Check Out The First Teaser For Ishii Takashi's Violent Crime Thriller GONIN SAGA

A riveting piece of cinema that plays like a superb combination of Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Kitano 'Beat' Takeshi films circa 1993, Ishii Takashi's unrelentingly violent, socially conscious 1995 neo-noir thriller Gonin (sometimes translated as The Five) undeniably served as one of the most satisfying additions to the yakuza gangster genre of the the 20th century. Following the collapse of Japan's bubble economy in 1991, the film centers on five men trying to steal a large sum of cash from local gangsters. Their hastily prepared plan doesn't go well and they end up being followed by contract killers.

Due to the original feature's huge success both in Japan and abroad, Ishii decided to make Gonin 2 only a year later with an almost all-female cast, but the film wasn't as well received as its predecessor. Despite what many people claim, Gonin 2 wasn't meant to be a sequel and thus shouldn't be treated as such, mainly because it follows a totally different story and features a different set of actors.

That Ishii officially began shooting Gonin Saga (GONIN サーガ) on location in Tokyo and Yokohama in June 2014 should please not only his fans, but also all the people who have lost faith in the yakuza genre. Reportedly written as a direct sequel to Gonin, the upcoming gangster epic focuses on Hisamatsu Yuto (played by talented young actor Higashide Masahiro), a son of one of the thugs killed in the first film, and his quest for revenge against the Gosei-kai, a fictional yakuza syndicate. The film was scripted by Ishii himself and also stars Kiritani Kenta, Tsuchiya Anna, Ando Masanobu, Nezu Jinpachi, Emote Tasuku and Takenaka Naoto.

The first 30-second teaser, which can be seen below, includes scenes from the original picture and offers a glimpse of the cast. Featured caption reads as "19 years after Gonin a new legend begins."

Gonin Saga opens in Japanese cinemas on September 26th.
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