The Violence Action is the Japanese live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese manga series written by Shin Sawada and illustrated Renji Asai. It was announced that the series would receive a “screen adaptation” in 2020. In February 2022, the live-action adaptation of the screen adaptation was announced.
The live-action is directed by Tōichirō Rutō and co-written by Itaru Era. Starring Kanna Hashimoto in the lead role, the movie originally premiered on August 19, 2022, in Japan. The rest of the cast includes Fumika Baba, Shunsuke Daitô, Kenta Izuka, Win Morisaki, Takashi Okamura, Yûri Ota, Jirô Satô, Yu Shirota, Yôsuke Sugino, Oji Suzuka, and Katsunori Takahashi.
The cinematography of the movie is done by Gaku Takano and distributed by Sony Pictures. Produced by Yuki Seike, the film was released on Netflix on November 18, 2022.
Netflix synopsis of the movie reads:
She’s just a regular, sweet-looking college student by day. But by night, she’s a part-time assassin — and she’s about to face her toughest target yet.
-The Violence Action Review Does Not Contain Spoilers-
I started watching the film with lots of expectations. It did deliver in some aspects but felt extremely short in some. As the title suggests, the movie is a non-stop action drama. The movie starts off by introducing the main character, Kei Kikuno, who leads a double life. An ordinary lively student by day and a deadly assassin by night.
The plot of the movie is well-written. The story did not derail too much from the manga and was successful in including some of the important arcs. The progression of the story was gradual, which also gave room for character development. The plot was able to display adequate information on each character and their background story.
Unlike the main characters, the story’s antagonist does not live up to the expectations. Enough focus is not given to villains, which is the major minus point of the movie. They were reduced to being comic relief and were not as impactful as the protagonists.
Also Read: The Mosquito Coast Season 2 Episode 3 Recap And Review: Disagreements And Conspiracy Start To Rise
Finally, arriving at the central segment of the movie: the action sequence. To put it lightly, it did not live up to the mark. The unrealistic movement of the characters rather seemed more comical. The CGI, the abrupt cuts and the camera work between fights felt unnecessary. The characters teleporting and flying in the air for an entire minute in 2022 is disappointing. Overall, some scenes were eloquently executed.
Kanna Hashimoto gave a satisfactory performance. She managed to pull off the role of a pink-haired assassin with an upbeat personality and kept the audience hooked. The performance of Yôsuke Sugino, who played the role of a brother seeking revenge, was also impressive. The role of the main antagonist, played by Yuu Shirota, could have been better if it was well-written, but regardless the actor showed commitment to his role throughout.
Lastly, the movie’s background score lived up to the expectations as Japanese media is known for incorporating music in their story-telling process. The styling of the characters was also sufficiently good enough, it felt like the characters had come to life straight from the comic.
The Violence Action: Final Thoughts
The story about a young girl leading a double life will be quite amusing to the viewers. The live-action adaptation fell short in a lot of aspects, but it can still be enjoyable to the viewers. The manga readers would thoroughly enjoy watching their favourite characters come to life. The Violence Action can also be enjoyed by the ones who is not familiar with the graphic novel.
The Violence Action is now streaming on Netflix.
Did you watch The Violence Action yet? Let us know in the comments below!
Also Read: Disenchanted Review: Adventurous Fairy Tale that Finds Firm Ground After Much Wobbling