Fantasia 2025 Review: BLAZING FISTS, Takashi Miike Explores Wayward Young Boys In Battle. Again.

A pair of wayward teens stuck in a juvenile detention center find inspiration in MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura's Breaking Down competition in Miike Takashi's Blazing Fists.

Ikuto (Kinoshita Danhi) and Ryoma (Yoshizawa Kaname) meet in juvenile detention after both are sent down for dubious crimes. Ikuto is a brawler who has made a nasty reputation for himself while behind bars. Multiple stints in solitary confinement and a penchant for beating the crap out of anyone who crosses him have turned him into an inmate feared by his fellow residents and hated by the guards. Ryoma, on the other hand, is soft spoken and seems a bit too delicate for the life of a thug, but there’s something simmering below the surface that is waiting to erupt.

When MMA fighter and YouTube fight promoting legend Mikuru arrives at their detention center to deliver an inspirational speech designed to help the kids follow their dreams, both Ikuto and Ryoma decide to train as fighters to appear on his show and make their way as prize fighters. Once they both get released and start up at a local gym, they are reminded that while they might be done with the past, the past isn’t through with them when local high school hoodlums aim to settle old scores, leading to a number of burly brawls that put Ikuto and Ryoma’s dreams in danger.

The teenage-boys-find-community-through-fighting subgenre of juvenile crime films is one of legendarily the prolific Miike Takashi’s favorite sandboxes to play in. With a filmography that long ago surpassed a hundred feature films, there aren’t many genres that Miike hasn’t explored, but this particular exploration of troubled youths is where a lot of his greatest dramatic successes lay. From 1995’s Osaka Tough Guys, to 1997’s Young Thugs: Nostalgia, to the Crows: Zero films of the 2000’s and more, Miike feels an affinity for these characters seeking a sense of belonging and finding it through wholesome violence.

With that being said, though Blazing Fists is a solid entry in his oeuvre, it is far from the best of this subset of films. Fans who haven’t done a Miike deep dive – which is a totally understandable thing as few filmmakers have as intimidating a career as he does – will definitely find a lot to enjoy in Blazing Fists, and I’ll admit, it also quite liked the film. However, for those intrepid few who have been down the rabbit hole, there’s not a lot of freshness to the proceedings here, with much of Blazing Fists feeling like warmed over Miike fighting tropes just with newer, younger, prettier faces being beaten to a pulp.

After thirty-five years of producing some of Japan’s most recognizable cinema, it would be tough for Miike to make every film a unique gem, and Blazing Fists fits more firmly in the programmer category than the work of an auteur. Which, by the way, is perfectly fine. A lot of Blazing Fists is ticking boxes. Troubled youth? Check. Empathetic backstory? Check. A girl loves watching her man fight but hates to see him get hurt? Check. Kids stumbling in the grown folks’ business? Check. Blazing Fists does exactly what you want it to do with razor sharp efficiency and I applaud it for that.

Where the film does excel is in the occasional Miike stylistic flourishes that seem out of place tonally, but remind the viewer that even though this may feel pretty standard, that we are in the hands of an artist. There is a ton seemingly out-of-place humor sprinkled throughout the film, giving Blazing Fists the feel of a live action anime or manga adaptation – it isn’t. There is the occasionally ambitious camerawork and blocking that provides a bit of humorous flair during moments of stoicism. Then there are the seemingly incongruous cameos from Miike mainstays like Terajima Susumu thrown in there for the old heads.

In spite of all of my reservations, Blazing Fists still delivers effective drama, plenty of dreamy young potential heartthrobs, and tons of serious fighting that is impressive enough to hold the audience’s attention. Though it is certainly difficult to keep myself from comparing this work to his previous efforts in the same space, when considered on its own, Blazing Fists is still one hell of a good time. There is enough quality filmmaking here to catch first time Miike viewers and perhaps turn them into fans, but not enough to blow minds, and that’s perfectly fine.