The Rough One

Yasuharu Hasebe directed this fiercely kinetic tale of wannabe yakuza youths (Akira Kobayashi, Tatsuya Fuji, et al.). When not cooking up scams with his buddies, Kobayashi develops a crush on Fuji’s disgusted sister, Masako Izumi. But soon the young hoods run afoul of their underworld idols when they rob the wrong gang, led by brutal boss Jotaro Togami. The saga begins with a bumptious comic tone but descends into appropriately grim territory once blood has been shed and mischievous youthful illusions are shattered. When Kobayashi’s pals start to bite the dust, he hooks up with a more traditional yakuza (Ryoji Hayama) to retaliate.