In the HVE boxed set, the pamphlet included that has the series' cast, it has two actors listed as the character Sonny Chiba played in part 2. I was just wondering if anyone knew why exactly? The imdb board doesn't give any info on it. Was there a fill-in actor for certain scenes? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
"But, hey, that's me, I could be wrong."
The character he plays (Katsutoshi Otomo) goes to prison towards the end of the 2nd movie. The character isn't in 3 or 4, but returns in 5 (played by a different actor) after getting out of prison.
I can't remember little details, but I believe about 7-10 years pass between 2 and 5. Anyways, the character behaves a lot differently when played by the other actor (much more respectful, etc.); I'm unsure if it's because that's how the actor wanted to portray him, or if ~7 years in prison was supposed to have changed him that much.
I'll rewatch 5 again and try to tune in more closely. But, as everybody who has seen any of these will attest, there are SO MANY CHARACTERS and A LOT THINGS GOING ON! On the plus side, its so rich of a mosaic that it feels like you're watching a new movie with every viewing. But it's easy to get lost sometimes (or maybe that just could be me, I don't know...), which is a small price to pay. Even if and when I get confused, there soon is another plot twist or doublecross that'll just set everything spiraling off into a different direction anyway.
Though I gotta wonder, maybe Otomo might be humbling himself because with yakuza like Cigarette-Holder Man (does anyone else start using nicknames to keep track of everyone? Or is that just me as well?) running around, it might be better to stay low until retirement. I mean, that guy was NUTS! I'll check it out again, always glad for a reason to do that!
Thanks for helping me out on this!
"But, hey, that's me, I could be wrong."