Shamo movie: Anyone see it, if not, well here is what it is.

[AAAhmed46]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppf1Y54t ... r_embedded

Based on the manga, the manga is supposedly based on a true story, but i have yet to get hard evidence of that.


Basically, the main charecter studies what is the equivalent of kyokushin in shamo, and enters k1(clearly based on it) and then enters the MMA world after learning Jujutsu and wrestling. He killed his parents, and we as the reader/viewer are left wondering why he did it.

I liked this manga because, as horrible as he is(murderer, rapist, madman) you cant help cheering for him throughout the manga. He inst your cool anti-hero like batman, he is the damn joker.
The martial arts are far more realistic then alot of manga, especially since it plays with the MMA world and full contact karate world. i once again hope this is the case with the movie.


Now, i am currently getting a hold of the movie. I hope it stands up to the manga....if not, well maybe you all may enjoy the comic better.

[Jason Rees]

Yay, let's cheer for the murderer/rapist.
Truly a standard-bearer for the genre.

[IJ]

So offended at 0:39; I hope permission wasn't granted.

[AAAhmed46]

Yay, let's cheer for the murderer/rapist.
Truly a standard-bearer for the genre.

But thats not what this story is about, though who knows how they will portray this in the movie.

The way the manga stacks up the odds against him, and his drive(which also drives him to do bad things) makes him a sort of underdog. But not a nice underdog, but an underdog none the less.
And...WHY did he kill his parents, and is his violence and evil acts voluntary or something else? The audience is left with the thought that perhaps they are compulsive actions not under his control. The manga in one scene(we will see about the movie) basically shows him going all out in his evil toward his opponents, raping one mans wife to get him to fight. After Ryo totally ruins the man, suddenly his expression, and even his speech and mannerism change. He then starts begging the man to wake up, he acts like his friend was just killed. His actions prior were beyond antagonistic, yet somehow after he totally ruins his enemies, he treats them with utmost respect bordering love...after they are dead or comatose.

Think of clock work orange. After prison, he has everything stacked against him. Remember the message of clock work orange? Violence can be the price of individuality. The clock work orange book ends with him essentially becoming a good person without all the brain washing, but how many horrible acts did he do to become that way?



Here, wikipedia actually sums it up very well:

From wikipedia.

Throughout the manga Ryo Narushima is consistently depicted as being unrepentant for the murder of his parents and is shown repeatedly committing morally repugnant crimes such as assault and rape. Though capable of redemption (as evidenced by his care-taking of his sister and various small charitable acts shown throughout the manga) ultimately Narushima is depicted as a Byronic hero spiraling into darkness, his chances at reform slowly ebbing away as he gives in to more and more of his depraved and brutal tendencies.

A minor theme throughout the manga is society's morally-based stratification, how it condemns young criminals like Narushima, and how that condemnation forces Narushima to the fringes of society making his chances of true reform and redemption even more remote.

Various supporting characters within Shamo act as dramatic foils to Narushima, with Noata Sugawara being the primary example of this. Famous, rich, and beloved for the same abilities that make Narushima a social pariah, Sugawara's presence can be seen as an example of society's cognitive dissonance towards violence. Narushima is reviled for his violent traits, while Sugawara is praised & rewarded for using those same traits in a slightly different context.

This story was inspired by the Kobe children serial murders of 1997 that a 14-year-old "Boy A" ("Shōnen A") killed and decapitated several children.

Ryo Narushima is modeled after two persons:

* Juvenile delinquency part: The "Youth A".
* Martial art part: Ryu Narushima (成島竜?) of Kyokushin. This Karate fighter's name has same pronunciation as the main character's name.

[AAAhmed46]

Actually here it is in far shorter terms:

Just because the character is utterly evil, does not mean the story is evil or bad.

Like Scarface: Good movie, bad man.

I bet they screwed this movie up. God bless interwebz to save money.

Anyway, even if he is evil...this movie is probably better then never back down.

[Jason Rees]

Anyway, even if he is evil...this movie is probably better then never back down.

That kindof leaves the field wide open.

[AAAhmed46]

Anyway, even if he is evil...this movie is probably better then never back down.

That kindof leaves the field wide open.

I hope we have a good MMA movie come out soon. So far...meh. Well, red belt wasnt so bad.

[Jason Rees]

Red Belt... bleh. Agenda flicks.

[IJ]

Red Belt was an agenda flick but I found the more significant flaw was the crackhead author - director. "The Spanish Prisoner" was interesting but Mamet's dialogue is sooo distracting.

[AAAhmed46]

Just watched Shamo.


I did not mind it since i knew what was going on from the comic...

But from the perspective of a new viewer, the movie makes no sense.

It starts off great, good character development. But then quickly turns into a sport movie with a horrible character.

The empty hand fight scenes are decent, but when they play like kick boxers, they look horrible, the fights look horrible.

The actor does a good job as Ryo, but he should have trained harder.