Explosive
Summary
A Janitor is definitely worth seeking out (it’s on Hi-Yah! if interested) as it has memorable characters and some great fight scenes in the second half.
Plot: Fukami, a janitor at high school whose true identity is a professional assassin raised by Majima who killed his father, fights 9 assassins to save Majima’s daughter.
Review: I can’t believe this one slipped under my radar when it was released in 2021, but this weekend I watched A Janitor and the first 2 Baby Assassins movies directed by (now this is confusing but he has multiple names)
A Janitor is a bit of an underrated gem as the second half of the movie is constant action with brutal fight scenes and shoot-outs.
Seiji Fukushi plays shy hitman Fukami Akira who was raised by the man who killed his father; he vows to protect his daughter from a group of assassins and all Hell breaks loose.
For the first half you’re wondering why Fukami isn’t fighting back when he is being harassed by school kids, but it’s only because he could kill with instantly if he tried. His mission is to protect Yui (Haruka Imô) and that’s what he does; I still wanted him to be more badass than he is but it’s something different to see a hitman who is soft spoken.
Our two leads from Baby Assassins appear but playing different characters… who are still assassins. The killers are all wonderfully over the top and give the film real personality considering Fukami barely says a word.
I loved Tomoya Maeno who plays the main villain Honda Yusuke; he looks like a harmless nerd but is a vicious gangster. It doesn’t quite go the way I expected as it’s set up that Nishimori (Hannya) is going to be the psychotic antagonist with his jittery performance, but then the tables turn.
At 86 minutes A Janitor is well paced and although some of the action has some noticeable edits it’s still wildly entertaining and a movie I will happily watch again.
Overall, A Janitor is an underrated action picture with some great fight scenes and a brisk runtime making it a welcome introduction to the world of .