Crows Zero

Suzuran All-Boys High School is known as the most violent school in Japan, and nobody has ever run the whole of it. Genji Takiya, a transfer student in his final year, decides he will. In his way are the school's existing balance of power and Serizawa Tamao. Takashi Miike directed, from a screenplay by Shōgo Mutō. The source is Hiroshi Takahashi's manga Crows, and the film takes place before the events of the comic, as a prequel. Shun Oguri plays Genji, with Takayuki Yamada and Meisa Kuroki in the cast. Tristone Entertainment produced and Toho distributed. It opened in Japan on 27 October 2007 and grossed around 22 million dollars worldwide. Reviews split. One critic wrote that Miike amps it all up to 11 in his inimitable style, as impossibly coiffured pretty boys duke it out. Two sequels followed: Crows Zero 2 in 2009 and Crows Explode in 2014. Who it is for: viewers who like Japanese school gang stories and fight choreography. Who it is not for: anyone looking for character depth. The film is built almost entirely out of hierarchy and brawling.