"Because boring people took charge, those below suffered and shed blood. Battles Without Honor and Humanity: A 20-Year Record of Bloodshed by Hiroshima Yakuza" Death Struggle Edition & Decisive Battle Edition

I have finished reading the two original books for "Battles Without Honor and Humanity," which could be called the Japanese version of The Godfather.

"The Godfather" was released in 1972, and "Battles Without Honor and Humanity" followed in 1973, making them nearly contemporaneous. The original newspaper serialization began in 1972, so perhaps this is not imitation but a coincidence, or a phenomenon that should be called synchronicity.

While America depicted "family and blood ties," Japan established an ensemble drama of young people against the backdrop of "post-war chaos and violence."


Death Struggle Edition

This volume focuses on the first and second films. It has a strong flavor of a youth ensemble drama set in the post-war era, with Koichi Iibote's third-person reportage forming the framework, complemented by Kozo Mino's first-person memoir. The Hiroshima dialect dialogue in the text plays back in the actors' voices in my mind; the more you have watched the films, the more you will enjoy this.

Decisive Battle Edition

This volume focuses on the third film and beyond (Proxy War, Final Conflict). The youth ensemble elements fade, and the narrative depicts the further power struggles and chains of betrayal among the main characters who have become bosses and executives. While the momentum drops slightly, the logic and politics of the organization come to the fore.

The most interesting character is undoubtedly the boss, Yamamori. He never commits murder or violence himself, instead manipulating people thoroughly. His psychopathic nature—using carrots and sticks, schemes, and layers of lies—has a cold-bloodedness that reminds me of Futoshi Matsunaga from the Kitakyushu serial murder case. Moreover, he plays the clown, cries, and puts on a good face for women in the nightlife industry, which makes him similarly inscrutable.

I had assumed the direction and lines were unique to the films, but I was surprised to find that many were used exactly as they appeared in the original books, proving the films were more faithful to the source material than I expected.

While it seems many sequels to the films have been made, it is a pity that anything beyond the first five, or works where the main cast like Bunta Sugawara played different characters, is at the level of V-Cinema.

The Wikipedia entry is exceptionally detailed—likely written by obsessive fans or insiders—so I recommend it.