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In my review of the first “Diamond Guys” collection Arrow put out, I noted how, for all the ways those films tried to shake up the Nikkatsu formula, it was still a fairly representative look at what the studio was all about – widescreen, black-and-white, stoic men drawn into violent situations, corruptible women, and jazzy scores. Only the final film in that set – Rambling Guitarist – really managed to strike out and maintain a distinctive tone, but the narrative remained the same. With this second collection, the trajectory is quite the opposite. Rather than gradually move away from the formula, Volume 2 begins with a loose riff in the manner of Rambling Guitarist and gets more cartoonish, absurd, and unpredictable from there. Not that this precisely means the films are any more successful overall. The ratio remains the same – one solid bit of fun, one slog, and one that’s pretty near great.

Buichi Saito's Tokyo Mighty GuySTORY65%ACTING72%DIRECTING70%VISUALS75%POSITIVESVery quick pace that makes the film easy to watchMany hilarious scenes and linesGreat restorationNEGATIVESThe script's nonsensicallity reveals its ageYou have to love Japanese cinema to watch it2016-07-1871%Overall ScoreReader Rating: (1 Vote)70%

Nikkatsu, the oldest film studio in Japan, inaugurated a star system in the late 1950s, finding talent and contracting them to a series of wild genre pictures. A prominent example of the tendency is “Tokyo Mighty Guy.”

Young Jiro returns to Tokyo after finishing his studies in French cuisine and opens a restaurant in Ginza. However, he stumbles upon many troubles as an ex-prime minister crashes his car in his restaurant, the Yakuza seems to demand money for protection, and Jiro does not seem able to stop helping everyone that comes across his way.

Buichi Saito directs a very entertaining film, which, although focuses on the comic element,...

Take a look @ the June 2016 home video releases from cult movie specialists Arrow Video Us, via Mvd Entertainment Group, including "Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol 2 on Blu-ray + DVD, June 14, "Suture" on Blu-ray + DVD, June 21 and "Return Of The Killer Tomatoes" on Blu-ray, June 28:

"Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol 2" available June 14, 2016, includes three classic films from directors Buichi Saito ("Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril"), Ko Nakahira ("Crazed Fruit") and Haruyasu Noguchi.

In Saito's "Tokyo Mighty Guy" : "...Akira Kobayashi stars as 'Jiro' , a chef who opens a restaurant in the busy 'Ginza' district. His culinary skills and dashing good looks bring in the women as well as unwanted trouble, while an explosive political scandal builds around his girlfriend's business.

In Nakashira's "Danger Pays", actor Joe Shishido ("Massacre Gun", "Retaliation") stars in a crime caper about counterfeiting: 

"...when one billion yen goes Awol, 'Joe the Ace' (Shishido) spies an opportunity to get rich quick,...