Well it features a psychopathic enforcer who is unwaveringly loyal to his boss (who in both cases would prefer him to be a little less gung ho) and is played by the same actor. It also features a rather docile, mostly silent woman who Takeshi's character expresses a fondness for (he also kills them both).
The character Takeshi plays in both films are cops who are very violent, yes. But I would say that Nishi (hana-bi) is a more humane individual than Azuma. He is totally ruthless with the people who harass him but he isn't exactly shown to take a bizarre relish in beating the seven shades of sh /t out of people like Azuma does. Arguably you could say most of what Nishi does is out of love; love for his wife and to a lesser extent his disabled friend. Azuma seems to pursue criminals not out of some desire to obtain justice but more because they irritate him. He doesn't appear to try very hard in apprehending crooks, he simply goes about it the simplest way with often illegal means. One of the few times he is shown to smile is when he runs over the drug dealer, and when the dealer is injured on the ground he doesn't show any interest in arresting him; he just kicks the hell out of him. Nishi is vaguely heroic, Azuma is a nut case who we are more bewildered and amused by his actions rather than identifying him as the hero.
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