Violent cop Kuroiwa is on an investigation on the rising tension between the Yamashiro and Nishida clans. After a couple run-ins with the local Nishida gangsters he begins to make his alliances. He discovers a secret police force posing as loan agents whom are watchdogs for the Yamashiro clan. He falls in love with Keiko, a mistress within the Nishida clan, and after proving his toughness in a 1-vs-20 man fight he becomes cool with the underboss Iwaki and swears brotherhood. His relations with the Nishida clan gets him expelled from the force (whom are secretly in Yamashiro's pockets), and the cops blackmail Nishida to sell out Iwaki and ally with Yamashiro. The secret task force kidnaps Kuroiwa and injects him with truth serum so he'll squeal on Iwaki whereabouts. When Kuroiwa snaps into reality he shoots up the cop station

There's not much to say really about YAKUZA GRAVEYARD perhaps other than it is a Kinji Fukasaku movie that finds the unsung master of the crime genre firing on all cylinders, his cinematic craft honed to stultifying perfection. Narrative use of montages and stills, hyperkinetic camera-work, relentless action, groovy score, convoluted plot, all the stylistic hallmarks of his yakuza directorial output are present and I'm sure he knew them so well by this point I bet he could knock one out of the park with his eyes closed. All in all an orgasmic smorgasbord of no-nonsense seventies crime cinema that takes no prisoners and that will have every last one of the genre's enthusiasts raising fists in the air with excitement. If you've perused any of Fukasaku's back catalogue from the early seventies you know exactly what I'm talking about – YG is not particularly original in that aspect but it shows the great Japanese director doing what he does best and doing it better than everybody else, then and now.The cast is spearheaded by the always enjoyable and charismatic Tetsuya Watari (worked with Fukasaku in GRAVEYARD OF HONOUR - which Takashi Miike remade in 2002) and the fragile but determined Meiko Kaji, and is also populated by lots of familiar faces like Nagashi Oshima. Watari starts out as abusive cop strongarming yakuza thugs for information and the movie seems to be heading to a general cops vs thugs direction, that is until Fukasaku pulls an inverted Dirty Harry and has Watari siding with one of two yakuza gangs duking it out in the Tokyo underworld, pledging blood oaths with one of the underbosses and becoming romantically entangled with the wife of the boss who's away, doing time in prison. Kaji is said wife, a Korean half-breed and ex-hooker, running the gang in her husband's stead, emotionally vulnerable and leading an unfulfilled life. In the end Watari arrives to the same conclusions regarding the police as Clint Eastwood did in Dirty Harry, only the police he's renouncing is in bed with the yakuzas, doing political deals under the table, and his way of renouncing it is a lot harder and more violent than symbolically tossing a badge in a lake – a suitable, excellent ending to a grim and gritty piece. His transition from one end to the other is a bit abrupt but what the heck, this is a genre piece and not a character study so I'm not picky.What easily stands out about YG is its breakneck, furious pace. The viewer will be forgiven for scratching his head in several occasions, wondering how the movie got where it is, and the convoluted plot doesn't really help orientation. It's basically plot-plot-plot only with torrents of mean asskicking, relentless and blistering as only Fukasaku knows how to shoot it. Every five minutes someone's getting his ass kicked – it's as simple as that and no exaggeration. It makes Steven Seagal flicks look like romantic comedies. Overall a top notch crime action flick that hasn't dated one bit in the places that matter and a definitive must-see for Fukasaku and yakuza fans.

An interesting aspect of Yakuza Graveyard is that it is also an attack on Japanese cultural and ethnic xenophobia: Kuroiwa himself is Japanese but born in Japanese-occupied Manchuria, Keiko is half-Korean, Kuroiwa's Yakut's friend is Korean, one of Kuroiwa's street-thug followers is is half-black. All of them, it is made plain, were bullied in childhood for their differences and that is what has made them what they are. Kuroiwa and his friend are also differentiated by the way they dress- from the start Kurowaiwa is dressed in street clothes, his friend changes from the formal suit and tie of a senior yakuza's in the course of the film. Police and yakuzas are portrayed as representatives of business, dressed in salary-man suits and following strict codes of behaviour.

Fukasaku's film, also known as "Yakuza Graveyard," is a compelling Japanese crime drama, from the director of "Battle Royale."The plot centres on a 'cop on the edge,' played by Tetsuya Watari, a character far more disturbed than, say, Dirty Harry or Popeye Doyle from "The French Connection." Indeed, Watari's rebelliousness seems far more shocking in the context of Japanese society, where respect for authority and conformity are supposedly ingrained.Equally interesting is the portrayal of the Yakuza. It is a crime family in the mould of "The Godfather," but more prosaic and less self-important than the clan created by Francis Ford Coppola. Above all, the film's theme is the lack of honour in Japanese society. The police are corrupt, and in many respects indistinguishable from the Yakuza. The central character develops a close relationship with one of the mobsters, whom he discovers is far more honourable and trustworthy than his police colleagues.All in all, a fascinating and fast-paced movie.