Ikebukuro West Gate Park (2000)

Original title

池袋ウエストゲートパーク

Directed by

Tsutsumi Yukihiko, Isano Hideki, Kaneko Fuminori

Cast

Nagase Tomoya, Kato Ai, Kubozuka Yosuke, Sato Ryuta, Yamashita Tomohisa, Morishita Aiko, Sakaguchi Kenji, Yazawa Shin

Genre

drama television series

Country

Japan

Length

1 season, 11 episodes

Rated

TV-MA

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 29 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A group of young people in Tokyo deal with gang warfare and crime in the Ikebukuro district. The show follows their struggles with violence and social issues.

edgygrittyfast-pacedurbantensedarkrawstylish

What happens

Ikebukuro West Gate Park (池袋ウエストゲートパーク, Ikebukuro Uesuto Gēto Pāku) is a Japanese television drama by screenwriter Kankuro Kudo. Based on a novel by Ira Ishida, it initially aired on the Tokyo Broadcasting System during the summer of 2000, and was directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi. The success of the television series would launch a manga adaptation the following year. In a break from traditional Japanese programming, the series used edgy graphics and scene breaks to highlight a story involving themes drawn from the underbelly of modern Japanese society: hip-hop youth gang warfare, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, drug abuse, the Yakuza, rape and murder. Notable among the cast are Tokio lead singer Tomoya Nagase, film star Ken Watanabe, and future stars Koyuki, Satoshi Tsumabuki, and Tomohisa Yamashita of Johnny's Jimusho idol group NEWS. The series is also credited for raising the profile of actor Yōsuke Kubozuka. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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