When Tsuda, an insurance agent, delivers a gift to a client in the boxing world on behalf of a colleague, he sees a former school friend, Takuji, now a professional boxer. He avoids him, but Takuji recognises him at once. On a later visit, with his fiancée Hizuru, Tsuda notices that the two are strikingly familiar with each other. Hizuru is indeed fascinated by the muscular body of the boxer and Takuji, in turn, tries to seduce her. Tsuda is convinced that he is being cheated on and wants to beat Takuji up, but is knocked out by the boxer. After Takuji is unexpectedly and unnecessarily defeated in an official bout, Hizuru moves in with him. To make herself more attractive, she has her arms tattooed and piercings in her ears, nose and nipples. One day in the gym, Takuji is surprised by the presence of Tsuda. Tsuda is obsessed by revenge and learns to box. All three characters start to change; the confrontation is at hand. The films of Tsukamoto, whose Tetsuo II – The Body Hammer was screened in Rotterdam, are striking for their original visual style. In Tokyo Fist Tsukamoto exchanges metal and mechanical science-fiction weapons for more earthly flesh and blood and uses the metaphor of boxing for the wild side of an urban technological society. David Rooney (Variety): ‘Splatter violence, insane butchery and do-it-yourself body-piercing are served up with a stylish flourish.’
