Bodyguard Kiba (1993 film)

Bodyguard Kiba
Directed by	Takashi Miike
Written by	Comic Book: Ikki Kajiwara Ken Nakagusuku Screenplay: Hisao Maki Tetsuya Sasaki
Cinematography	Naosuke Imaizumi
Music by	Tomio Terada
Release date	June 25, 1993 (1993-06-25)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Bodyguard Kiba (ボディガード牙, Bodigaado Kiba) is a 1993 Japanese martial arts/action film directed by Takashi Miike.

Plot

Junpei, a low-level

at his old boxing gym. Later, a member of the Okinawa Karate school who is also an Okinawa police officer informs them that Maki is being held at Club Satine and that Yoko has become Shinjo's mole. The three men sneak into the club and rescue Maki, who helps them fight the other members of the Soryu Group at Shinjo's hideout. Junpei and Kiba defeat Junpei's old rival Yasunaga, then they confront Shinjo and Yoko on the roof. Shinjo gives Yoko a gun to kill Junpei but instead she shoots herself through the heart, killing herself as well as Shinjo behind her. Junpei leaves for Tokyo, promising to pay Kiba's fee when he arrives. The Okinawa cop then challenges Kiba for the honor of the Okinawa Karate school but is defeated in a battle of karate.

Cast

• Hisao Maki - Tetsugen Daito
• Masaru Matsuda
• Daisuke Nagekura - Junpei
• Ren Osugi - Shinjo
• Megumi Sakita - Maki Kasuga
• Shinobu Tanaka - Yoko
• Takeshi Yamato - Naoto Kiba

Sequels

Two sequels were released:

• Bodyguard Kiba: Apocalypse of Carnage (修羅の黙示録 ボディーガード牙, Shura no mokushiroku: Bodigaado Kiba) (also known as Bodyguard Kiba 2: Combat Apocalypse) was released on October 22, 1994.
• Bodyguard Kiba: Apocalypse of Carnage 2 (修羅の黙示録2 ボディーガード牙, Shura no mokushiroku 2: Bodigaado Kiba) (also known as Bodyguard Kiba 3: Second Apocalypse of Carnage) was released on February 3, 1995.

Reception

Alexander Knoth of Asian Movie Pulse gave the film a positive review, writing that "Miike manages to keep a fast pace, which is sometimes a problem with his other movies. This is mainly owed to an interesting mix between yakuza drama and martial arts elements. In the nicely choreographed fight scenes, the former boxer Yamato Takeshi, can fully show off his skills as Bodyguard Kiba." Knoth further writes that "the shots were surprisingly good. Especially the scenes shot on board the ferry are very impressive and are among my favorite Miike sequences. In these scenes, the film establishes the subplot of male bonding between Junpei and Kiba."^[1]

In his book Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike, author Tom Mes writes that "Bodyguard Kiba constitutes a major improvement over not only A Human Murder Weapon but all the films Miike had made up until that point" and that "script-wise too the film was an improvement over its predecessor", concluding that "by taking the time to portray his characters, Miike has also created a more developed and more human character than ever before."^[2]

References

External links

• Bodyguard Kiba at
  IMDb