Tokyo 10+1 AKA Tokyo Eleven was directed by Highuchinsky and stars rock singer EDDIE as well as two actor and actress that worked in the series Battle Royale, Ando Masanobu and Kato Natsuki(Battle Royal II). This film is very influenced by the smash blockbuster "Battle Royal" and its not afraid to show it. I knew that having this side note tagged onto this film would get it automatic hate just because "Battle Royal" is so well loved and has a huge fanbase. "Tokyo Eleven"could have even been a side story with new characters to the "Battle Royal" universe but I know some crazy fan would have a lot to say about this idea.
The storyline has the outline structure of BR but certain qualities are exclusively for Tokyo Eleven. One thing is that the main character's are criminals who have records, brought together to play a game of death for reward money. Tokyo Eleven was released a few months before Battle Royal II making this the biggest coincidence I have ever seen. Kato Natsuki had some practice before doing the real version of Battle Royal. Very Funny.
2003 in Japan was in no way shape or form the same as Japan now when it comes to movie quality. You can imagine how outdated this movie might look and it does look outdated but that's the charm of the product too. The aspect ratio of the screen was changed to keep the quality of the film's look even on higher resolution discs such as Blu-Ray and DVD. When I first started watching the film, I thought my screen had goes crazy but then I realized this was the way the film was suppose to look. Shots got freakishly close to character's faces at certain times and if you stare without looking away for too long, your eyes will start to hurt with all the sudden angle changes mixed with in motion camera shots. Every aspect of the way this film looks is very "Battle Royle" except for the futuristic scenes of the oddly shaped buildings and the spaceship cars soaring through the air. Great concept that was executed to the best of the abilities they had back then.
Actors and Actresses's performances were highlights for the best parts of this film besides the deaths. All the characters had a back story that the film cared nothing about because it didn't take too long for someone to depart this world. Eddie's character's history was the main focus that leads to everyone being tied together by fate. I was mostly hooked on the whys and hows that started to present themselves toward the end of the film. You can tell this film was not meant to be too mind bending as the duration is much shorter than "Battle Royal" and no thought was given to how the deaths would happen. Some deaths were different than others leaving a little individuality however none died by the other players hands well... kind of anyway. This fact makes me appreciate how creative "Battle Royal" was.
"Tokyo Eleven" was doable for me. One thing that really saves the film is it's storyline. I would have much rather had this film be a side ark to "Battle Royal" than to have had this be its own movie. Some reviews for this film are very biased because fans think that this film is trying to compete with BR. I see it more as fan service with some of the actors that were involved in BR. I do also suggest that you go check out Battle Royal if you haven't yet. Great films to see since that are a big part of Japanese pop culture history. (First film is better than the second but I like both.) Battle Royal and Tokyo Eleven are pretty violent so if seeing people ket killed is not your thing then Disney is showing movies in the theater down the street.
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