MovieChat Forums > Koroshiya 1 (2001) Discussion > The Manga - Thoughts?

The Manga - Thoughts?

posted 13 years ago by SilverShadow007
10 replies | jump to latest

So I've just finished reading the manga of Ichi the Killer and well, it was interesting to say the least! I really enjoyed reading it, despite having to force myself not to look away at points. I didn't think that you could get any more violent than this movie but I was wrong. It was very twisted, dark and disturbing, but I enjoyed it.

So to people who've read the manga, what did you think? Do you think the movie did it justice? And do you prefer the movie characters or the manga ones?

Kakihara is my absolute favourite character in the movie and I prefer the movie version to the manga. The movie Kakihara was twisted, sick but he also had a dark sense of humour, something which I thought the manga version was lacking.

I also thought that the twins in the manga are probably the sickest characters I've ever come across. They were terrifying. I think the movie could have made a lot more use of them and made them more similar to the manga. I didn't find the movie version of the twins very threatening, didn't really live up to their reputation for me.

But I love both the movie and now the manga. Both brilliant in their own ways.

How about you guys?

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[–] Colour_Blind 13 years ago

Congrats, you survived Ichi the Killer. That's a really nice write-up, BTW.

I didn't think that you could get any more violent than this movie but I was wrong. It was very twisted, dark and disturbing, but I enjoyed it.

I think I'm the only person on earth who read the manga before watching the movie. I heard of the movie before, but I never really got around to watching it until after I finished the manga. I gotta say, the movie was pretty tame in comparison.

So to people who've read the manga, what did you think? Do you think the movie did it justice? And do you prefer the movie characters or the manga ones?

I thought the movie was more cartoonish than the manga, if you know what I mean. Takashi Miike also added his own surrealist touches just because he felt like it, such as the bizarro ending. I can't say if the movie did the original manga justice, since it's a 2000-page story that needed to be stripped down to its basics. The characters in the manga were much more developed as human beings, which I liked. So all in all, I prefer the manga by a small margin.

As for the main characters - Kakihara was better in the movie (and more insane) and Ichi was better in the manga.

I think the movie could have made a lot more use of them and made them more similar to the manga. I didn't find the movie version of the twins very threatening, didn't really live up to their reputation for me.

Yeah, that was pretty much how I reacted to them as well. Really underwhelming, after reading the manga. They were just a giggly pair of short-asses in the movie...no way one of these midgets could rip a man's arm out of its socket. The giants from the manga were a hundred times more scary, I agree.

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[–] Little_Korean 13 years ago

Twisted, dark and disturbing - that pretty much sums both versions up.

I saw the film first and I enjoyed it in a 'I can't believe this is happening or that the film is making me watch this' way. Then I came across the manga, and braced myself for the worse...I should have braced myself harder. Damn thing had me glued to the computer screen, practically in mortal terror, not so much as to what was going to happen next, but how.

The manga makes a bit more sense - I can't say I was following the plot very much while watching the film because there didn't seem to have much of a plot to follow. At times it seemed to be veering into the territory of being a screwball comedy, especially with Kakihara, and then lurch right back into the horrific with a rape or (can't believe I'm typing this) nipple-slicing scene.
The manga was consistent with its horrors, I have to give it that. I thought Berserk was the most warped manga had come across until I found Ichi and it shoved Berserk aside for that dubious top spot.

I agree with you guys on the twins, except that I found them scary enough in the film but then, that was before I read the manga. Had it been the other way around, the movie twins might have left me scratching my head. The twins made the manga what it was, no doubt about that, along with Kakihara's endlessly fascinating facial expressions and Ichi's bizarro mindset.

The manga does explain better what Jiji and his gang were all about - whatever the film version of Jiji hoped to accomplish, I had no idea.

But I love both the movie and now the manga. Both brilliant in their own ways.

You've hit the nail on the head for me!

When darkness overcomes the heart, Lil' Slugger appears...

[–] sepsism 13 years ago

While I love the film the Manga is superior IMHO.

As much as I love Kakihara in the film I prefer him in the Manga, one of my main reasons. The other is thatthere's just so much sick violent sh#t in the Manga that didn't make it into the film. I thought Takashi Miike would have run with these scenes but I guess everyone has limits.

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[–] spawnen 13 years ago

I liked the manga more.

I hated that they changed the ending in the movie.
They basically tried to force Kakihara to be a badass through the entire film.
The ending in the manga made a bigger impact because Kakihara went out like a wimp, which is uncommon when it comes to villains.

I also thought the brothers had too little to do in the story. I loved how they competed in the manga with who could be the most brutal.

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wat

[–] sirbaboo 8 years ago

Kakihara's ending in the manga made no sense to me.. I can see why it was changed for the screen adaptation.

[–] movie_nazi 12 years ago

Gosh, it's been so long since I read the manga but I do remember that the manga was much more brutal. One particular scene that stuck with me was the heroin dealer that Kakihara goes to see looking for his boss. She had a little dachshund dog that was acting ill and then it shows her giving the dog a shot of heroin. That totally shocked the s&^t out of me! I'm one of those weirdos that can see all kinds of brutality towards people whether it be men or woman and not be fazed by it but when I see brutality to animals, especially domesticated animals, it just turns my stomach. Suffice it to say the manga (and the film for that matter) does a better job in shocking and disturbing you than most horror flicks. I laugh to myself thinking what the reaction would be if they released this film in the states as I imagine people running screaming and whimpering from the theater. This film would undoubtedly receive an NC-17 here.

But I digress to the OP question. As with most films based on previously written material the original piece is usually better and it's because it can include more detail and it is not constrained by trying to fit everything inside a particular time frame. I also remember that the ending was changed as well which always irks me. I personally liked the manga better but the movie was a fun watch.

My vote history link:http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=5504773

[–] donpadilla 8 years ago

I just finished reading the manga and saw the movie tonight.

I liked the manga a lot more than the movie. Kakihara was my favorite character in the manga and I thought he was the best character in the movie. I didn't like how Ichi was portrayed in the movie.

I thought the movie was ok. I rated it a 7-10

[–] heidegg-1 8 years ago

If I had to criticize the manga then it would be the fact that most of the major characters fail due to acts of criminal incompetence. By taking drugs and going psychotic or going out when they shouldn't (Jijis teammates), by bowing down in front of someone who kills people with kicks to the head (second brother), being too nice to do your job competently (Kaneko) or having a death wish that you can't follow through with to the end (Kakihara).

Sometimes I think that the manga is supposed to bea a deconstruction of Yakuza story character archetypes but they are not incompetent enough to make such an intention credible.

[–] StaunchWoman 8 years ago

I love both the manga and film version, but all in all, prefer the manga. It's got so much more, which is to be expected.

I like that we see much more of Jiji's manipulations in the manga. We also get a much more personal view of Ichi during his down time.

It also offers a bit more information. Stuff like how Jiji's not very old at all, but has had surgery to look old and seemingly unthreatening. At the beginning in the bar, when Kakihara provides Karen's company a glasgow smile using his long needles, you figure that's the same method that was used on Kakihara, maybe by Anjou.

And as previously mentioned, the twins are quite tame in the film compared to their manga versions.

We've met before, haven't we?

[–] GottaLoveAsock 7 years ago

I never knewed their was a manga! That is my next buy!

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