Goro Fujikawa is a Yakuza in a tough spot. Having just been released from prison for stabbing another hitman, his gang is on the decline and his rivals are on the rise. Goro tries to reconcile with his past, while his rivals plot a final strike on his clan. All parties spiral towards a confrontation that can only end in bloodshed.
Tropes:
- Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: While Goro is locked up, his fiancee Saeko leaves him for a salaryman.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Several women in the movie are shown to be entranced by the yakuza. Goro finds them all foolish.
- Being Evil Sucks: The yakuza life is depicted as a harsh one, where you're constantly making enemies and worrying if your next step will be your last before they finally catch up to you, with even sworn blood brothers and biological brothers turning against each other. The only people willing to live it are former street kids who joined out of desperation and dishonorable sociopaths. Even redemption is a fool's errand, as the rest will stop at nothing to kill you for trying.
- Big Bad: Ueno, head of a Yakuza clan trying to destroy Goro's.
- Cain and Abel: Takeo and Isamu Tsuzikawa, two brothers in rival yakuza clans. They have a friendly relationship before things escalate, and both are forced to come to blows until another yakuza kills Isamu.
- Cynicism Catalyst: Goro takes up crime after his younger sister dies.
- Dark and Troubled Past: After his sister dies of an illness because she was turned away by doctors, Goro Fujikawa becomes a street urchin stealing to live. Sent to juvenile hall for his crimes, Goro escapes with the help of Sugiyama, who he sees as an older brother. Unfortunately, they join rival yakuza clans, and Goro is forced to nearly kill Sugiyama to defend his boss.
- Downer Ending: Sugiyama is killed by Ueno assassins, and Goro lies to his and Sugiyama's wives so they'll still leave town. After completely massacring the Ueno clan, a severely-wounded Goro crawls into an alley to bleed out. Undercut by the sequels, which show that he survived.
- I Have Your Wife: Ueno orders Goro's ally Suzuki kidnapped in retaliation for Goro stabbing one of his men. He lets Suzuki go when Goro agrees to cut off his own finger in penance before revealing he already killed Suzuki.
- Job Title
- Just Got Out of Jail: The opening act is Gore trying to reacclimatize to society after three years in jail.
- Manly Tears: Goro starts quietly sobbing after he learns Takeo has been killed.
- Monochrome Past: The opening scenes, which showcase Goro's Dark and Troubled Past, are in black and white. The rest of the movie is in colour.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Mizuhara was planning to make peace with Ueno in a way both benefit from. However, Ueno wants the entire pie and is willing to kill to get it.
- Redemption Equals Death:
- Takeo tries to skip town and make an honest living elsewhere, but an assassin kills him just as he's about to get on the train.
- Sugiyama reconnects with Goro and tries to fight off assassins sent to kill him, but is killed himself in the process.
- Resignations Not Accepted: Takeo tries to leave the yakuza but an assassin kills him instead.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The climax involves Goro massacring the Ueno clan for all the trouble they've put him through.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: The climactic battle is completely silent, save for a melancholic ballad about a lost loved one.
- Tragic Keepsake: Gore keeps a picture of his dead sister on him at all times.
- Tsundere: Kimiko reveals that she was so cold to Takeo because she loved him
- Villain Protagonist: Goro Fujikawa, a Yakuza trying to get his gang back to the top of the heap.
- We Used to Be Friends: Goro and Sugiyama were blood brothers in their youths, but are now in rival clans. They reconnect near the end and Sugiyama tries to talk his comrades down from fighting Goro, but they kill him instead.
- You Monster!: Kimiko goes on a rant about how awful the yakuza are right in front of three of them. Takeo nearly slaps her for it but Goro stops him.
- Yubitsume: In order to save Suzuki, Goro cuts off his finger and gives it to his kidnapper Ueno as apology for stabbing one of his men. Unfortunately, Ueno already killed Suzuki.
