Troubled teens Ikuto Yagura (Danhi Kinoshita) and Ryoma Akai (Kaname Yoshizawa) meet in juvenile detention and quickly become best friends. Both young men have had delinquent pasts, getting into brawls, committing assault, theft, and more. Though Ikuto’s latest 18-mnth stint in juvie is for something he didn’t actually do. Little does he know that Ryoma was actually the one responsible for the crime that put him there.
One day MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura visits the detention center to give the students an inspiring lecture. He tells them that if they work hard they can do anything, and encourages the young men to follow their dreams. This really resonates with Ikuto and Ryoma, who make it their goal to make it onto Mikuru’s fighting show, Breaking Down, which gathers delinquents, amateurs, and pros from all across Japan and puts them in a ring together for one-minute, one-round fights to prove who’s the strongest. The guys see this as an opportunity to channel their rage into something productive and finally find freedom in their lives. While Ryoma wants to become a professional fighter, Ikuto primarily just wants the chance to get some one-on-one time with Mikuru, to learn more about how he was able to turn his life around.
As soon as they are released, Ikuto and Ryoma get a job, and join a nearby gym, where they start training daily for their Breaking Down audition. The young men make quick progress and their chances look great. Ikuto is hoping to leave his past behind, but when his high school rival, Jun Kisshomaru (Chikashi Kuon), and his gang arrive at the gym looking for payback for an incident from years earlier, this threatens to derail Ikuto’s momentum. Also, it turns out that Ryoma also has some unfinished business with Jun’s second in command, Kosuke Isaka (On Nakano).
Ikuto and Ryoma are going to need to remain focused if they are going to avoid falling back into old habits. Before they can become champions in the ring, they are going to need to address these demons from their past. And , ultimately, they must learn to work together when an even bigger threat arises—Shizuka Mido (Gackt), the leader of a dangerous gang called the Krishna, is back in town and also looking for trouble.
Blazing Fists comes from From cult director Tasashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition, First Love, 13 Assassins), but the sports drama theme is a bit different from the kinds of films he normally makes. At the core of the movie is this friendship between Ikuto and Ryoma, their desire to change their lives, and the different paths that led them to juvie. Even when they are released, we see the very different home lives these two young men have. Ryoma’s mother (Anna Tsuchiya) is constantly making passive-aggressive comments to her son, not really encouraging and supporting him to follow his dream to be a fighter. Perhaps she’s seen her son get into trouble so many times that she doubts he will really change. Meanwhile, Ikuto’s mother (Mariko Shinoda) is far more encouraging and supportive. But perhaps this less strict parenting method also helped contribute to her son’s troubles, or it’s to make up for his father not being there.
The film has some entertaining fight sequences. Early on, it’s evident that both young men have had their share of brawls over the years, and their backstories are slowly metered out over the course of the film, through stories and flashbacks. There is quite a bit of boxing as the boys train in the gym, and also face off against Jun and his gang in the ring. But the real excitement comes in the final act when there’s an all-out brawl, with two large groups facing off. Throughout the movie we keep hearing about the Breaking Down fights, but we don’t really get to see much of that.
While I did like the overall redemption arc for the boys, I think in general, the film tries to bring in a bit too many storylines, characters, backstories and relationships. There are many things that are either not explained in enough detail, or just dropped later on. I don’t think we ever really even got a full description of what it was that Ryoma actually did to land in juvie, and Ikuto’s timeline was also a bit hard to piece together. There are so many different adversaries introduced over the course of the film, including several of the members of Jun’s group of punks, including the knife-happy Abeken (Karuma); the somewhat psychopathic Mido and his Krishna motorcycle gang; corrupt juvie teacher Toshikazu Hakamada (Wataru Ichinose); and even another guy auditioning for Breaking Down who just happens to be the Tokyo University law student son of the man in charge of prosecuting the murder case against Ikutu’s father. If all these foes weren’t enough, there’s even a bit of a love triangle-like side plot with Jun, his female friend Yukina Tamaki (Konatsu Kato) and Ikuto that I never fully understood. Like I said, there’s a bit too much going on! That said, I still think it’s worth a watch.
Well Go has released Blazing Fists on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital. We were sent a copy of the Blu-ray release for review. For the most part, the video presentation looks great, with a clean, crisp picture, and an excellent level of detail throughout. There was just one scene with the two teens and their mothers in a car that looked a bit off color-wise, like the brightness had suddenly been turned up, washing out the picture and making the blacks look grey.
The film is offered in both its original Japanese as well as an English dub track. With these kinds of films, I always prefer to try the English dib first as it allows me to fully enjoy the visuals of the movie rather than concentrate on reading the bottom third of the screen the whole time. The English track is well-performed and has some slightly more natural-sounding dialogue compared to what appears in the subtitles. I was quite happy to see this offered as an option as it allowed me to fully enjoy the fight sequences, especially the exciting big brawl that breaks out during the final act. The stereo and surround channels are also well-utilized to provide a fully-immersive experience. This is especially noticeable during fight scenes when the cheers of the others in the crowd fill the room, or during scenes when it’s raining and you can hear the precipitation all around.
Unfortunately, the disc is barebones, only including the film’s trailer and trailers for 3 other Well Go releases. The disc comes packed in a standard HD keepcase, and doesn’t contain a digital copy, but our review copy did include a cardboard slipcover.
What’s Included:
Film: (2:00:07)
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: Japanese 5.1 DTS-HDMA, Japanese Stereo, English 5.1 DTS-HDMA, English Stereo
- Subtitles: English SDH, French
Extras:
- Trailer (1:46)
- Previews
Select from trailers for:- Ghost Killer (1:41)
- Samurai Fury (1:54)
- Baby Assassins 3 (2:01)
Final Thoughts:
Overall Blazing Fists is an interesting story of two troubled teens trying to turn their lives around while confronting the demons of their pasts. While maybe a little over-stuffed at times, it ultimately builds to an exciting final act. Well Go’s release generlly looks and sounds great—even offering an English dub option—but doesn’t include any other bonus material. That said, it’s still worth a look.
Blazing Fists Blu-ray
(as of June 1, 2026 21:46 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Blazing Fists DVD
(as of June 1, 2026 21:46 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
