Pure Japanese 2022

Dean Fujioka, who plays Daisuke Tateishi, is introduced as an employee at the Nikko Oedomura theme park, where he secretly dedicates his days to a strict routine of physical conditioning and spiritual discipline at a Shinto shrine. Tateishi comes across as an eccentric, socially distant figure, deeply rooted in a reverence for Japanese culture that keeps others at arm’s length. Even though he possesses outstanding physical gifts, his official work centers on handling sound effects for ninja shows rather than performing the action sequences himself, a choice born of a lingering trauma from a past accident on a film set.

At a farewell party in a snack bar, Ayumi, a high school girl who lied about her age to get hired, is part of the scene. Aju Makita plays Ayumi. The gathering brings together Jinnai, Saeki, and other members of the local yakuza group Nagayama-gumi, who are secretly colluding with Kurosaki, a prefectural assembly member, in a scheme to sell the land where Ayumi lives with her grandfather Ryuzo to a Chinese broker. The yakuza press Ayumi to help persuade Ryuzo, setting a tense, morally murky frame for the story’s stakes.

The tension intensifies when Saeki tries to use the “P(ure) J(apanese) kit” to gauge the purity of Japanese people. The device delivers a mediocre result of 50%, prompting Saeki to force the nearby ninja actors to take the test as well, though Tateishi refuses. Later, Tateishi comes to Ayumi’s aid when she becomes entangled in Saeki’s machinations, and she hands him a PJ kit. When he uses it at home, the number shoots up to 100%, marking a bizarre, unsettling moment that hints at his hidden strength and the complexities of purity and identity within the story.

Tateishi is called to participate in the ninja show as a replacement for a former colleague, but he falters under the weight of his trauma, unable to perform violence as freely as before. Ayumi’s presence in the audience underscores his struggle and his longing to protect, even as his self-imposed limits keep him from fully embracing the action that once defined him.

The conflict surrounding Ayumi’s home escalates, and Ryuzo is injured and hospitalized. Tateishi confesses to Ayumi that Kurosaki is behind the harassment, and together they confront Kurosaki in his office. He pretends to be innocent, but Tateishi’s anger erupts in a furious destruction of the office, an act that Ayumi publicly affirms as a legitimate expression of violence for the first time.

As authorities arrive to question Tateishi about the office’s destruction, rumors about his past spread to his boss, resulting in his dismissal. With Ryuzo’s death, the yakuza press harder to seize the land from Ayumi. She races to escape and enlists Tateishi’s help, as heavy machinery is brought onto her property and excavation work begins. In a climactic response, Tateishi unleashes the violent impulses he has long suppressed, storming the site to defend Ayumi and confront the mounting threat around them.