Yakuza Princess follows a young Japanese woman living in Sao Paulo who has inherited half of the Yakuza crime syndicate after surviving a childhood tragedy. A wounded amnesiac comes in contact with a blade said to capture the souls of its victims (no,this isn’t a Suicide Squad prequel) that draws him to her and helps her fend off the other half who want her dead.
Based on the graphic novel Samurai Shiro by Brazilian illustrator Daniel Beyruth, the film stars Japanese singer MASUMI in her big screen debut as Akemi, the titular “princess” who works during the day and trains in kendo after hours and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Shiro, trying to piece together who he was. The aforementioned tragedy is what starts the film and sets the stage for a gripping, poignant narrative. What the film ends up being is something else entirely.
With an enthralling title like Yakuza Princess, it seems virtually impossible to not expect a thrilling, no-holds-barred adventure. I haven’t read the source material but after sitting through the film, it felt like watching a watered down version of a somber story. Much of the CG blood that’s spilled and rapid cuts employed in the fight scenes take the sting out of the action. Rather than immerse you in, they just distract and annoy.
The scenes with Takeshi (Tsuyoshi Ihar), one of Akemi’s adversaries, is where the film shines. He plays his part almost too well with shades of the T-1000 showing in his cold and calculated demeanor. The way in which he nonchalantly eats a bowl of hot noodles as a man is violently tortured in front of him serves as a perfect snapshot of how sadistic his character is.
Masumi is serviceable as the often reserved lead but it’s during the more emotional scenes where she feels on the cusp of something believable. Her action scenes are on point for but the same couldn’t be said for Meyers’. He has nothing to work with in regard to backstory except for smatterings of dialogue towards the end. He’s often shot with such frenetic, dizzying shots that a second watch was needed just to pick out his moves.
The film was shot remarkably well by DP Gustava Hadba in filming the neon lighting and tracking shots throughout the Japanese district of Brazil. The casting was good for what the film needed and the set up for a sequel had me cautiously optimistic. It feels like it has a clear idea of what direction it wants to take moving forward but still has the chance to be mundane.
—Michael Omoruan