Shinjuku Swan 2 is a brilliant sequel.

 

In my previous blog post, I covered the first Shinjuku Swan live-action adaptation by Sion Sono. I mentioned the allegations brought against Sono and how I'd condemn the man for them if true. That doesn't mean that I can't still enjoy his work, that would be unfair to the many others that contributed and would also mean cutting out a chunk of movies that I have greatly enjoyed over the years. Anyways, in 2017, 2 years after the release of the first movie, Sono released Shinjuku Swan 2. After the success of the greatly enjoyable first adaptation, expectations were high for the sequel. I believe that the sequel did a lot of things well and stands out on it's own merits. 

Shinjuku Swan 2 takes place about a year after the events of the previous movie. Protagonist Tatsuhiko Shiratori still works as a scout for Burst and is quite successful at it, although, Burst itself has undergone a few changes in personnel. Members of Burst's former rivals in Shinjuku, Harlem, such as Busuyama, have joined the organisation. Unfortunately, not all is well, as Yosuke, Tatsuhiko's friend, has gone missing. Soon enough, Tatsuhiko is called to a brawl happening in Shinjuku, involving a rival organisations (Parasite, unfortunate name for a scouting group) scout by the name of Morinaga. It turns out that Tatsuhiko and Morinaga have a friendly rivalry that involves the pair fighting quite frequently. 

These brawls and the merger between Burst and Harlem have not brought about any increase in profit nor girls for Burst and as such, it is decided by those in charge that Burst will take over Yokohama. Yokohama as it turns out, is a territory that is owned by an old, close friend of Seki's, the leader of scouting agency, Wizard, Masaki Taki. As such, it is rather unfortunate that Seki is chosen to lead the takeover as he has deal with the ghosts of his past, Tatsuhiko is just brought along for the journey. A collision is inevitable and both Shinjuku and Yokohama become a battleground as Burst and Wizard fight for control as Seki and Taki confront their past. 

Shinjuku Swan 2 is an interesting sequel. The first movie dived deep into the scouting agencies and their business dealings, as well as the effect it had on the girls involved in the industries they are scouted for. It was a poignant look at the seedy underbelly of the adult entertainment industry. The sequel in turn, focuses on the turf wars between two rival companies. That may sound rather simplistic, but the plot unravels in such a way that there's much more to it than just scouts fighting in the streets. It puts into focus shady business dealings involving the Yakuza and even some corrupt police officers that have been bribed under the table. On top of that, there's a side story involving a form of personal redemption for Tatsuhiko, as he stops a girl from doing something that he was unable to prevent in the prior movie. 

The cinematography was very similar to the previous movie. Sono was again using classical techniques and involved a lot of sometimes fluid and other times slightly shaky camera movement, framing the narrative in such a way that brings an energetic, tension filled quality to the movie. Static shots are used in order to highlight and frame important conversations that add to the plot and this aids in giving the movie a classy feel. My personal favourite shot of the movie happens in Taki's beautiful office. It's a rather simple, but effective shot that showcases a certain kind of symbolism as Taki sits in his chair, a giant snake head statue looming over him. It's a rather cool looking shot, but one that also indicates just how dangerous Taki could be as his fangs are venomous, metaphorically speaking. 

For the sequel, Kenji Tanigaki was brought in to help choreograph the fight scenes. It really shows, particularly in the latter half of the movie. I wrote about how the fight scenes in the predecessor could have been improved and thankfully, Sono must have felt the same way as the sequel is a drastically improvement. The framing of the fight sequences have a frenetic energy about them as the camera moves around quite a lot, but at the same time, the action is clearly in and towards the centre of frame and easy to follow. There are still a few errors here and there, such as a few shots that showcase a person clearly missing their punch, but the other guys still reacting as if they had been hit, but overall it is much better. The best fight happens towards the very end of the movie and is a prolonged sequence that is interspersed with footage of a contest between Burst and Wizard's scouted girls. It's a very well choreographed sequence and if I had to nit-pick, I would criticise the characters ability to simply be able to walk off the impact of their confrontation. 

For me, a big part of what makes the adaptation of Shinjuku Swan work, is the likability of Go Ayano in the role of Tatsuhiko Shiratori. He is the moral bedrock of the movies and his kind-hearted nature is well brought to life by Ayano's charm and expressive performance. He is a very sympathetic character and the sequel has him go through a heck of a lot with him facing seemingly insurmountable odds, only to push through and persevere. 

Opposite Go Ayano, Tadanabou Asano was a rather welcome addition to the cast. Masaki Taki was a rather complicated character to get right and is much more than he seems on the surface and Asano managed to nail the role. Thanks to Asano's adaptability and ability to showcase a wide range of emotions and expressions, I found myself engrossed in Taki's arc and even became sympathetic as more about the character was revealed. Asano is much better suited to Japanese cinema than Hollyweird as his performances have shown. 

Mutoki Fukami also deserves a mention for his role as Gensuke Seki. His character was one of the characters that I thought was done the most justice. The combination of the tight script, Sono's brilliant direction and Fukami's splendidly cool performance ensured that Seki was one of the best characters throughout both movies. 

Perhaps, my biggest gripe with the movie is the rather unspectacular comeuppance of Haneman and the rest of Wizard. Haneman was a menace throughout the movie and yet, his only comeuppance does not involve him getting beaten up in a fight, which is less than satisfying to me considering all he did. 

Overall, I would highly recommend the second Shinjuku Swan movie to fans of the first one. I'd also recommend it to those who want a much more action-oriented narrative. Fans of Go Ayano and Tadanobu Asano would also enjoy their performances.