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A Certain Killer
Movie

A Certain Killer

1967 • Unknown

Woke Score
1
out of 10

Plot

A former soldier, reduced to working at a restaurant post-war, becomes a contract killer for the yakuza gangs he's in contact with.

Overall Series Review

A Certain Killer is a hardboiled Japanese crime thriller from 1967, centering on Shiozawa, a meticulous and cold-blooded hitman who maintains a cover as a chef. The plot is driven by a complex assassination for a yakuza gang, followed by a double-cross and a subsequent heist. The narrative focuses on the protagonist's skill and personal code of honor, which is rooted in his past as an ex-kamikaze pilot. His motivation is a moral one: a desire to eliminate the corrupt, powerful figures who have risen to prominence in the post-war world, while his honorable comrades died in the war. The movie is a classic noir-thriller, with an emphasis on character competence and the brutal logic of the criminal underworld. The primary conflict is betrayal and personal survival, not social commentary.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The narrative centers on a highly competent assassin whose success is due entirely to his skill and meticulous planning. Characters are judged solely by their efficacy and moral code within the criminal world. The casting is entirely Japanese and focuses on character merit and professional skill, not immutable characteristics or intersectional hierarchy.

Oikophobia2/10

The protagonist's motivation is an intense anger at the corrupt state of post-war society, specifically the powerful criminals who thrive while his honorable, self-sacrificing comrades (ex-kamikaze pilots) are dead. This is a conservative critique that respects the ancestors' sacrifice and a lost moral ideal, not a framing of the home culture as fundamentally corrupt.

Feminism2/10

The main male character is the steely, highly capable anti-hero of the story, not a bumbling or toxic figure. The primary female character, Keiko, is a spirited, active element in the criminal plot, but she is a classic femme fatale/damsel in distress archetype who attempts to forge a relationship with the male lead. The gender dynamics are traditional to the noir genre and do not feature a Mary Sue or anti-natalist messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The core plot is a traditional yakuza-noir narrative revolving around a hit, betrayal, and a heist. The focus is exclusively on the criminal underworld, with the only notable relationship being a traditional male-female pairing. There is no presence of sexual ideology, centering of alternative sexualities, or deconstruction of the nuclear family.

Anti-Theism1/10

The movie is a secular crime genre piece. The killer is driven by a strong, albeit individual and criminal, code of honor and transcendent justice, specifically his desire to avenge the true 'good men' who died in the war. There is no open hostility toward religion, nor is traditional religion used as a source of villainy or bigotry. The morality is objective within the confines of the main character's personal code.