Japan Synopsis
A live-action adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s mature manga masterpiece MW (pronounced “moo,” like a cow), created to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Tezuka. When a top secret chemical compound called MW infects an island near Okinawa, the military is sent in to kill all the victims and cover up the incident. A survivor named Michio Yuki (Hiroshi Tamaki) grows up to become a highly-successful banker, but he is slowly being driven mad by the effects of MW. After committing a series of ruthless crimes to get revenge against the people responsible for the cover-up, he decides that the only way to truly get revenge is to unleash MW on the world and exterminate the entire human race. Takayuki Yamada stars as Father Garai, a priest desperately trying to save Michios soul—and possibly his own in the process—but not necessarily doing much to stop the crime spree.
The 2008–2010 Japan Window
386 Japan films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. MW sits at position #281.
The 2000s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 2000s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when MW premiered. 1020 total titles in this decade from Japan.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #3,611 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (21st percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.7 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Drama productions specifically: #1,590 of 1,933 (top 82%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Runtime | 2h 9m |
| Release Date | July 3, 2009 |
| IMDb | tt1242755 |