Loig Thivend "w.o.r.l.d." Copyright Screenplay

Ichi The Killer 2 - "Ni The Slaughterer"

Promo slogans : "You left him crying on the ground... big mistake !" / "Ichi's not dead, he's just getting ready."

First, still, image. One day in an company's huge conference room. Silence all round, everyone is sitting still, stunned. The head of the board of directors speaks up; he explains that the valued workers have been called for a most unfortunate special meeting, due to unforeseen circumstances. As fate has sadly ruled, the company has to close this particular branch; all of the two hundred employees are thanked, and will be asked to return their badges and clear their lockers by the end of the day. At these words, one of the workers walks up to a window, and jumps. Horrible noise. Nobody bats an eyelid as the boss thanks the employees for their good work, and apologizes for the most regrettable necessary decision. The Corporation is going through a difficult time due to impertinent public political pressure, as everyone knows.

Opening credits. The Shakedown single ("some days just don't feel right") on the soundtrack as the fate of the various employees is shown in fast motion stills (cf. "Lola Rennt") : some of them end up on the street, some of them turn to crime, some to prostitution, and so on, to the complete indifference of the world at large.

Panorama of the city (Tokyo). Everything quiet. Shots of a school : all the kids studying, perfectly quiet; long traveling until we get to the last kid in the class-room : Takeshi, from "Ichi Koroshiya" (now about 13 years old). Then someone gets into the classroom, apologizes to the teacher, and goes straight to Takeshi; whispers something to his ear (think Brando in "The Godfather"). Takeshi thinks for a second, then selects his compass from his satchel. He accompanies the person out, with the agreement of the teacher. Sound effects. He comes back to the class-room impeccably polite, with his shirt (partly / totally?) covered in blood. He excuses himself and sits back to continue listening to the teacher, who doesn't bat an eyelid. A pupil hands him a new immaculate shirt, which he puts on while listening to the lesson, sternly, not missing one sentence from the "Sensei"..

More aerial shots of the quiet, geometric town. Over the airwaves, news of an impending legal action against the boss of mega-corporation Bopalexona for emblezzement and alleged corruption.

Cut to a police station. A cop (played by Hidetoshi Nakata) looks at various photos of victims : "bo-ring" "ha ! idiot." "serves you right..." "wasting my time this one, not worth it", he mutters. Light a cigarette, sighs, scratches his balls... The office is quiet. He calls his deputy : "Akira, are you sure nothing's happened these last days ? What, nothing at all ?? That can't be true, it'd be too good... Hmm... something must be up or... What's going on here ?! ...This Bopalexona business, who cares frankly ! 'Tell you what, I have an idea, what do you say we round up the boys; shall we go and kick the anthill for fun, you know... let's do ourselves a pimp or two, some pusher, 'bit of sport, like, get some exercise..." All excited, the men grab their jacket and leave.

Cut to a huge modern towerblock. A fleet of Mercedes arrives. A big boss, flanked by his immaculately dressed entourage, is met by similarly attired people, who take him upstairs : little comedy about who gets in the lift first, by rank order. Finally, they get to the main office at the top floor, where the man who is clearly an influential person is met by another fearsome looking old man. They salute each other. The host offers his guest a cigar; then, from another box, he offers cigars to the lieutenants. Throughout the scene, the room gets filled with smoke. After a while, the host starts : "Fukasaku-San, you are a businessman. I am a businessman. We are both businessmen and need to... look after the interests of our organisation. This is what we do. Now, I respect your... way of handling your affairs and I daresay you must have heard of my company." He gestures towards the opulent setting. "As you know, businesses need some privacy to handle their financial affairs efficiently. Lately, some... impudent Revenue bureaucrats have started poking their noses in our businesses -yours and especially mine; what with the economic situation, the public clamours for easy scapegoats. And these pesky bureaucrats seem determined to undermine our corporate reputation. Clearly, this is not acceptable. Maybe the police and judges, well especially the media and its gullible public should concentrate their attention on... other tales of mischief. Maybe, just maybe, you might be in a position to know of possible sensational stories that could be activated, of some... loose cannons who could be encouraged to make the headlines. Nobody from your company, of course; just some... punks nobody will mis when they get caught. Maybe these punks need to be... stimulated to go ahead and make the headlines. And just maybe my company might be very grateful to yours for all your efforts." Throughout the scene, the Yakuwa chief hasn't uttered a word, merely blinking at times. He gets up : "And so shall it be." He bows to his host, who gets up to bow to him; every lieutenant around bow to each other in a hurry. As soon as his guest has left, the big boss starts coughing up hard; one of his aides rushes off to get him some oxygen off a bottle whereas others open the windows in a hurry.

Back in the lift, the chief yakuza, without turning to look at him, grumbles to his aide : "Find this guy, you know, this loony six months ago with the razor... you know the one. He served us, and served us well. Well, track him down and wind him up." "Oh, that one Sir... I'm afraid he's totally disappeared, as you know, he's just..." "-Find him. I want it done, and I want it done five minutes ago, you hear me ?" "Yes Sir. Right away."

Cut to the subway : a woman (or so she looks) is being harassed and groped in an overcrowded wagon by some fat salary-men behind her, pretending to read their financial papers. One of the men's wandering hands ends up in her crotch. Shot of the man's amazed face. Expressionless (as if used to it), she pricks him in the groin with her broach's safety pin. Careful to maintain his dignity, he pretends not to notice and bites his lip in pain, as she twists it expertly and still reading her magazine.

Back to young Takeshi; he walks in the school corridor, pupils parting like the sea to let him through; he walks past a youth with an eye patch. Back at his flat : everything is geometrically arranged, sterile looking, ...with a shrine to his father in a corner.

Cut to a hospital emergency unit : some bleeding, broken bodies are brought in. A punk-looking medic (possibly out of Melt Banana) who registers the arrivals reads the sheet : "Aha, what have we got here... these ones were hit by two drunkards racing. They thought this was "Fast and Furious" apparently. Anyway, these two guys were just crossing the road. Result !...Broken pelvis, two crushed ribs, open fracture in the leg, ruptured spleen... The race was sadly canceled, we may never know who would have won. Really, someone should make a film about car accidents. And it's not even Saturday night." Then another body is brought in. The same receptionist, to the nurses checking her in : "Ooh this one is a woman, yep, officially a woman; you wouldn't recognize it though, eh ? But hang on, her husband is coming next. What does it say here... Mr. antsy threw a saucepan of burning oil at her, then slipped in the kitchen as he chased her and knocked himself out. Round of applause if you will ! Here he comes. -Oh yeah, the poor lamb impaled himself in the process; see to his wound, will you ? Such is our job, isn't it..." Close-up of a fork going through the man's arm. The man is one of the sacked workers; several of these will reappear during the story.

A female doctor (the woman in the subway scene) appears. "And which loo do you come from, freak..." the sarcastic medic muters. The female doctor calls out to "Kim, let me help you out there".

The camera follows the bed trolleyed through a corridor crowded with various accident cases, all waiting their turn in pain. As the woman is put into bed, one of the two hospital hands, who are working diligently, turns to face the camera : it is Ichi. The victim is seen by the female doctor, who reassures her : "There... there... don't worry, it's over, we're here to help you and ease your pain, he won't hurt you anymore".

Back to Takeshi, preparing himself for another day at school : he puts on a belt of assorted tools and weapons under his school uniform, bows to his father, and walks to school. As he crosses the road, a car ignores the red light; Takeshi turns and throws a dart through the window, which pierces the driver's hand and nails it to the steering wheel. He gets on with his journey without bothering to check what happened. He comes across two kids racketting a little one (Junichi Inamoto) for his pocket money. Takeshi waits patiently for them to finish, and then steps up from his recess. "Hey." He does a karate movement and locks one of the guys' arms, he breaks his wrist. The other one runs away; Takeshi throws a stone at the guy's head; the guy stumbles, Takeshi walks up to him : "ready when you are...", and methodicaly stamps on the guy's fingers. Then he continues his way to school, followed by the little kid.

At school, one of the computer geeks (with glasses, geek haircut, and gauche demeanour) respectfully brings him a print-out of his emails. Takeshi scans them : "Hmm... no sign of him yet, then ? He can't have just disappeared. If anything, corpses are very easy to discover." The other kid : "Maybe you should try to contact him directly, through the newspaper. Arrange for a meeting." "Meeting, eh ? I need to think of something..."

Brief flashback from "Ichi Koroshiya" : Ichi witnessing a rape. During class, Takeshi (at the back) has an idea, picks up his phone and rings someone : "Asahi, I need you to arrange something...You've got some fresh meat available for another video ?"

Police headquarter. The detective's aide runs in : "Boss, boss, a bunch of junkies have attacked a pharmacy and are holding everyone hostage inside !" "Aha ! Some action at last ! Let's go, bring out the guns !" Cut to the pharmacy : the three junky punks are being fed some by yakuza types who leave the premises. Cut to the hostages : they are already dead on the ground.

Back to the emergency service : the bodies of the three junkies arrive. "Phew, there's enough drugs in them to keep Senators happy" the usual receptionist comments. "By the look of it, the police were no slouch either". Humble Ichi attends to them, mechanically. Then he takes a break. The transsexual Korean doctor, played by Hamasaki Ayumi, (the one who was groped in the subway) comes to see him : "So, how are you doing today ? You're OK now, still taking your pills regularly, Takeshi ?" Ichi nods, humbly. The doctor : "You don't have these bad dreams as often, do you ?" Ichi, a bit of a simpleton : "No, no..." "Good good, I'm glad to see your progress Takeshi; you've done really well, I'm sooo proud of you, as compared to the situation you were in when I found you... remember ? You've been so good, well done. Now don't forget to come and see me again, if you're feeling anxious again. Promise ? I don't want to come and get you from the loony ward again." Ichi, his eyes lowered : "Yes, yes, I will, yes." "Come on now, good boy, we've got more battered prostitutes coming in, I don't know what's going on today, Johns sure have gone a bit itchy lately..., must be election time again; punish the wretched and so on."

On the TV in the background comes the trailer for an American movie promising to be "the most dangerous and exciting film ever made, ultra-violence like you've never seen it, the sensation of the year and one of the most controversial films ever shot in all history." The various medics look at each other, and burst out laughing.

Classical music : pupil Takeshi patrolling his school corridor, followed by a couple of acolytes, answering his phone, collecting money from girls with socks rolled down (prostitutes). He sits down at his desk in class. The teacher arrives and, jubilant, announces : "Gentlemen, in the light of current trade union relations with the Ministry, it has been decided to conduct a mock exam today all day. I am so sorry about that, but you will have to sit it out all day. And we will supervise it, in a compulsive yet non active manner. No derogation accepted, and all teachers will wear a "on strike" armband, as defined by the trade union's regulation, like... so."

News bulletin excerpt about the boss of giant corporation Bopalexona vigorously refuting any accusation of impropriety and announcing he has hired some of the country's top lawyers. The sums of money alleged are said to be mind-blowing, involving a substantial portion of the national industrial - military - chemical complex. In the face of mounting pressure from the outraged public, the businessman has offered to meet the judge this very afternoon.

Fade to Ichi in his shabby bedsit, eating pot noodles, reading the paper. Soundtrack : his neigbours arguing, toilet flushing, a baby crying, and so on. Then he discovers a message at the bottom of a page : "Ichi, you know who you are, I need to speak to you, in relation to Takeshi the cop's kid. Please help me, this is of the highest importance. Signed Haruki. Call this number 1234567" Ichi stops to think, then visibly struggles with his conscience, goes to take some pills but his bottle is empty; and then dials the number. A voice answers : "Are you Ichi ?" "yes..." "Do you remember Haruki, the girl in your school ?" "yes..." "She needs your help. She has tried to contact ever since, but... She needs your help now more than ever. Get down to the Fubuki tower block today at three o'clock sharp, fourteenth floor, ask for Haruki. Get ready, she's in grave danger." End of phone-call.

Violent music as Ichi lies down on his futon, confused. Ichi, wearing his razor boots, gets to the building : very elegant, filled with salary-men and office ladies. He feels out of place, and tries to take the lift, every time giving his place in the wagon. Finally, he climbs up there. He arrives in a sweat. He approaches a gruff teenager : "excuse me... Haruki, please ?" "Haruki ? Sure, come on, hurry up, man, quick double quick, fourth door on the left !" Ichi gets in there, and stops, petrified. The camera traveling reveals that he is standing in line behind a row of man in socks masturbating in their boxer shorts. Traveling to a girl (played by the main singer of Morning Musume) at the centre of a ring, on whom men ejaculate in silence, careful not to touch her, who bows each time with a curt "thank you" -the scene is filmed (for a "bukkake" video). Ichi is stunned and murmurs : "Haruki...?" Meanwhile, the queue moves up; the assistant director (played by Takeshi Kitano) comes up to him : "Come on man, what is wrong with you ? Come one, get ready, take your pants off at least," Ichi does. "Look at you... what... you can' t get a boner ? Can't get a boner ?!" and so on, he teases him until he brings him to tears. At which stage, of course, happens what we all have been expecting : Ichi lashes out and, with a swift round kick, chops off the dicks of all the guys around, who, stunned and then panicking, start running around, clutching their groin in a panic : "aaah, my dick !" They fight over which one is which. Meanwhile the director is perplexed : "Eh.. that was pretty cool... I didn't have this bit in mind as such but... there's gotta be a market for it... Hang on, hey, you must be the guy, you're the guy aren't you ? Takeshi wanted to meet ! I don't understand, he hasn't shown up..." But Ichi, in a haze, and his trousers still round his ankle, walks up to the "gluey" girl, calling her : "Haruki... Haruki... is that you ? It's me, Ichi..." She recoils, in horror : "I, I'm not called Haruki". He reaches out to her, but then he slips on "something", and doing so, with his leg in the air, decapitates her. Ichi "Oh... no..." then he feels an erection. He looks at the severed head. "Oh... no, no, no." He ejaculates in his pants, and starts to wail like a baby. Meanwhile the director hasn't missed anything : "Hey, that was pretty cool too, as a new concept. "Maximum Body Fluid", the German market will love it ! I wonder if it's what Takeshi had in mind... Hey, do you want a contract, man ? Don't worry, we'll block out your identity, we'll hide your face, easily done ! We'll call it... Ni The Slaughterer. Sorted." Cut to the building's corridor / hall : Ichi runs out, crying, covered in blood; none of the smart suits bats an eyelid.

Back at school. Takeshi receives a text message; he looks furious.

Violent techno music. Ichi is back at his flat, in tears. He calls his hospital : "Hello, it's Ich... it's Takeshi, could I speak to Doctor Curunenba, at emergency ?" "Oh hello Takeshi, I am so sorry dear, but Doctor Curunenba has been thanked this morning by the management. I cannot reveal details over the phone but do come on for your evening shift, and you will" He hangs up. And looks at his pants : "And all this because of... you." He goes to the kitchen part of his crummy apartment and grabs a knife. He takes out his penis, places it on a table, and breathes deeply, concentrates. But then the neighbours' noises over the soundtrack get harder to ignore : the landlord is evicting a woman with a baby, who pleads for his mercy : "Look, look, listen surely we can come to an arrangement, you know what I mean, just come on in I beg you, I just can't go out in the cold like that with my baby, he is suffering from asthma..." "Get your hand off me, you filthy whore, and out ! Out, now !! I don't care, don't give a fuck, off you go !" Ichi is losing his concentration, and is getting more annoyed by the second. The woman and the baby start crying, and the landlord audibly throws stuff out into the corridor. The partitions are visibly shaking. Ichi, furiously, gets his pants on again and storms out of the room. Sound effects. Choice : the baby may stop crying, which could indicate that he has slaughtered them all. In any case, he comes back to his desk, wipes his red hands on a cloth, and whips out his penis again. He breathes deeply, as he prepares to cut his penis off, the phone rings. "Mushi Mushi, what ? Now ?? Eight casualties ? I'm sort of have my hands full right now... You sure you don't have anyone else on hand ? OK, sure, no problem, I' m on my way." He hangs up, puts on his jacket and starts to leave; then, as a an after-thought, comes back to his desk and quickly cuts off his penis, which he tosses out. He hastily applies a bandage and departs for work.

The kid Takeshi turns up at the blood soaked film shoot in a foul mood. He surveys the disaster, shaking his head. He kneels down and fingers the gooey stuff on the tatami, lost in his thoughts. Then he picks up his phone : "Allo, Asahi, yes I'm at the scene... get me another tenth-grade, you know where to find them and arrange for another photoshoot; he won't resist. ... What ? Yes yes you can have the copyrights, I want thirty-three percent of the distribution, though. Get on it." He leaves the room.

At the hospital, Ichi looks after the men he has just mutilated; typically, none of them recognises him : "Come on you monkey, sort me out, sort me out, gimme some morphine, do something, anything ! What are you paid for, sort me out !". One of his colleagues (also an immigrant) whispers to him while they are in a lift going down : "Listen, your friend -each to their own, eh?- he/she was sacked this morning, otherwise she would be here of course... Anyway, the official version is that they found out he wasn't totally legit -but that's bullshit; visa expiration dates can be arranged. What happened is that she went off to make another stand about the Korean nurses' night-shifts; and that was it. They fired her, one time too many. The corporation never took kindly to the trouble-maker's complaints, as we all know... Typical. Bloody typical. All they needed was a good excuse." Ichi listens and automatically agrees, humbly : "Ah." He continues working, although betraying occasional signs of pain. After a while, he asks to be excused and, limping, goes off to replace his bandage; he then takes a breather outside, wailing to himself : "Where are you, where are you when I need you...".

At this moment, arriving on his school bike is Takeshi. In the other direction, coming fast and ignoring a red light, is the Mercedes of the fat cat from the start of the film, which knocks the kid off his bike. Instinctively, Ichi runs out to see to the injured kid, who is lying in a heap, moaning softly. The car's occupants come out, including the big boss who spits : "Bah, sort this kid out quick, give 'im a new bike, right ? Let's go."

In the background, Ichi slowly stands up, picks a pedal, and walks towards them. Image freeze. B-movie style title comes up, with bombastic music and the advertising slogan in lurid lettering : "You left him crying on the floor..., big mistake. He's BACK !" Instantly followed by the message :

"The End."

Over the closing credits, sound effects of a slaughter taking place ...but that isn't shown. At the end of the credits, back to the scene : Ichi is now standing knee deep in entrails festooning the car. In the background, zoom onto the kid who has lifted his head and stares at him.

Copyright by Loig Allix Thivend. Coming next... "San The Slayer : Bullies' Apocalypse". "Ichi The Killer" was a film by Takashi Miike. And so is "Ni The Slaughterer", coming out on the 30th of April 2004, cut in the USA, Iran, Israel, the UK, Monaco, the Vatican, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Poland; uncut everywhere else.

If "Ichi" was about maso love, "Ni" is about justice; ...sort of. Ichi is very much a puppet, and also some kind of justicier for the downtrodden ...with some severe psycho-sexual hang-ups, mind you ! He is not bad at heart, he just effs up, and when he does, it's monumentally. Brief echo of "Fudoh The Next Generation" with the Takeshi character. Ultimate sadism : not showing the eagerly awaited final cataclysm. Various instances of unacknowledged, less gratuitously exploitative social violence and more examplification of the sexual exploitation of women. Soundtrack featuring Melt Banana and The Ex Girls. Email here. cf. the Scenario Factory.