Aragami: The Raging God of Battle (2002)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Tokyo Shock / 2004
Directed by: Ryuhei Kitamura
Written by: Shôichirô Masumoto & Ryuhei Kitamura
Cast: Masaya Kato, Takao Osawa & Kanae Uotani
Review by: Adam Tracey

Two gravely injured samurai seek shelter and help in an old remote temple. They are welcomed by a beautiful and quiet young woman. One of the samurai awakens to find his body is completely healed and his comrade has passed. He meets the master of the temple who beckons him to stay the night and tells him the tail of Tengu, a creature who can fly and eats people. Over drinks the man tells the samurai that Tengu’s real identity is Aragami, the God of Battle and that he is that god. The only way the samurai can leave the temple is to fight Aragami, for Aragami wishes to die and has been looking for the man good enough to defeat him.

Aragami was a fantastic film. The setup was original, at least to this reviewer. The characters were interesting and it was easy to feel for the predicament that both men found themselves. The entire story takes place in the temple, which overlays a sense of creepiness on the story. There is a lot of dialogue here, but it is mostly conversational, so you don’t feel like you are being lectured and you aren’t looking at the clock hoping it ends soon.

• Screen Format: 1.33:1 Fullscreen
• Audio: English & Japanese / Dolby Digital 2.0
• Subtitles: English & Japanese
• Run Time: 80 mins.

• Featurette - "The Making of ARAGAMI"
• Tokyo International Fantastic Movie Festival
• RP Battle
• The Premiere
• Behind the Scenes -
  - Duel Press Conference
  - Video Message

I haven’t had this much pure fun watching a movie in some time. The fight scenes though few were outstanding. Great sword play and not too much wire work. This had a very modern feel to it mostly due to some of the cinematography and sound track. I’d easily watch this again.

“..classic samurai sensibilities mixed with a rock 'n' roll style!”