Be a Man! Samurai School
| Sakigake! Otokojuku | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tak Sakaguchi |
| Written by | Tak Sakaguchi Akira Miyashita (original manga) |
| Produced by | Keiko Kusakabe Koichi Kusakabe Toshiki Kimura |
| Starring | Tak Sakaguchi Shōei Hiroyuki Onoue Shintaro Yamada Hideo Sakaki Akaji Maro Gō Ayano Shuya Yoshimoto Taketari no Yamaguchi Yoshiaki Yoza Tetsushi Tanaka Shun Sugata Kentarō Shimazu |
| Cinematography | Shinichi Fujita |
| Edited by | Seiji Harimoto |
| Music by | Junichi Soga |
| Distributed by | There's Entertainment |
Release dates |  January 21, 2008 |
Running time | 110 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Sakigake!! Otokojuku (魁!!男塾, Charge!! Men's Private School) is a 2008 Japanese film written, directed by and starring Tak Sakaguchi in his directorial debut. It is based on Akira Miyashita's manga series of the same name.
The film's subtitle, Be A Man! Samurai School, is a loose translation of the Japanese title.
The films ending theme was Yaiba (刃, Blade) by The Back Horn.
Plot Summary
The film begins Ryuuji Toramaru (Shintaro Yamada) running through the woods on his way to the Otokojuku entrance ceremony, survivng being hit by a car and well enough to flirt with the driver afterwards. Genji Togashi (Shōei) visits his brother's grave and informs him that he too will be enrolling in Otokojuku. Young yakuza successor Hidemaro Gokukouji (Hiroyuki Onoue) runs into thugs from Kanto Gogakuren while partying, but is saved by Momotaro Tsurugi (Tak Sakaguchi). When Hidemaro asks for Momo's cell number, Momo informs he has no such thing and tells him to find him at the Otokojuku entrance ceremony. As it turns out, Hidemaro's mother already plans to send him to Otokojuku in order to become a man. She tells him that if his father had only gone to Otokojuku, he'd still be with them today.
At the enrollment ceremony, Hidemaro is assaulted by head intructor Oni-Hige (Shun Sugata) for not getting in line properly. After he finds Momo and meets Togashi, Oni-Hige introduces the prinicpal, Heihachi Edajima (Akaji Maro). Edajima gives his introductory speech, "I am the Otokojuku headmaster, Heihachi Edajima!!" so loudly he shatters the windows of Otokojuku. He then says "That is all" and dismisses all the first years to clean up the glass in the hallways. Soon after, they are told to report outside to recieve orientation from the 2nd years. At orientation, 1st years Tazawa (Taketori no Yamaguchi) and Matsuo (Yoshiaki Yoza) are forced by Tange and the 2nd years to perform ridiculous tasks and manly performances. Togashi and Toramaru stand up to Tange and a brawl breaks out and Momo gets involved. The fight is interrupted by 2nd year leader Gouji Akashi (Tetsushi Tanaka), who challenges Momo to a sword fight, which itself is interrupted by Oni-Hige before a true victor can be decided.
After finidng a pair of underwear, drill instructor Iron Helmet (Kentarō Shimazu) summons all the students for a uniform inspection. He informs the students that all real men wear a fundoshi and that the owner of the briefs will be punished. Togashi can see from his face that they belong to Hidemaro, so he confesses to preferring briefs. Iron Helmet decides to test Togashi's toughness by forcing him to endure one of Otokojuku's specialties, the Oil Bath. He is placed in a tub of oril with a candle on a leaf while wearing just a fundoshi. As the oil gets hotter, Togashi perseveres until the candle goes out as a message of manliness to Hidemaro. Hidemaro can't take it anymore so he runs away in the middle of the night. After words of encouragement from Shioya, the last remaining member of the Gokukouji clan, he returns to Otokojuku just as Momo is being scolded by Oni-Hige for letting him escape. The two of them are placed inside twin cells, one of which has a collapsable ceiling that Momo must hold up by chain in the other cell in order to keep Hidemaro from being crushed. After several days, they are released and have a newfound feeling of trust in each other.
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Cast
- Tak Sakaguchi as Momotaro Tsurugi
- Shōei as Genji Togashi
- Hiroyuki Onoue as Hidemaro Gokukouji
- Shintaro Yamada as Ryuuji Toramaru
- Tetsushi Tanaka as Gouji Akashi
- Akaji Maro as Heihachi Edajima
- Hideo Sakaki as Omito Date
- Gō Ayano as Hien
- Shuya Yoshimoto as Gekkou
- Taketari no Yamaguchi as Shinichiro Tazawa
- Yoshiaki Yoza as Taio Matsuo
- Shun Sugata as Oni-Hige
- Kentarō Shimazu as Tetsu Kabuto
- Tomoko Nakajima as Shinobu Gokukouji
- Tatsuo Yamada as Shioya
- Masaki Miura as Tange
- Kaoru Hirata as Erika
- Hiroshi Ryōgoku as Ryougoku
- Junkichi Orimoto as Shura
- Takashi Hamazaki as Fuukai
- HIRO as Rinkai
- Kenji Takayama as Tsubakiyama
- Shin Yazawa as Woman in car (cameo)
- Ayano Tsuji as Ukulele Girl (cameo)
- Bakko Maeda as Man at Gyudon House
- Yutaka Hiyama as Kanto Gogakuren Member
- Shigeru Chiba as Narration
Changes from original manga
- The characters J and Raiden do not appear in the film, as a result the Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu becomes the Kyoura Daisan Kyousatsu (驚邏大三凶殺, Three Great Astonishing Assaults).