Aragami: The Raging God of Battle (2002)

Fleeing from enemies, two wounded samurai arrive at a mysterious old temple in a remote location in the mountains. Unable to walk any further, they collapse from exhaustion. One awakens to find himself miraculously healed. His mysterious host tells him the legend of a Japanese goblin that is said to reside in the mountains dining on the flesh of men. He goes on to reveal himself as the demon "Aragami." And Challenges the Samurai to a duel. Wishing to end his own seemingly invincible existence, an existence without sleep or dreams, with a battle against a worthy opponent. The only way for the Samurai to leave the temple is to destroy Aragami.

I wish all directors made bets like this. . .

Aragami is what I wish all "art" films or "experimental" films could be like. And the world would be a better place for it.

Okay, for the three people in the world who have found this film but haven't actually heard the backstory, here's the short version: 2 Japanese directors place a bet with one another about who can make a better film in 7 days, 1 location, 3 actors, and 1 has to die. "Aragami" is one-half of that bet (the other being "2LDK"--IMO, "Aragami" wins).

It's important to have a little context when seeing this as it'll make you appreciate it all that much more. Now that we've dealt with the peripheral nonsense, let's get into the good stuff.

"Aragami" is a movie that gets better and better as it goes along. You really have to watch the whole thing to appreciate it (and please ignore the [other reviewer] on this page who referenced the running time at over 2 hours--the film clocks in at 80 minutes--the last 30 being mostly action--unless he has some super, uncut, "only guy in the known universe to have it" version that we missed out on). This film will deliver, but it takes some patience.

After 50 minutes I started thinking, "Okay, the premise is cool and I like what they're doing here. But this is a Ryuhei Kitamura film, when do I get to start witnessing some broken sternums and whatnot?" The answer, at just about the 50-minute mark. Once it gets going it doesn't look back. You get the trademark Kitamura style. At that point, the film starts hovering around the 4-star level. By the time you see the final scene you'll be grinning ear-to-ear and realizing just how awesome this movie really is. The payoff is well worth it (especially for Kitamura fans, ever more so for "Versus" fans).

I've done you a favor. Knowing when the action kicks in, now you can sit back and enjoy the story unfolding knowing exactly what you're getting (and when). As for the story, read the summary. The acting is very tight. The story is cool. The action is very, very well done. And it all plays out well given the constraints of the bet.

This movie should play well for those Kitamura fans, fans of "cult" style action flicks, those with some artistic sensibilities looking for something a little different. Although I wouldn't recommend this as an entrance into the Kitamura world. Check out "Ultimate Versus" first. If you dig it, then go out and pick this up. And, it gets better with subsequent viewings, too. Enjoy. September 14, 2008

Im so confused...

As to why i loved this movie so much! Their is only 1 setting in the entire movie but the acting/action/scripting were just too awesome, i dont understand it at all! January 10, 2008

Watched it again last night

Shortly after I started on this whole "Asian ZFilm" addition I now have, I purchased Aragami knowing nothing of the director, the actors, the so called "director's bet" to film it ion less than a week. Basically I had no preconceived notions about this movie.

I can tell you without any doubt in my mind that this is one of the greatest films I have ever seen, domestic or foreign.

After seeing the movie 3 times now, I just found out it was only 80 minutes long. I am so sucked into the world inside Aragami's temple that time seems to stop.

I could go on and on. Basically, add this movie to your collection. July 1, 2007

Aragami is an interesting samurai movie in existence.

Originally, I found out about this movie after watching 2LDK a couple pf months ago and found out about this challenge. I thought it was an interesting concept and would like to see how some of today's American directors could tackle such a project. Although I liked 2LDK, Aragami was simply the better movie. At times, the style and dialog (or lack of) reminded me of something Tarantino would do.

The very basic plot is that Aragami (Masaya Kato), who, incidentally, is the God of Battle, challenges a samurai (Takao Osawa) to a fight to the death. Aragami is tired of living and can not commit suicide nor die of old age or other natural causes. He must be killed in battle, as he is the God of Battle. He immortalizes the samurai by feeding him his deceased friend's liver and the fight is on.

Surprisingly, this basic plot did not seem to drag on for too long and was just about the right length to establish the two main characters. Unlike most other movies this one lacks a clear antagonist the two leads are described as men of honor each with his own unique personality and at times, the dialog was humorous. While making the impact of the fight between them even more effective as both characters are likable. Kitamura's decision to keep the battle for the final part of the film proves to be a correct one, as tension builds up between the two leads with each and every revelation, setting their motivation for what's coming.

"Aragami: The Raging God of Battle" It's not a fully blown action film instead its simple plodded. I enjoyed this film very much and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys samurai movies.
January 17, 2007

Accross between The Twilight zone and Kill bill

The movie is about an almost invincible aragami wanting to end his life in a duel to the death. Most of the movie there are two guys talking across from one another. If you have ADD don't watch this movie, but if you love a well writen samurai movie with the best duel in samurai cinema history pick this one up. August 21, 2006

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