I should note that I only saw the edited version of the movie. Yes, I know. You should’ve seen the uncut version. You should be beaten Holiday.
This is another crime against film I blame against Blockbuster. Rise against them, my people, and we shall be free!
Actually the cut version takes a vital scene out. A quite vital scene. FUCK BLOCKBUSTER!
Even though I work at one…
I wouldn’t mind most of the evils that Blockbuster has committed against the world if they had a decent selection.
Plus, Cockbuster often only carries full-screen pan and scan version of movies…
mmm, pan&scan cut-down movies…thats wonderful
oh yeah Wal-Mart does this too
Don’t worry I’ll try to bring it all down from da inside! WE WILL RISE ABOVE IT ALL MY BROTHAS!!!
Raises arm in victory
Cockbuster must be destroyed!
If we must die, we give them hell before we do!!
**thousands of robot arms raised in victory
We shall see the Shire!!!
er…bullet dont u work at blockbuster? u could start by loppin off ur manager’s head 8)
just saw ichi, and its a bad-ass movie. its not as fast moving as i thought it would be, but still really fuckin cool and thought provoking. wut vital scene are u talkin bout dat was cut? also when kakihara is in the room w/ the chains at the end, i believe that he was dead and had arrived in his own heaven
[quote]We shall see the Shire!!!
er…bullet dont u work at blockbuster? u could start by loppin off ur manager’s head  8)
just saw ichi, and its a bad-ass movie. its not as fast moving as i thought it would be, but still really fuckin cool and thought provoking. wut vital scene are u talkin bout dat was cut? also when kakihara is in the room w/ the chains at the end, i believe that he was dead and had arrived in his own heaven[/quote]
OHHHHH SHIT NIGGA! That’s is a good motherfuckin theory! I mean where else would he want to go! Smart thinking Buono! 
And that vital scene that was cut was Ichi meeting up and having lunch with his brother.
u mean the guy who shot him in the legs at the end? was that really his bro, i thought that jiji just hypnotized him and told him it was his brother for some reason
I’ll just post my little theory from my site about the whole climax to the film, with a little bit of editing.
MAJOR SPOILERS
Kakihara isn’t killed by Ichi. That whole segment of the film, from after the part where Ichi lies down and is kicked by the child to the scene where Kakihara jumps off the roof, is all part of Kakihara’s own fantasy. I heard someone call it his form of masturbation once, he wanted his life to be ended by Ichi so bad that he just closed his eyes and started his imagination. Ichi never gets up, never kills the kid and never stabs Kakihara in the head with his boot-razor. Kakihara, unable to deal with the dissapointment that Ichi is only a confused and tear-proned young man, sticks his blades through his ears and commits suicide by jumping from the roof. What supports this is the scene where Jiji (the old man) finds Kakihara’s body, he moves the hair that would be covering the scar on Kakihara’s forehead and shows the audience that there is nothing there. That certainly was no accident where someone forgot the makeup. Jiji then turns to the camera with a sad look on his face, most likely because his days of control over Ichi (or anyone, like Miss Tachibana) are over. I don’t believe Kakihara was hypnotized by Jiji, mainly because his control over Kakihara’s actions had more to do with people that he set around him. Jiji sent Ichi to the roof in his regular puppetmaster routine, but the plan failed and Ichi is no longer under his control. Now, what happens after this is a little more blurry. I personally believe the kid on the roof may have killed Ichi, but I can’t really know, but I believe the kid at the end who turns around is the child from the roof. What makes me think this? The crow that passess by, much like the one that was eating from that same kid’s hand earlier. Not a direct clue, but a possibility. The kid killed Jiji, and that is who is hanging from the tree. You can tell by the sweatpants. Now, whether this was after Jiji tried to control the kid unsuccesfully or if the kid just found out on his own, I’m not sure, but I do believe that is the kid from the roof and he did kill Jiji. Just my iterpritation. I like the idea of Il Buono’s explanation of the cellar scene with Kakihara, it being his own personal afterlife. He certainly looks happy ;D There are a lot of holes in my ‘theory’, but I believe I might be right in some area. Maybe.
END SPOILERS
That’s just my theory, there are plenty of other ways you can go with it, but that’s basically my thoughts on the film as of the moment.
Not to pick apart your theory at all, but how could the kid possibly kill Jiji? That guy was so insanely ripped…it isn’t funny.
Sidequestion: Just because I’m in to stuff like this…who do you think the most twisted person in Ichi the Killer is? What about evil?
Holiday? What’s your theory on the ending?
Most evil character is Kakihara, hands down.
i still believe that the whole thing at the end w/ the guy hanging on the tree was merely symbolism showing that jiji no longer had control over ichi and his service was no longer being used. or the kid at the end could have been the kid grown up after jiji hypnotized him and he became a killer and he killed jiji. either way makes since to me. still, did ichi die? i never figured dat out
i would say that the most evil character is jiji, but is he really more evil than kakihara? both of them took pleasure in controlling others and in violent things. jiji seems to be the most evil, but i cannot explain why
Those two motherfuckers who cut the girls nipples off then the one of them who pulls the other guys arm off were both extremely sadistic and evil. They laughed at peoples pain.
But they were pretty cool 8)
[quote]Not to pick apart your theory at all, but how could the kid possibly kill Jiji? That guy was so insanely ripped…it isn’t funny.
Sidequestion: Just because I’m in to stuff like this…who do you think the most twisted person in Ichi the Killer is? What about evil?[/quote]
As I said, the kid could have been trained by Jiji and after long enough time, broke free from his control and killed him. Who’s to say, this appears to be several years after the rooftop incident, he could have trained or Jiji could have become an alchoholic, it’s hard to tell. The only way any of us is going to know for sure is to go out and find a translated version of the Manga ;D
I don’t think it was all symbolism though, there’s plenty of that all throughout Ichi. The ending had meaning to it in a somewhat logical sense.
[quote]Holiday? What’s your theory on the ending?
Most evil character is Kakihara, hands down. [/quote]
Ok. Lets see how this works…The bright resolution in scenes only occurs when a character’s mind is reverted to its primal desires and thoughts, such as what has been programmed into their personalities. (Example, Ichi-the rape) Kakihara, barely piercing his brain with that sharp thing of his, reverts to his basest primal desire: to feel pain. He sees Ichi killing him, when, in actuality, he stumbles around and falls to his death. Jiji sees that Kakihara killed himself, and that Ichi failed. The kid kicks Ichi to death. Kakihara, being dead, is in his own personal hell. The blue color of it is in stark contrast to the red of the blood he so desired to see, (as well as the color scheme of his clothes for the most part). In Kakihara’s hell, the worst possible thing is to be alone, doing nothing. He cannot feel pain, which, for him, is the ultimate suffering. Jiji, seeing that his plan failed, hangs himself. The kid, after killing Ichi, symbolically wears the dark rain coat Ichi donned earlier. The kid has become the killer.
There is some symbolism, like the crow and the black rain coat which all means death, or evil.
Oh yes. The most evil character is Kakihara. The twins are second, although even they cannot touch the level of evil that Kakihara lives on.
I’m with pantsman on this one 100%. Not to say that everyone else is wrong. There are different things people can get out of this movie, it’s just that, I got the same thing out of Ichi that pants did.
Everyones take on the ending is as good as the next. Buono actually got some really good shit across, Holiday’s one was good as well. But I stick to what I wrote, it seems simple and less complex then the other ones haha.
Also I think the ending to Ichi is very Lynch style, it leaves more room for dissucussion.
I agree with pantsman’s theory and think he says it the best. Once the kid’s father died, the circle of revenge and violence continued with him and he was made 2 kill by jiji. Jiji is eventually killed by the grown up kid and is hung on the tree. (Either that or the kid eventually broke out of his hypnotism like ichi did and jiji really did kill himself)
But i think Holiday might be correct in saying that Kakihara is in his own hell at the end instead of heaven. Notice how the room he is in is bright blue and may seem heavenly-like to us, but to kakihara the blood red of violence is heaven. Also notice kakihara’s emotionless stare and his mouth opens because he is missing his trademark pins in his cheeks that showcased who he really was. In Kakiraha’s after life there is no violence or pain, thus it is hell for him
I found this Ichi the Killer Anime Episode 0 on eBay. Apparently it’s an anime prequel to the movie. Anyone heard of it/seen it? Is it good?