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The end of the line is right behind me.
Here's to wishing another year of success and prosperity for Media Works Corporation.
We're going to give it five shout-outs. Ready?
- Thank you. Wishing you all the best.
- Hold up!
- Why are we fighting over this!
- It's the end, once and for all.
Start again from Hayamizu's line.
At our company, we make yakuza movies.
We make almost 80% of all yakuza movies out there.
My name is Hoyu Yamamoto. I'm a film producer.
I'm also an event producer.
People used to be more relaxed about yakuza films.
They were genuinely entertained by our movies.
But two years ago, the government instated the Gang Exclusion Act.
Now, society expects us not to communicate with the yakuza or glorify them in any way.
- Let's do scene 440. - Got it.
Start rolling the camera.
- I'm just asking you to cover for me.
Don't you think you're asking for too much?
The Gang Exclusion Act says that you can't have ongoing relations with the yakuza.
Although you can "interview" them.
But that's definitely a gray area and frowned upon.
So now, we rely on ex-yakuza members,
who have quit the gang world.
I have them reach out to old contacts who are still there, to get juicy stories.
This way I can avoid direct contact.
We need a buffer like that now.
But magazines is where we get the most information.
We focus on underground topics.
I'm Kunihiko Shinoda, editor-in-chief at Jitsuwa Document Magazine.
I'm also the president of Jeiz Keibunsha company.
As far as yakuza goes,
Yamaguchi-gumi is the group that makes the headlines.
Whether it be what they're up to, who's doing what,
or about the structure of their organization.
Our magazine features the latest information about them.
The yakuza is just one category that we cover.
Another category is the right wing movement.
Tattoos as well.
We cover all those areas.
We're one of the few surviving comprehensive magazines.
Violence... and more violence.
Makoto comes up to me and punches me.
- And then it's his turn.
You'll like what you see.
These things don't happen so much anymore,
but Japanese yakuzas used to keep very strict "shoba", or territories.
In other words, their own turf.
To film something in a yakuza group's territory, you needed consent.
The police would obviously tell us not to.
But we'd still pay our respects and get permission from the yakuza.
But once, we couldn't get in touch with the local yakuza.
So we filmed some stuff there without permission.
Later, the yakuza found out about this, and we were kidnapped.
They took us to their office, and things got pretty messy for a while.
That happened once.
But like I said, regulations are stricter now so we don't interact with them directly anymore.
Even if we want to, we can't.
Under the new law, you'll be penalized simply by interacting with them.
Our films focus on the aspects of yakuza
that we think are worth glamorizing.
- Ready? Action.
We've actually had real yakuza appear in our films before.
But now, with the new law,
we can't cast them anymore.
It's not worth taking risks and breaking the law to make these films.
So we don't cast them now. But we used to.
That's a fact.
- Come in.
- Hi, sorry I'm late. - I'm Shinoda.
- Nice to meet you. - You too.
- Here's what you're going to do. - Ok.
Our magazine is the first periodical in Japan to have
featured tattoos on a monthly basis.
Once, we put a tattoo on the front cover and published it just like that.
We also put out a calendar full of tattooed girls.
I've forgotten the title. It's over there.
We're making another one.
- Wow, that's a pretty serious tattoo!
- Ok now stand, and pull your hair to the left.
The general public believe that
tattoos are inherently linked to the yakuza.
But that's the wrong way of looking at it.
At some time during the late 19th to early 20th century, the Prince of England visited Japan.
That was a time when Japan prohibited tattoos.
It wasn't something that was openly done.
But the Prince was enamored by the beauty of Japanese tattoos.
And so he got tattooed himself before returning to England.
Can you turn more towards me?
- No, I'm afraid not!
Ok, let's turn the other way then.
- That's a wrap. - Thank you.
The main character of this episode is a guy named Ohmiya.
He's played by Kazuyoshi Ozawa.
If you're a real man,
there comes a day when you have to choose your path.
You're lucky to have been born a man.
Don't you want to climb to the top using only your head and your strength?
He plays the role of a troublemaker.
He doesn't follow the rules of society,
nor the rules of the yakuza either.
I've only ever played outlaws.
For some reason, I keep getting into dangerous situations.
I've been shot by an American, and shot back at one too.
I mean in real life.
I've been shot at,
I've had an actor kidnapped, had a gun to my head, and have been held up.
I've been through a lot.
Maybe the roles that I play have rubbed off on me.
We never get a chance to interact with local yakuza anymore.
Especially these days.
But no matter what role you're going to play, however difficult it is,
nothing beats interacting with the people you're portraying.
The biggest difference between actors and the yakuza...
is that actors exaggerate everything.
I'm a little taken aback when I watch them.
They're even more yakuza-like than the real deal.
Us right wing groups live in a different world. But we share the same ideals.
The goal of the right wing is to protect the entire nation of Japan.
And in this film, my clan's goal is to protect our turf.
- Pick up from after "What do you mean?"
Generally speaking, when people think of yakuza films,
they think of flashy action scenes.
They also think of cars.
And they expect violence.
Or least that's what our audience expects.
But to be honest, we want the general public to watch our films.
They're humanistic drama stories, after all.
- Action.
Let me get this straight.
Did you understand what the Chairman meant when he kindly suggested
that we open up our turf and grow as a group?
- Yes of course.
Then why are we fighting over money within our own group?!
Besides, aren't you part of the leadership?
- Cut!
As you finish that cup of sake,
you will officially be welcomed as the successor of the group.
When you're ready to take accept this responsibility,
please drink your sake down in one go, without leaving a single drop.
When you say someone's a "dark hero",
it means that he's a villain, but he's cool.
That's the definition.
Yakuza are not "dark heroes". They're the ultimate hero.
- Wow, that's awesome.