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Koroshiya 1
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Koroshiya 1 (2001) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   19,417 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Hideo Yamamoto (comic)
Sakichi Satô (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Ichi the Killer on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 July 2002 (Netherlands) more
Tagline:
Ai wa, kanari itai. (Love really hurts.) more
Plot:
When a Yakuza boss named Anjo disappears with 300 million yen, his chief henchman, a sadomasochistic man named Kakihara... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
6 wins & 1 nomination more
User Reviews:
A Miike Masterpiece more (252 total)

Cast

  (in credits order)
Tadanobu Asano ... Kakihara
Nao Omori ... Ichi
Shinya Tsukamoto ... Jijii
Paulyn Sun ... Karen (as Alien Sun)
Susumu Terajima ... Suzuki (as Sabu)
Shun Sugata ... Takayama
Toru Tezuka ... Fujiwara
Yoshiki Arizono ... Nakazawa
Kiyohiko Shibukawa ... Ryu Long (as Kee)
Satoshi Niizuma ... Inoue
Suzuki Matsuo ... Jirô / Saburô
Jun Kunimura ... Funaki
Hiroyuki Tanaka ... Kaneko
Moro Morooka ... Coffee Shop Manager
Houka Kinoshita ... Sailor's Lover
Hiroshi Kobayashi ... Takeshi
Mai Goto ... Sailor
Rio Aoki ... Miyuki
Yoshiyuki Morishita ... Pub Patron
Setchin Kawaya ... Pub Proprietor
Yuki Kazamatsuri ... Yakuza Girl
Sakichi Satô ... Man Kicking Ichi
Kaori Sugawara
Hideo Sako
Mako Takeda
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Masataka Haji
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Directed by
Takashi Miike 
 
Writing credits
Hideo Yamamoto (comic)

Sakichi Satô (screenplay)

Produced by
Yuchul Cho .... co-producer
Akiko Funatsu .... producer
Toshiki Kimura .... associate producer: Excellent Film
Sumiji Miyake .... executive producer
Dai Miyazaki .... producer
Elliot Tong .... co-producer
Albert Yeung .... executive producer: EMG
Toyoyuki Yokohama .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Karera Musication 
Seiichi Yamamoto 
 
Cinematography by
Hideo Yamamoto 
 
Film Editing by
Yasushi Shimamura 
 
Casting by
Mitsuyo Ishigaki 
 
Production Design by
Takashi Sasaki 
 
Costume Design by
Michiko Kitamura 
 
Makeup Department
Yûichi Matsui .... special makeup effects artist (as Yuichi Matsu)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kimiyoshi Adachi .... first assistant director
Masato Tanno .... second assistant director
 
Sound Department
Yoshiya Obara .... sound
 
Visual Effects by
Misako Saka .... visual effects supervisor
 
Music Department
Holeg Spies .... title music re-mixer
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsSpecial EffectsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Ichi the Killer (International: English title)
Koroshiya ichi (Japan) (alternative spelling)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong perverse violence/gore and sexuality, language and drug content.
Runtime:
129 min | USA:117 min (heavily cut) | Germany:110 min (heavily cut) | UK:120 min
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The name Ichi means "one", which is why he wears a yellow number 1 on his costume. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Kakihara is attacked in the streets, protective padding is visible under his clothing. Look for it when he bends over backwards without falling over, before he removes his piercings. more
Quotes:
Ichi: Did... you really want me to rape you, Miss Tachibana?
Karen: Oh, no. I didn't want it from you. I wanted it from anyone. The only thing that can help me now is despair.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Koroshiya 1: The Animation Episode 0 (2002) (V) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
43 out of 64 people found the following review useful.
A Miike Masterpiece, 20 July 2006
10/10
Author: et_exorsismorum from Texas

Ichi the Killer is a landmark picture in Japanese Cinema. It is an audio and visual attack on the senses (and gag reflex) which adopts a unique style of movie/comic book- hybrid film making. A real Miike masterpiece!

Kakihara is not your typical Yakuza gangster. He is sadistic, masochistic, depraved, has a hair trigger for violence, and is really really upset that someone has kidnapped his boss, Anjo and taken off with 100 million yen. So, torturing his way through the underworld, he manages to get kicked out of the Yakuza and finds out, too late, that it was a man called Ichi that killed his boss and is now after him. Kakihara then sets out for revenge and vindication in the name of Anjo.

Ichi, on the other hand, seems to be a more simple kind of guy who works for an ex-cop who loves to wreak havoc on the Yakuza. Ichi's work is thought to be that of a brutally insane and blood thirsty maniac. But, upon meeting him, one can't help but notice his peculiar innocence and naiveté. However, it is this very feature that makes him so deadly.

When these two forces collide, it's endless violence, torture, rape, murder, blood, gore, and underworld danger and depravity. Ichi the Killer is a movie that directors like Quentin Tarantino only dream of making. If films were people, his Kill Bills would only watch and drool at Ichi the Killer!

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