Miike Takashi is one of our favorite directors at Screen Anarchy. You kind find detailed reviews of his work going back to the very early days of the site over 14 years ago, so when a new work appears, we always jump on it. One of the latest films to hit US home video is his recent manga adaptation, As the Gods Will, a super gory, bizarro, FX laden teen survival adventure.
One day a traditional Japanese doll head called a Daruma appears in a high school classroom and appears to play a game with the students. These games are all traditional children's games, but the stakes are far more deadly than anyone ever expected. Heads explode, some children are eaten, others are smashed; before long there are only a few remaining and the only thing they have left to survive is each other.
Ard Vijn reviewed the film at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2015 and had this to say:
[W]hile it is nowhere near Miike's best, it is a very entertaining slice of "gory and batshit crazy" indeed.
Those looking for social commentary or a satire about economic Darwinism will have to look elsewhere, or at least wait for the next film: in this one, Miike is clearly just out to entertain us with some thrilling, flashy, un-clean fun.
I tend to agree. There's nothing groundbreaking about As the Gods Will, but it is among Miike's better recent attempts at gonzo cinema. I liked it more than Yakuza Apocalypse and thought it certainly moved along better than Blade of the Immortal, but your mileage may vary.
The Disc:
As the Gods Will looks great on Blu-ray from FUNimation. Unfortunately for fans, the disc is bare bones apart from a few Japanese and US market trailers. I recommend the film, for sure, but most places I've seen have priced it a bit higher than I'd find appropriate for such a slim package.