Animation World Magazine

(2004) Movie/ 47 minutes. Director: Shinji Ishidaira. DVD bilingual $14.

99. Distributor: Central Park Media. Back in 1998, Hideo Yamamoto penned the manga Koroshiya Ichi or, better known to some by its English title, Ichi the Killer.

Yamamoto's detailed and gruesome story of a man named Ichi who is manipulated by a mob kingpin into becoming a highly skilled assassin found a strong cult following and in 2001 it was turned into a live action film. When this movie was released it was actually the first opportunity for the vast majority of Americans who are fans of manga and Tokyo cinema to experience this obscure and twisted story. The live-action movie with its faithfulness to the brutal violence of the original manga and macabre humor found a worldwide fan base outside mainstream cinema.

Following the success of both the manga and the comic, an animated short film was produced to delve into the origins of the fabled killer Ichi. Ichi the Killer: Episode Zero successfully fills in the backstory of who exactly is Ichi and how did he become a cosplay-wearing, one-man slaughterhouse? Right from the beginning I want to warn everyone that this title is not for the squeamish.

I am sure that there are some folks out there reading this and laughing to themselves, because they have seen some pretty violent anime before. But the violence of Episode Zero is not the disturbing part I am speaking of. This title skillfully digs into the psyche of what created Ichi and the horrific violence is only a brief release of the torture Ichi's mind inflicts on himself.

Yamamoto must have invested some real time in writing this prequel because of the very real pattern in which Ichi progresses down into becoming a monster.

successfully fills in the blanks of Ichi and his tranformation into a one-man slaughterhouse. But be forewarned -- this is not for the squeamish.