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Directed by Takashige Ichise
Tokyo: The Last War
帝都大戦
A bleak, atmospheric fantasy.
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Horror
1989
1h 47m
In 1945, after the horrific fire-bombings of the Pacific War levels Japan to the ground, the government consults spiritual psychics to aid them in winning the war. Unfortunately, the souls' resentment and agony of the victims culminate together to revive the evil Onmyoji, Yasunori Kato. Only a young, psychically imbued priests' apprentice will dare fight the evil magician.
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Cast & crew
6What people say
Oh, so that's why it took so long for someone to write fansubs for this. Super low-key follow-up to TOKYO: THE LAST MEGALOPOLIS (in comparison). I was intrigued when Dylan Cheung tweeted that this was ghost-directed by Lam Nai-Choi (RICKI-OH) and action-choreographed by Philip Kwok... but it's definitely an easy gig for both of them, Kwok especially, because there are no HK-style action scenes at all. While the first film dived head first into spiritual combat and odd sights aplenty, THE LAST WAR does a veeeerrrryyyy slowwww build, with a much more focused story about a few people trying to live through the end of WWII, and is primarily concerned with psychic battles (without any cool optical effects) in which people slowwwwwlllly toss things at each other and make constipated faces to indicate they're using their powers. It's a far cry from stop-motion ghoulies that were crawling over the last one. There's a child insect, and some dangling eye gore, but it's D-grade compared Choi's THE CAT, SEVENTH CURSE, GHOST SNATCHERS, and THE PEACOCK KING. If you're interested in watching these two live-action films (haven't seen the anime), watch this one first, then go back and watch the previous one. It will feel like an escalation, and there's no returning actor beyond Kyūsaku Shimada as the big bad, which oddly, LAST WAR spends ages setting him up as a dark, oppressive figure, while he gets almost no intro in the MEGALOPOLIS.
This film has become a white whale for me. It’s nary impossible to track down. The sequel to Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis, the only other film besides Alien that HR Giger was an art director on, and the only film ever directed by legendary Japanese horror producer Takashige Ichise. If *anyone* has any information on where this can be viewed, please reach out. Cheers
Common questions
What is Tokyo: The Last War about?+
In 1945 Japan following the Pacific War, the collective agony of victims revives an evil magician, forcing a young priest's apprentice to confront him.
Who directed Tokyo: The Last War?+
Takashige Ichise directed this 1989 Japanese dark fantasy film.
Is Tokyo: The Last War a sequel?+
Yes, it serves as the follow-up to Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis.
Are there upcoming screenings of Tokyo: The Last War?+
Full schedule on Mood.
