Tokyo: The Last War
Encyclopedia
Tokyo: The Last War is a tokusatsu
dark fantasy
/historical fiction
film directed by Takashige Ichise and distributed by Toho Studios. It is an adaptation of the eleventh book (Great War in the Capital) of the Teito Monogatari
novel by Hiroshi Aramata
. It is the second cinematic adaptation of the Teito Monogatari
series and is a sequel to Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis
.
prompted a sequel to immediately be put into production. The budget was considerably smaller than its predecessor, and the plot adapted only a single book in the series (as opposed to the first film, which had adapted the plot of four novel). The only returning actor from the previous film was Kyusaku Shimada
, reprising his role as the supernatural villain Yasunori Kato
. Screaming Mad George special effects unit was commissioned to do gore
effects. The film also marked the directorial debut of Takashige Ichise, a Japanese film producer best known in the west for financing such J-Horror
classics as Ringu, The Grudge
, and Dark Water
as well as their respective Hollywood remakes.
over major Japanese cities. Desperate to end the war quickly, the government concocts a plan to eliminate major key leaders of each country. A specialist in the art of Onmyōdō
is summoned for an assassination plot using supernatural means. With the support of the Japanese government, Kan’nami Kouou (Tetsuro Tamba
) plans to curse the leaders of the Allied Forces using magic. Unfortunately, the spirits of those civilians who were horribly killed during the fire bombings culminate together and reincarnate Yasunori Kato
(Kyusaku Shimada
), the demonic Onmyoji who was suppressed 20 years ago. Once again, Kato wants Tokyo
to suffer for its crimes and sets off to stop Kouou’s plan from succeeding so that the war will continue and Tokyo will be destroyed. To challenge Kato, Kouou has hired a young man by the name of Yuko Nakamura (Masaya Kato
) who is gifted with incredible psychic abilities. During the course of the story, Nakamura meets and falls in love with Yukiko Tatsumiya (Kaho Minami
), who is now working as a nurse in a War Victims Hospital and still suffering from traumatic memories of abuse as a child by Kato. The young psychic is unable to contend with Kato’s mighty powers and after several battles (the final involving his power being enhanced through artificial means), he is nearly killed. Despite nearing death, Yukiko’s love gives Nakamura enough strength to perform one last trick which successfully destroys Kato’s physical body. Meanwhile Kouou realizes that Japan is doomed to lose the war. Thus he changes targets, sparing the Allied leaders, and launching a psychic attack against Adolf Hitler
which drives Hitler to commit suicide in his bunker. Yukiko prays to Masakado to seal away Kato’s soul forever.
for the right time to strike back. When he hears of the project, he returns to Japan to make sure it goes through to completion and systematically kills any political figure that opposes it. The leader of the protesters is Tomazo, an ancient mystic who controls the Japanese freemasonry
lodges. At the end of the book, Kato kills Tomazo and the project goes to completion. Roosevelt is cursed, suffers from polio and dies. This clears the way for Harry Truman to step into office, who authorizes the Hydrogen Bomb to be used against Japan. Also the mystic hired to curse Roosevelt is Ōtani Kōzui
, a famous Buddhist missionary
, instead of Kan’nami Kouou (a completely fictional character).
as Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe
. Kusaka would later go on to provide the voice of M. Bison
, a popular video game character inspired by Yasunori Kato
(the antagonist of this film), in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
.
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
dark fantasy
Dark fantasy
Dark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element.-Overview:A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L...
/historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
film directed by Takashige Ichise and distributed by Toho Studios. It is an adaptation of the eleventh book (Great War in the Capital) of the Teito Monogatari
Teito Monogatari
is a massive Japanese historical fantasy epic written by Hiroshi Aramata.-Overview:The story is a retelling of the history of Edo from an occultist perspective. The premise is based on the idea that the curse of Taira no Masakado greatly influenced the city's history from its inception to the...
novel by Hiroshi Aramata
Hiroshi Aramata
is a Japanese author, translator, and screenplay writer, as well as a specialist in natural history and cartography.His most popular novel was Teito Monogatari , which has sold over 3.5 million copies in Japan alone. He also wrote Alexander Senki, a novel which eventually evolved into the anime...
. It is the second cinematic adaptation of the Teito Monogatari
Teito Monogatari
is a massive Japanese historical fantasy epic written by Hiroshi Aramata.-Overview:The story is a retelling of the history of Edo from an occultist perspective. The premise is based on the idea that the curse of Taira no Masakado greatly influenced the city's history from its inception to the...
series and is a sequel to Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis
Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis
is a tokusatsu historical fantasy film produced in 1987 by Exe and distributed in 1988 by Toho Studios. It is the first live-action adaptation of the Teito Monogatari series by Hiroshi Aramata.-Plot:...
.
Production
The box-office success of Teito MonogatariTokyo: The Last Megalopolis
is a tokusatsu historical fantasy film produced in 1987 by Exe and distributed in 1988 by Toho Studios. It is the first live-action adaptation of the Teito Monogatari series by Hiroshi Aramata.-Plot:...
prompted a sequel to immediately be put into production. The budget was considerably smaller than its predecessor, and the plot adapted only a single book in the series (as opposed to the first film, which had adapted the plot of four novel). The only returning actor from the previous film was Kyusaku Shimada
Kyūsaku Shimada
Kyūsaku Shimada is a Japanese actor. He is perhaps best known in the West for the role of Yasunori Kato in the historical fantasy film Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis. He has a distinctive long facial profile with a large, protruding chin.-History:...
, reprising his role as the supernatural villain Yasunori Kato
Yasunori Kato
is a fictional character, the antagonist of the Japanese historical fantasy series Teito Monogatari, created by Hiroshi Aramata.Since his first cinematic appearance in 1988, Yasunori Kato has gone on to become a well known and well respected archetype in Japanese popular culture having inspired a...
. Screaming Mad George special effects unit was commissioned to do gore
Gore
-Violence:* Graphic violence visually depicted, especially the realistic depiction of serious physical injuries involving blood, flesh, bone and brain matter. This "gore effect" was first visualized in Wolfenstein 3D....
effects. The film also marked the directorial debut of Takashige Ichise, a Japanese film producer best known in the west for financing such J-Horror
J-Horror
Japanese horror, or J-Horror, is Japanese horror fiction in popular culture, noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre in light of western treatments...
classics as Ringu, The Grudge
The Grudge
The Grudge is the 2004 American remake of the Japanese film Ju-on: The Grudge, and the first horror film in the Ju-on series, Ju-on 1. The film is the first installment in the American horror film series The Grudge...
, and Dark Water
Dark Water
Dark Water may refer to:*Captain Darkwater, a character in the video game Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for BootyBooks:*Darkwater: Voices From Within the Veil, 1920 book by American philosopher W.E.B...
as well as their respective Hollywood remakes.
Synopsis
The sequel begins in 1945, during a period extensive American firebombingFirebombing
Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs....
over major Japanese cities. Desperate to end the war quickly, the government concocts a plan to eliminate major key leaders of each country. A specialist in the art of Onmyōdō
Onmyodo
is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism. It is based on the Chinese philosophies of Wu Xing and Yin and yang, introduced into Japan at the turn of the 6th century, and accepted as a practical system of divination...
is summoned for an assassination plot using supernatural means. With the support of the Japanese government, Kan’nami Kouou (Tetsuro Tamba
Tetsuro Tamba
was a Japanese actor.-Biography:Tamba is perhaps best known by Western audiences for his role as Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice . By then, he had among other roles appeared in two films by director Masaki Kobayashi: Harakiri and Kwaidan...
) plans to curse the leaders of the Allied Forces using magic. Unfortunately, the spirits of those civilians who were horribly killed during the fire bombings culminate together and reincarnate Yasunori Kato
Yasunori Kato
is a fictional character, the antagonist of the Japanese historical fantasy series Teito Monogatari, created by Hiroshi Aramata.Since his first cinematic appearance in 1988, Yasunori Kato has gone on to become a well known and well respected archetype in Japanese popular culture having inspired a...
(Kyusaku Shimada
Kyūsaku Shimada
Kyūsaku Shimada is a Japanese actor. He is perhaps best known in the West for the role of Yasunori Kato in the historical fantasy film Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis. He has a distinctive long facial profile with a large, protruding chin.-History:...
), the demonic Onmyoji who was suppressed 20 years ago. Once again, Kato wants Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
to suffer for its crimes and sets off to stop Kouou’s plan from succeeding so that the war will continue and Tokyo will be destroyed. To challenge Kato, Kouou has hired a young man by the name of Yuko Nakamura (Masaya Kato
Masaya Kato
is a Japanese actor and seiyū from Nara in the Kansai region.-Biography:He is currently attached to Burning Production. He stands at 183 centimeters...
) who is gifted with incredible psychic abilities. During the course of the story, Nakamura meets and falls in love with Yukiko Tatsumiya (Kaho Minami
Kaho Minami
Kaho Minami is a Japanese actress of Korean descent active in film, television and commercials. She has been married to actor Ken Watanabe since December 3, 2005...
), who is now working as a nurse in a War Victims Hospital and still suffering from traumatic memories of abuse as a child by Kato. The young psychic is unable to contend with Kato’s mighty powers and after several battles (the final involving his power being enhanced through artificial means), he is nearly killed. Despite nearing death, Yukiko’s love gives Nakamura enough strength to perform one last trick which successfully destroys Kato’s physical body. Meanwhile Kouou realizes that Japan is doomed to lose the war. Thus he changes targets, sparing the Allied leaders, and launching a psychic attack against Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
which drives Hitler to commit suicide in his bunker. Yukiko prays to Masakado to seal away Kato’s soul forever.
Differences from the novel
The writers of the film made many deviations from the original plot of the novel. In the original book "Great War in the Capital", the target of the spiritual assassination is not Adolf Hitler, but rather Franklin Roosevelt, whom the Japanese government wants to assassinate for the purpose of crippling the Allied efforts in the war. In the book, Kato is already alive and well, waiting in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
for the right time to strike back. When he hears of the project, he returns to Japan to make sure it goes through to completion and systematically kills any political figure that opposes it. The leader of the protesters is Tomazo, an ancient mystic who controls the Japanese freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
lodges. At the end of the book, Kato kills Tomazo and the project goes to completion. Roosevelt is cursed, suffers from polio and dies. This clears the way for Harry Truman to step into office, who authorizes the Hydrogen Bomb to be used against Japan. Also the mystic hired to curse Roosevelt is Ōtani Kōzui
Otani Kozui
was the 22nd Abbot of the Nishi Honganji sub-sect of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism in Kyoto, Japan. He is known for expeditions to Buddhist sites in Central Asia, such as Subashi....
, a famous Buddhist missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, instead of Kan’nami Kouou (a completely fictional character).
Name
Because the film has not been released in the US, it is commonly referred to in North America by the Romaji title Teito Taisen (roughly translated as Great War in the Capital) even though the official international title is Tokyo: The Last War.Trivia
The film features veteran Japanese actor Takeshi KusakaTakeshi Kusaka
is a Japanese actor and seiyū from Toshima, Tokyo. He is the founder of the Shiki Theatre Company.-Films:*Madadayo *Nankyoku Monogatari *Teito Taisen -Television:...
as Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe
Fumimaro Konoe
Prince was a politician in the Empire of Japan who served as the 34th, 38th and 39th Prime Minister of Japan and founder/leader of the Taisei Yokusankai.- Early life :...
. Kusaka would later go on to provide the voice of M. Bison
M. Bison
M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega, is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, he is a recurring character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as the final boss and primary antagonist of the Street Fighter II and Street...
, a popular video game character inspired by Yasunori Kato
Yasunori Kato
is a fictional character, the antagonist of the Japanese historical fantasy series Teito Monogatari, created by Hiroshi Aramata.Since his first cinematic appearance in 1988, Yasunori Kato has gone on to become a well known and well respected archetype in Japanese popular culture having inspired a...
(the antagonist of this film), in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, known as in Japan and Australia, is a 1994 Japanese animated film adaptation of the Street Fighter II fighting games written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisaburō Sugii and animated by Group TAC. The film, originally released in Japan on August 8, 1994, has...
.
External links
- Tokyo: The Last War at Toho Kingdom