Samurai Detective Onihei: Lawless Love

2024 1h 36m JA

🤯

9.3

MASTERPIECE

★9.3TMDB · 7

TV MovieDramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A tale of friendship, betrayal, and forbidden love—set against the backdrop of Edo’s criminal underworld. While patrolling the Honjo district, the legendary samurai detective Heizo Hasegawa crosses paths with his old dojo friend, Samanosuke Kishii, and a local ruffian, Hikoju of Sagami. When they discover that Ofusa, the woman they both once loved, has been forced into marriage with a corrupt lord, their reunion takes a dark turn. As secrets from their past resurface, a deeper conspiracy tied to their former mentor begins to unravel—one that will test Heizo’s loyalty, honor, and sense of justice.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Matsumoto Kōshirō X
Heizou Hasegawa
Somegoro Ichikawa
Tetsusaburo Hasegawa (Young Onihei)
Nobuko Sendo
Yuri Nakamura
Shōhei Hino
Yasukaze Motomiya
Yōsuke Asari
Jundai Yamada

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tomohiko Yamashita
Writers: Sumio Ōmori, Shotaro Ikenami
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

CRAFT

Did you know

Part of the "Samurai Detective Onihei (2024)" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tomohiko Yamashita, shot by Shôji Ehara. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor NOZAWA Hitomi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Matsumoto Kōshirō X and Somegoro Ichikawa and Nobuko Sendo carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

Only 7 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tomohiko Yamashita directs. Shôji Ehara behind the camera. NOZAWA Hitomi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 2 years ago.
2Part of the "Samurai Detective Onihei (2024)" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Tomohiko Yamashita, shot by Shôji Ehara. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor NOZAWA Hitomi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Matsumoto Kōshirō X and Somegoro Ichikawa and Nobuko Sendo carry the top of the cast.
6Only 7 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Shôji Ehara
Editing: NOZAWA Hitomi
Production design: Tomoko Kurata
VFX supervisor: Katsuro Onoue
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Status: Released
Original language: JA

Part of

Samurai Detective Onihei (2024)

Based on the masterpiece "Samurai Detective Onihei" by renowned historical novelist Shotaro Ikenami, the series stars Koshiro Matsumoto as Agent Heizou Hasegawa.