Sukiyaki Western Django is a Spaghetti Western by Takashi Miike starring almost entirely Japanese people, with almost exclusively English dialogue. There are two exceptions to both: one of each of them is filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who opens the film in a flashback where he tells the age-old tale about a war, a recurrence of which he takes part in much later in his life. He then throws an egg in the air, shoots 3 people whose blood splatters the backdrop, and then extends one hand to catch the egg to an accompanying slide whistle. It's that kind of movie.
The film takes its plot from the Spaghetti Western film genre - Django, among others, hence the name, although significant plot elements come from Yojimbo and its de facto remake A Fistful of Dollars: sukiyaki is a hot pot or "steamboat" dish often used as a generic label of "Japaneseness".
This film contains examples of:
- Arbitrary Gun Power: Sometimes, gun shots will blow you across the room, and some times they'll just be annoying.
- Bittersweet Ending: The two rival clans are defeated and the hero gets (but walks away from) the gold, but nearly every single one of his allies is killed by the end.
- Blown Across the Room: The Mercy Kill on the guy who gets a sword 6 inches in his head blows him out of frame.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": the leader of the Reds insists on being called Henry, instead of his birth name of Kiyomori, after Henry VI, because "in Shakespeare's story, the Reds win".
- Faux Fluency: Filmed with English dialogue by Japanese actors, most of whom don't speak English all that well, or at all. This can lend to its Narm Charm as they struggle through their lines phonetically, usually mangling them all to hell, with many viewers finding it So Bad, It's Good.
- Quentin Tarantino both has a line in Japanese and a line in English with a sudden dramatic Japanese accent.
- "QUUUUUEEEEAM GWWWWAAAAVVYYYYYY!!"
- Flat "What":Quentin Tarantino/Ringo:"AKIRA! Oh, how that lonesome sound brings me back. At the end, I am an anime otaku at heart."Other Guy: "... What?"
- Gatling Good: See the 5 o'clock position on the page image.
- Hollywood Atlas: More astute viewers may notice that Nevada is not in Japan.
- Immune to Bullets: Bloody Benten reacts to being shot in the back 3 times by turning around and looking annoyed.
- Implausible Fencing Powers: Along with Barehanded Blade Block, the Whites/Genji's leader Yoshitsune can deflect bullets with his katana.
- Lead the Target: Used by the leader of the whites, Yoichi, who shoots "Henry" from kilometers away by "boomeranging" the bullets with gravity into his path. Three times!
- Madness Mantra: During the final battle, Henry keeps stating that "This time, the Reds win!"
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: It is the Sheriff that kills the legendary Bloody Benten at the end of the movie. And he is immediately killed by the old woman from the mountains with a grave marker.
- Theme Music Withholding: A cover of Franco Migliacci's Django theme appears in the final scene.
- Throw-Away Guns: In one shot in the final battle, the protagonist throws an empty gun through a man.
- Worthy Opponent: Yoshitsune claims to be searching for this his entire life and thinks he finds it in the protagonist.