Tatsuya Fujiwara Movies
Slightly scruffy, rough-cut actor Tatsuya Fujiwara gained prominence in his native Japan while still in his late teens for youth roles (actually, he continued playing students into his twenties), usually ones with a heightened quotient for aggression and violence. Unsurprisingly, given the nature of Japanese cinema and the popularity in that country of action, sci-fi, and fantasy, Fujiwara often parlayed said image into assignments within said genres. Born May 15, 1982, in Saitama, Kanto, Japan, the actor moved into filmed roles around the age of 16. Popular projects included the two installments of the Battle Royale series (2001 and 2003, respectively) as a young punk in a dystopian version of the future where society is about to collapse and the first two installments of the Death Note series (2006 and 2007, respectively) as a law student who obtains an enchanted book that enables him to rub out the lives of whomever he chooses. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Director Shusuke Kaneko picks up right where Death Note left off with this sequel to the box-office phenomenon that finds Light finally giving in to his dark side. In the first Death Note, Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara) focused his wrath on the criminal element, but these days the troubled teen is a bit more hasty in wielding his deadly pen. Lately, Light has taken to eliminating just about anyone who happens to get on his bad side -- a disturbing development that finds the police stepping up their efforts to discover the mysterious killer's true identity. Public opinion is split about what to make of Light's murderous exploits; while some view him as a godsend, others deride him for assuming the roles of judge, jury, and executioner. To the regular citizens, Light has taken on a godlike role and is frequently referred to as Kira (a katakana variation on the work "killer"). It seems that the teenage detective L (Kenichi Matsuyama) is hot on Light's trail, and as the clueless police task force continues to speculate, Light does his best to throw L's investigation off balance. When yet another notebook is dropped by death god Rem, adorable television personality Misa Amane (Erika Toda) discovers it and realizes that she now has the power to identify other notebook owners. Now, despite the fact that Light and Misa fall for each other hard, Light knows that their relationship can only end in disaster and attempts to keep his distance despite a growing emotional attachment to the pretty popular icon. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama, (more)
Released into Japanese theaters in 2006, director Shusuke Kaneko's stylish adaptation of the best selling manga quickly trampled The Da Vinci Code on Japanese screens and subsequently and set box office records in Hong Kong and all across Asia. The plot picks up as aimless law student Light Yagami (Tetsuya Fujiwara) discovers a mysterious notebook in the middle of the street. Soon thereafter, Light discovers that if he writes a name in the notebook, that person will instantly die (generally of a heart attack). Of course it doesn't take long for Light to realize the extraordinary power he now holds, and before long he hatches a plan to rid the planet of crime by scribbling the name of notorious criminals in the pages of the powerful notebook and make the world a safer place for decent citizens everywhere. But Light isn't alone in his mission, because his new companion Ryuk - a flying god of death who only Light can see and who also happens to be the true owner of the notebook - is always there to egg him on and get a little laugh from the criminal holocaust. Over the course of the next few weeks, Light does away with millions of nefarious baddies and the global crime rate drops by seventy percent. Still, the police aren't too happy that a regular civilian seems to be taking the law into his own hands. Perhaps the only person capable of discovering Light's true identity is L (Kenichi Matsuyama) - a brilliant teenage detective with a taste for sweets and remarkable deductive reasoning skills. When the police chief (Takeshi Kaga of the hit television series Iron Chef) - who also happens to be Light's father - is assigned the task of unmasking the elusive killer, things really start to get interesting. A fast paced, goth-infused, cat-and-mouse thriller, Death Note was followed at the box office by the equally successful sequel Death Note: The Last Name just a few short months later. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama, (more)
Take a trip back to the Tokugawa era for this tale of friendship and loyalty from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike. When Eiji is wrongly imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit, his bad luck takes a turn for the worse when he is sent to an Ishikawa workhouse to perform hard labor. As Eiji attempts to survive the physical and mental torments of his incarceration, his lifelong friend Sabu struggles in the outside to seek out the man who truly perpetrated the crime before the bleak realities of prison life drive Eiji to a point beyond recovery. Adapted from writer Shugoro Yamamoto's classic novel, this unforgettable tale of courage is sure to remain with viewers and offer a new perspective on director Miike's wildly varied filmography. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Fujiwara, Satoshi Tsumabuki, (more)
- 2001
In a future where society is on the verge of collapse, the government takes drastic action against the problem of rebellious teenagers in this violent sci-fi opus from Japan. In the year 2002, Japan's economy has taken a dramatic turn for the worse, and massive unemployment and inflation have thrown most adults into a state of chaos; the nation's youth culture responds with unprecedented violence, delinquency, and truancy. Desperate to restore order, the Japanese parliament responds by creating the Millennial Reform School Act, in which groups of junior high students are selected at random, sent to an isolated island, and forced to play a rigorous war game, in which all but one of their number are killed. Kitano (Beat Takeshi) is an embittered school instructor who guides the 44 students of the Zentsuji Middle School's Class B through the deadly game known as "Battle Royale," as they struggle to survive against the elements and each other. Battle Royale proved to be both successful and highly controversial in Japan, where it set box-office records and prompted political leaders to call for stricter controls on violence in Japanese entertainment; the film was initially rated R-15 (no one under 15 admitted), unusual for violent films in Japan, though director Kinji Fukasaku later prepared a re-edited version that earned a more lenient classification. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, (more)
