Cast Member: Shido Nakamura

‘Be With You’ is a Japanese drama that is easy to appreciate on the surface as it is a well-made, well-acted work that skilfully tells a story without ever getting side-tracked in needless sub-plots.

Right from the opening, it’s blatantly obvious that ‘Death Note’ is skipping some of the more important and enjoyable aspects of the story.

Unpretentious, well crafted, a great central performance and some excellent action make ‘Ichi’ a hugely enjoyable experience and refreshing take on the samurai genre.

Although this movie marks the fifth big screen outing for the ‘One Piece’ pirate crew, the series is showing no signs of weakness and continues to churn out one successful adventure film after another.

Despite having no conclusion of its own, all of the groundwork of the characterisation and story make the next chapter an exciting prospect.

Part 2 is certainly the superior one, but both deserve individual credit for reviving the dying embers of John Woo’s career.