Story: One day, a mysterious crime is discovered near the Rainbow Bridge, an important bridge that connects Odaiba to Tokyo. Tired of his boring and typical police cases, Sergeant Aoshima rushes to the scene anxious to finally get some real action. Unfortunately, due to the seriousness of the murder, the case is immediately transferred to the Metropolitan Police Headquarters. Again, the precinct has to play a background role in the case while the senior officers occupy their local Precinct until the case is solved.

Meanwhile, a vampire-like stalker is on the loose praying on young women, and to add to the problem, many people have filed reports of being stolen from by a whole family of pickpockets. To make things even worst, an important conflict emerge between the local cops and the Senior Superintendent, Hiromi Okita, who was positioned as Head Officer by the Metropolitan Police to solve the mysterious murder case.


Review:

This review refers to the Japanese long version and not the shorter international version.

Three year haves already passed since the first film adaptation of the successful TV cop drama made an incredible impact in Japanese theatres. Still, very underrated in North America, BAYSIDE SHAKEDOWN has literally dominated the box office at the time of its initial release, something that was impressive in a time when most of the screens were occupied by American releases. The anticipated sequel did even better finishing its run as the second highest grossing local film of all time in Japan, just after Miyasaki’s SENTO SHIIRO.

xComparing the differences from the second movie to the first one is not difficult as not only the full cast and crew are back, but even the concept story is very similar. Mixing two or more storylines and making them all work together is nothing new, but most films have rarely succeeded in doing so. The first movie did it very well, even while mixing comedy, thrills and drama all together. Unfortunately, the second opus did not perform too well in that department. The main plot and the three other sub plots are very confusing to follow and there are not enough explanations to satisfy the audience. The many criminal cases seem extremely serious in the eye of the characters, but for the viewers, everything is too rushed, blurry and confusing that it is not possible to understand all the meanings of all the big police deployment.

Those unfamiliar with Japanese culture might also be lost in the story context as there are lot of references to the hierarchy Japanese Police system and the way they operate. Yes, it is not unusually for police inspectors to not carry guns while on duty. Ironically, all the related advertising of the movie show the characters holding guns. In all, many viewings might be necessary to really catch every detail. It is simply a disappointment, especially with the fact that the same writer of the well crafted story of the first movie is also behind this one.

At least the many great characters make up for what the story could not accomplish. There is not that much background and development about these characters, but since they did a TV series and a movie before, the filmmakers didn’t feel to include this in the movie and it is totally understandable. Surprisingly just like the first movie, the character concept works very well and it is not necessary to have experienced the TV series and the first movie prior to watching this last instalment of this great series.

Fortunately, all the familiar faces are back. Again the most standout character is Sergeant Aoshima, played by the Japanese comical figure, Yuji Oda. This time, the story reveals the background history of his infamous army coat. If you saw the first movie you probably know what to expect of these characters and if it’s your first time, then I welcome you in the BAYSIDE SHAKEDOWN fan club.

What the first movie accomplished successfully is the mixing of genres such as drama, comedy and thriller. This second movie is again very similar but really toned down on the comedy and thriller elements as much of the movie time is spend on the investigation and conflict between the local and metropolitan police section. There’s not that much action again, but this will work fine with fans of the series. The movie also has a good share of highly dramatic moments, but really lacked the high tension thriller elements and subtle humour that the first one blended so well together.

To have experienced the first one is not absolutely necessary as you will follow the story without too many problems, but you will miss some important background information about some of the characters. A viewing of the first one will simply make the second one better, but it is not necessary.

Those interested in Japanese drama and fans of the first movie should definitely take a look at the movie as it is a good follow up to the first one. Even if the first movie is still superior to BAYSIDE SHAKEDOWN 2, it still holds the same group of unforgettable characters and we simply cant wait for a third movie.