Drop

The hero of Drop, the first feature by comedian Shinagawa Hiroshi, is a fan of manga about constantly battling punks (the film is based on a manga that Shinagawa writes and artist Suzuki Dai illustrates that is in turn based on Shinagawa’s autobiographical novel). Though his weapon of choice is his mouth, not his fists, Hiroshi (Narimiya Hiroki) transfers from his peace-loving private junior high to a gang-ridden public school so he can get in on the action.
He is soon spotted by male-model-handsome Tatsuya (Mizushima Hiro), who beats the living daylights out of him. This is not a punishment, but a test. When Hiroshi struggles to his feet, his face a bloody mask, ready for more, Tatsuya decides he has passed - and admits him into his gang, whose members include the wryly cool Moriki (Namioka Kazuki), puppy doggish Wanko (Wakazuki Tetsu) and thievish Lupin (Ayabe Yuji).
Among their most formidable rivals are Akagi (Masuda Shuichiro) and Kato (Sumitani Masaki AKA Razor Ramon), two hulking punks who are not longer kids, but rather in the prime of criminal manhood.

Adults seldom make an appearance, with the exceptions of Tatsuya's ex-yakuza father (Endo Kenichi), who still swings a metal bat with the best of them, and Hiroshi's sympathetic, if fretful, older sister (Nakagoshi Noriko) and her friendly construction worker fiance (Kamiji Yusuke) - a former punk himself.
Hiroshi slowly improves as a fighter, while deepening his friendships with his pals - whose motto might be “as we bleed, we bond”. He also becomes something more than friends with Miyuki (Motokariya Yuika), Tatsuya's sweet, neglected girlfriend.

Shinagawa manga-tizes this material - even using inserts from the source comic as punctuation to the action - but he also humanizes it, giving us glimpses of the real kids behind the glowering masks, including the occasional tear.
He has cast his film well, with actors who not look like his manga characters, but extend them beyond two dimensions. Narimiya Hiroki may be too smooth and good-looking to play Hiroshi in his initial manga nerd incarnation, but he also convinces as a fighter, not just a fast talker. The film's real find, though, is Mizushima Hiro, playing the gang's one true hard case, who may not get his kicks bullying the weak - but has no pity for them.
The film comes most vividly to life in its fight scenes: these guys pound on each other in ways both realistically devastating and comically absurd, while having the time of their misspent youths.
It's a fantasy, this vision of punkdom, whose battles royales result in no permanent brain damage. It's also a tonic in these depressed times. Shinagawa's heroes may have no futures, but they live without apologies or fear, with friends who have their backs. Not that it's going to keep them off the unemployment line.