierce Beast-Fist Beast Arts School, Master Shafu. Being his former sensei, this battle shares the same impact that Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's battle had, only it's probably a lot sillier. Featuring surprisingly good choreography from two men in cat costumes, this fight scene is the ultimate definition of epic.

Number 3

            

Character: Sadako Yamamura Series of Origin: Ring (???, Ringu)

Well this is one number in the list that obviously everyone has heard of. In the film Ring, if you watch a mysterious video tape sporting bizarre images, you die seven days later. How do you die? A mysterious girl, later found out to have the name Sadako Yamamura, kills you in cold blood (well...she makes you look like you died looking at Stevie Wonder's eyes).
Ring is perhaps Japan's most famous horror movie. Gaining a 94% on Rotten tomatoes, a lot for a horror movie, Ring dazzled audiences by being so terrifying yet so original. Its originality was unfortunately abused, with two increasingly bad sequels, an inferior but respectable American remake, a shit poor Korean remake and countless imitators including The Grudge, Shutter and One Missed Call.

So why is Sadako an oddball? Well for one she's a horror villain who's a she. LMAO, but seriously it's also because of her appearance compared to most horror villains. She's a little girl who, like most killers, has a troubled past, and who marks her presence by that infamous long black hair, which has actually become a staple in Asian horror, so much so that the new Chiaki Kuriyama film, EXTE, actually uses it as the main plot point. Furthermore, her method of killing is very bizarre. A video tape that kills those who watches it? That's pretty uncommon, and separates her from other killers. Sure the phone call thing was in Scream, and the hair coming out of the mouth...well gee that's the weirdest shit I've ever seen. Sadako's back-story goes way beyond a simple accidental death like Jason Voorhees; hers is one of disappointment, anguish, and the lack of understanding of love for a child. Makes you wonder, what does she do when she's not killing the evil videotapes demographic? Would you ever just see her walking down the street? Is she a rapist? Who knows?

Greatest Moment: Only one really seems logical. That moment, after the main character, Reiko, found the well Sadako was drowned in, she lived past the 7 days, and we think that this whole ordeal is over. Unfortunately, that simply won't stop her, the only way to avoid the death is to copy the tape and pass it on to someone else. So what happens to Reiko's ex-husband Ryuji? Guess.
In one of the most frightening scenes in motion picture history, Sadako crawls out of his TV and kills him. We didn't see it coming, we couldn't believe it came, and now we wonder how anyone feels safe...

Fate: I don't know about you, but after I saw Ring 2, I honestly couldn't be bothered any more. So no, I don't know how Ring 3 ends, or what happens to Sadako. So I like to leave it at the end of the first movie, that she's still out there, watching people like a lonely Youtuber, waiting for people to watch that video.

Number 2

              

Character: Kazuo Kiriyama Film/Series of Origin: Battle Royale

Now we're in business. If you haven't heard of Battle Royale, well you obviously...haven't. The film is about a near-distant future of Japan where every year students from one randomly chosen class in the country are forced to fight to the death in the space of three days till only one remains. Given random weapons ranging from handguns, to knives, to useful items like a tracking device or to useless items like a pot lid, and kept in check by collars that will detonate if the student attempts to remove them, walks into a specified danger zone or if there is more than one survivor at the games end, killing the wearer. Awesome stuff. Based on the novel by Koushun Takami, which was also adapted into a Manga series, the film is another of Japan's most famous films to Western audiences.

Now who is Boy #6 Kazuo Kiriyama? He's badass. When most of the students panic, either deciding to hide or to team up with others, Kazuo goes on a killing rampage. To be fair, he's not actually part of the class, he's a ‘transfer student' who signed up to the game simply ‘for fun'. Now that's crazy.

But Kiriyama himself is totally crazy. Psychopathic if you will. Played by Masanobu Ando, Kiriyama just contrasts to every other student in every way. Whilst most students wear the Westernized uniform, Kiriyama sports the classic Japanese school uniform, and even goes as far as to have ‘strawberry' hair (like Ichigo from Bleach), something considered unusual in Japan. He actually plays the game without ever uttering a word; instead he lets his gun do the talking.

And what a gun he uses. Throughout the whole game, except for the few exceptions, Kiriyama uses an Ingram Typewriter: A fully automatic machine gun. And how did he get such a weapon? Well actually, Kiriyama started off with a shit weapon: A paper fan. However when he is taken hostage by one of the class' gangs (Ironically the gang that he was leader of in the novel, where he is not a transfer student) under suspicion that he is just working for those in charge, he distracts the idiot brandishing the machine gun at him by blowing gun in his face. In a matter of seconds, he grabs the gun, shoots all the gang members, takes their weapons, and leaves. It's fucking brilliant.

And Kiriyama keeps this going throughout the whole game. He goes on a killing spree, racking up a whopping 13 kills in the programs time limit. The closest person to get that much was the psychosexual Girl #11 Mitsuko Souma, who only got 5. And he does this in the freakiest manner possible, one of his kills involved shooting two girls with his Uzi, then putting a megaphone they had to one the girl's mouth, so everyone can hear her cries of anguish before he violently finishes her.

But despite being so creepy Kiriyama does what oddballs do best: he steals the show. True, I was tempted to put Takeshi Kitano's character, the bizarre school teacher, first, but Kiriyama is just such an appealing character, and the real star of Battle Royale.

Greatest moment: This was a difficult one. He has so many to choose from. Whether it's when he steals the machine gun, has his final fight with Mitsuko Souma or simply the way he reacts when his name is called out in the school register (he just walks lazily and carefree...it's very disturbing), they're all great moments. But in the end, I went with the one that kicked the most ass.

When the three main characters, Boy #15 Shuya Nanahara and Girl #15 Noriko Nakagawa (both unwilling to fight) and the combat hardened Boy #5 Shogo Kawada are hiding out in a medical clinic, we see Boy #4 Toshonori Oda come cycling by, screaming at the top of his lungs. Behind him, Kiriyama comes running, spraying bullets everywhere. It's here we are told that he simply joined ‘for fun'.
Oda loses control of the bike and falls, and after a few pleas for mercy he is brutally gunned down by Kiriyama. Damn. But that's not all. Just a moment later, we see him alive and well, praising the lord for this miracle. But indeed it's nothing righteous, but actually his weapon: A bullet proof vest. His celebrations are cut short however by a rustling on the roof, and he looks up to see Kiriyama standing over him, slowly removing a small samurai sword from its sheath. In one swift moment he jumps down and slices the blade. The next time we see Oda's head, it's thrown through a window with a grenade stuffed through the mouth. Damn.

Fate: At the end of the game only four students remain, the three previously mentioned main characters, and Kiriyama, who has been blinded by Boy #19 Shinji Mimura's bomb (there's blood coming out of his eyes, now he looks more frightening than ever). Kawada leaves the other two to deal with Kiriyama, and a battle occurs. Though Kiriyama is blinded, he hears Kawada cocking his shotgun, and fires his typewriter at him. Though he is able to hit Kawada multiple times, wounds that will eventually kill him, Kawada shoots Kiriyama in the leg, making him fall on his side. As he gives Kawada one last hate filled, psychopathic stare, Kiriyama attempts to shoot him, but Kawada reacts faster and shoots Kiriyama in his collar, causing it to explode and kill him.

It's weird that though this was an awesome fight, it was definitely a peg lower than the novel and Manga's final battle with Kiriyama, which was so intense it even had a car chase...

But the Number 1 craziest Oddball in Japanese Live-action is:

       

Character: Yakuza Leader with butterfly knife Film/Series of Origin: Versus

I honestly have no words to describe this guy. I mean he's just insane. He's bizarre. He's psychotic. He's a total oddball.

If you've not heard of Versus, it's a low budget cult Japanese film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, who also brought us Alive, Sky High (not the one about superheroes) and Godzilla: Final Wars. The story, small as it is, is about a group of individuals who have continuously reincarnated throughout history. One of these individuals, enlisting the help of the five of the others, is attempting to use the blood of one of the reincarnates to open a portal to the underworld. All that stands between them is the last of the individuals, the brooding anti-hero. The film takes place in a remote forest, and literally has everything. Zombies, guns, swords, zombies with guns, zombies with swords, zombies with guns and swords, the Yakuza, the police (who belong to a totally irrelevant side story), awesome martial arts...the list goes on.

But what makes this film what it is...is one man. The Yakuza Leader with a butterfly knife. What is his actual name? We don't know. None of the film's characters are named, the closest we have is a prison identification number, and instead all individuals are named by their descriptions, nicknames or professions. The Yakuza Leader with a butterfly knife (we'll call him Butterfly Knife for short) is one crazy, maniacal son a bitch. His strange attire of a pink shirt and green tie isn't too weird, but his behavior is totally erratic. He jumps around, yells random phrases, his facial expressions are totally bizarre...Jesus it's almost impossible to describe.

Played by Kenji Matsuda (in what some may consider a hammy performance, but one that stays with you none the less), Butterfly Knife turns on his leader with his fellow Yakuza to hunt down Prisoner KSC2-303 and the girl. A totally unafraid, blood lusting man, Butterfly Knife barely shows any fear at the thought of fighting an army of reborn zombie Yakuza, instead he sports some bewildering and impressive gun play. When one of his subordinates, ‘Motorcycle-riding yakuza with revolver‘ suggests returning to the mission of capturing the girl, his right hand man and friend ‘Yakuza with glasses' shoots him in the stomach, whilst Butterfly Knife runs his trademark blade along his face screaming. He's just a goddamn freak, I love it.

Interestingly, when Yakuza with Glasses (also known as ThatYakuzawiththeglasses, oh the wit) shows some disturbance to the zombies, Butterfly Knife comforts him with a hug. Wow strange. And also quite homoerotic. I think my favorite line he utters, after hearing if he kills the main hero he may just come back as a zombie, is: "Oh sure, I could kill him again." With a kind of reluctance that is just...blargh.

I think there's little much else to say here. All I can say is buy the film and immerse yourself in the biggest show stealing, weirdest, outrageous and totally unheard of character to ever grace a Japanese screen. It will fuck with your mind and leave you speechless. And amazed.

Greatest Moment: Surprisingly not too hard to gather. It's his one and only fight with the main hero, using only his two butterfly knives. It's a truly stunning display, and he swings the blades left, right, all firkin' over the place, you wonder how the Hero dodges it. What's even more astounding is that those are real knives. Originally wanting to use blades covered in tinfoil, Kitamura saw them as too unrealistic on camera, so real knives were used instead. There were some cuts and near misses, but it all turned out OK. The most hilarious point in the fight comes when the Hero is about to punch Butterfly Knife in the face, only to see him looking down and smiling, and there indeed a knife waving around the Hero's crotch. Beaten.

Fate: Sigh. Sadly Butterfly Knife does not survive little more than halfway through the movie. After he gains extra help in the form of Red Haired assassin, Short-haired female assassin and Long Haired female assassin, he stages an attack on his leader, ‘The Man'. At first it goes well, Red Haired assassin, an awesome martial artist, kicks him down, and then Long-Haired female assassin pumps him full of lead, and Butterfly Knife stands over him applauding.
Unfortunately, he gets up with not a scratch on him. He then moves left and right, kicking all their asses, twisting Red haired assassin's neck (killing him) and even plucking ThatYakuzawiththeglasses heart right out his body and eating it.
As for Butterfly Knife himself, the man promises him true power, before...how do I describe this? Oh yeah, he fingers his chest. Or rather he sticks two fingers in his chest and lifts him up. He drops Butterfly Knife, still alive, who then runs. Eventually he is hunted down by The Man and his now resurrected group of assassins, and the next time we see Butterfly Knife, he looks like this:

He's even crazier than before! Now he resembles some kind of weird...spastic Toad. To be fair he's still a crazy fighter and looks truly menacing when he foams from his mouth, but is somewhat less likeable than the original Butterfly Knife. Still, he gets his ass handed to him by the hero, who takes a sniper rifle stolen from the police and blows him into tiny little pieces.

Also worth mentioning are two other forms of Butterfly Knife we see. One is from 500 years ago, where he's a samurai, who still sports weird clothing a bizarre personality, but instead of a knife uses some weird...stick thing, and his form from 500 years later, seen only briefly, which is the same except now he wears leather and is bald. In fact they're all bald. Is chemo like necessary in the future? Who knows...

            

Well that's the list. Sorry it was longwinded but with such a popular topic you got to go all out. Thanks for reading, and if you have any other oddball characters from Japan, or the like, feel free to post a comment, or discuss the ones on show here.