Ajin: Demi-Human (2017)

A high school student discovers he is an Ajin, a demi-human being. He ends up a fugitive on the run because of his powers.

Director:

Katsuyuki Motohiro

Writers:

Gamon Sakurai (manga), Masahiro Yamaura

Stars:

Mamoru Miyano, Takeru Satoh, Minami Hamabe

Cast

Credited cast:
Mamoru Miyano	...	IBM (voice)
Takeru Satoh	...	Kei Nagai (as Takeru Satô)
Minami Hamabe	...	Eriko Naga
Tetsuji Tamayama	...	Yu Tosaki
Gô Ayano	...	Sato
Kenichi Suzumura	...	Noriaki Iwashimizu
Yûki Yamada	...	Takahashi
Yûdai Chiba	...	Okuyama
Yu Shirota	...	Koji Tanaka
Rina Kawaei	...	Izumi Shimomura
Kazuki Ohmori	...	Negotiator

Storyline

War in Africa is suddenly sideswiped by the first known "Ajin" Demi-human who after death comes back to life and continues fighting! As more pop up around the globe Governments are capturing them to find out more about them. In Japan Nagai Kai a Highschool boy's world is turned upside down when he's hit by a truck killing him, but instantly he comes back to life! He just wants to be left alone but now he's the most wanted person in Japan being the third reported Ajin out of a worldwide population of 46 known, the government wants him. And he has to run!

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Plot Keywords:

live action remake of anime | one word title | immortal | demi god | vehicular accident | 

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Taglines:

Dead and... alive.

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Mamoru Miyano, who voiced protagonist Kei Nagai in Ajin (2016), voices Nagai's IBM spirit in this film.

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Connections

Remake of Ajin (2016)

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Soundtracks

BLACK MEMORY
Performed and arranged by The Oral Cigarettes
Written and composed by Takuya Yamanaka

User Reviews

Excellent action flick that suffers from a condensed running time

I haven't read the comics or seen the cartoons, so I went into this clueless - no idea what it was about whatsoever.

The lead, Nagai, is in hell: he is experimented on, he has limbs amputated, he is killed and... he comes back to life again, fully healed. This torment goes on and on - and this being the film's opening, we don't know how long he's suffered this cruelty.

Sato is another Ajin - which is what Nagai also is, hence the never-ending cycle of death and life; he busts Nagai free, gleefully slaughtering everyone involved in the experiment and asks Nagai to join his crusade of bringing down such evil facilities, so their kind will never again endure these ordeals. The catch? Sato wants Nagai to kill a few scientists to prove his loyalty.

Okay, so after going through hell, why not get some payback? Nagai refuses and illogically fights Sato to save those who had butchered him relentlessly... seemingly for chuckles. This is the first head-scratching moment in a streamlined film which skips the majority of character development to concentrate on the action. And why not?

The problem is that, by condensing - good only knows how many - comics into something like 80 minutes (which is actually 109, but it goes so fast!), Nagai's character and his bizarre choices don't make a great deal of sense - a massive pity, because the action's great and there are a lot of cool ideas to more than make up for a lack of Hollywood production money.

Ultimately, the decision to cut 10 or 20 minutes by omitting the reasoning behind Nagai's stupidity/irrationality (take your pick), along with that of a certain female, hurt the film much more than slowing the tempo slightly or pushing it over 2 hours ever could. This film easily could've been a 9/10 but as it is, a 6 is fair and a 7 generous - and since I liked the concept so much, I'm being generous.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

30 September 2017 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Ajin: Demi-Human

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,750,712

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amuse, Dentsu, East Japan Marketing & Communications Inc.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1