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Delinquent dramas have been having a bit of a moment over the last few years and like many Hiroshi Shinagawa’s manga adaptation OUT is a comic retro throwback to the genre’s ‘80s heyday. Some of the action may seem a little a outdated, but macho posturing will never really go out of style and there is genuine heart in the newfound brotherhood between local punk Kaname (Koshi Mizukami) and the recently released Tatsuya (Yuki Kura) who is torn between trying to go straight and rejoining the ultra manly society of the biker gangs.
Then again it quickly becomes clear that part of the problem is too many people have already given up on Tatsuya and are eagerly relishing the prospect of his failure. Having spent a few months in juvenile detention for fighting, he’s no desire to go back but is also resentful about the lack of control he now has over his life if grateful to have been taken in by an uncle and aunt who run a Korean barbecue restaurant in Chiba. Their faith in him makes him want to live up to it, but equally he can’t bring himself not to respond to challenges of masculinity rather comically insisting that he square off with new rival Kaname through a game of sumo so he won’t break the terms of his parole by hitting someone. As might be expected, the two men become friends through fighting but Kaname turns out to be the deputy leader of a local biker gang bringing Tatsuya once more into contact with random and pointless violence.
This is the double meaning of “out”, not only that Tatsuya is “out” of juvie and and outsider to the gangs in Chiba but also and outlaw by nature who can’t be tamed by the demands of the civil society. Yet what he’s confronted by is a new sense of masculinity that’s not founded solely on dominance through violence, status or macho posturing but love and brotherhood. A young woman he takes a liking to, Chihiro (Yuki Yoda), wastes no time telling him she thinks he’s pathetic in his ongoing obsession with his male pride while trying to make him realise that there are people who care for him and would be upset if he went and got himself killed which makes his whole way of life completely irresponsible.
But at the same time, the rival gang that’s after his new friends has shifted into violence and murder, making money through trafficking drugs and blackmailing women into sex work after incapacitating them and threatening them with sex tapes. Obviously, even his newfound code of manliness means he must stand up to this new kind of injustice even if it sends him back to prison. What he learns from Chihiro is that kindness is more attractive than coolness while his uncle gives him a similar lesson, econouraing him to channel his rebellious energy in a more positive direction just as he now dedicates his whole life to protecting his wife and the restaurant.
Shinagawa approaches the material with a sense of humour undercutting the ridiculousness of the male posturing with gently mocking affection. He maintains some of the key elements of the genre such as the surreal manga-style hairdos while embracing its essential outlandishness. The fight scenes themselves are also surprisingly violent if also a little ironic as he cuts between gang leader Atchan (Kotaro Daigo) jumping on a guy’s face to Tatsuya’s aunt remarking that he seems like a nice kid. Some degree of CGI has evidently been employed to aid the visceral of the violence as we think we see faces coming in for a pummelling along with impressive drop kicks, though the mass brawls are in themselves well choreographed and dynamic while remaining within the realms of what a petty street punk could do reasonably do. Shinagawa also leans into the manga origins with frequent use of line drawings in scene transitions and character introductions. In essence Tatsuya is attempting to reclaim his self-esteem, finally embracing the of repeated phrase “Im stupid, but I’m not trash” to claim the right to live a less chaotic life while recommitting himself to knuckling down in the barbecue restaurant in defiance of those who thought him to be worthless, finally out of his self-imposed prison and into a happier future.
OUT screened as part of the 18th Season of Asian Pop-Up Cinema.
Original trailer (English subtitles)
Windows on Worlds 