Ichi the Killer was the first film I’d ever seen from director Takashi Miike. God, what a choice. Like most of my favorite Japanese films, it’s ultra-stylish and ultra-violent… but also, I have to admit, rather confusing. Just what the hell does happen at the end, anyway?

Ichi (Nao Omori) is a – well – troubled young man. That would be fine, except he’s got a killer martial arts technique that – combined with the steel blade on his left heel – tends to leave a trail of bodies behind wherever he’s been. He’s a one-man killing machine, and as it turns out, he’s working under the direction of a mysterious, unpredictable individual with his own agenda.

The real star of the show, however, is Kakihara, played by Tadanobu Asano (my favorite current Japanese actor). Kakihara is a gangland assassin with an outrageous sense of fashion and a sadistic streak a mile long. He not only kills, but he takes delight in torturing his enemies as well. But to be fair, he’s also tough with himself: a severe masochist, his greatest pleasure comes from being beaten. His gang boss used to perform this task, but he’s disappeared – actually, Ichi sliced him open in the first reel of the film.

The bulk of the plot concerns Kakihara’s search for his missing, beloved gang boss (beloved because of the whippings) and the mysteries the search uncovers. A lot of zany characters are encountered along the way, naturally. And in the end, Kakihara and Ichi battle face-to-face. Nothing ends as anyone expected it to, however. (Though, again, if anybody has it figured out, please let me know.)

Director Takashi Miike is known for his unique films, which – despite obfuscation apparently being a national cinematic trait – are quirky, thrilling, and usually hard to follow. Ichi is no exception. Like other of Miike’s films before it (like Visitor Q or Happiness of the Katakuris), one often looks up the screen to ask, “What the hell is going on?” But it’s never boring. There is always something unique, or at least presented in a unique way, to look at. And of course there’s plenty of action – that is to say, violence.

Let me be clear: this film is incredibly violent. Some of the violence is extremely cartoony – as when Ichi slices a guy open and the dude literally rips into two halves – or when Kakihara, coming upon a roomful of Ichi’s recent victims, is literally slipping around on all the blood and guts on the floor. Some of the violence is all too realistic, however, like when the gang boss savagely beats his female escort; it’s a brutal scene that I always skip on subsequent viewings. But there’s a lot of rough stuff here, and anyone wishing to see the film should be aware of that from the beginning.

Given that, the film has its own odd, surreal logic. It’s dark, of course, due to the subject matter; but it’s also very enjoyable. (It’s not an international cult hit for nothing.) It’s stylishly directed, and Miike – whatever else can be said about him – has got plenty of style and skill. Watching it, it’s almost as if we are viewing another Japan, another Tokyo, which exists in a nightmarish alternate-world. This world is full of garish villains and very few heroes. A nice place to peek in on now and then, but we sure as hell wouldn’t want to live there.