Okay maybe that was a little over the top. Still though…
The HiGH&LOW films debuted on the streamer back in 2020 as part of the saga’s winning successes dating back to the franchise’s beginnings as a two-season TV series in 2015. To date, only two of the films had been removed from the platform: HiGH&LOW: The Red Rain, and DTC Yukemuri Junjo Hen from HiGH&LOW, but now the first available five of the bunch are set to leave the streaming platform on July 8.
As of this article, that now leaves you ten days to catch the films all beginning with the feature-length supercut of the drama series, Road To HiGH&LOW, and continuing onward with the following: HiGH&LOW: The Movie, HiGH&LOW: End Of Sky, and HiGH&LOW: Final Mission. The cast led by Takanori Iwata, Nobuyuki Suzuki, Sho Aoyagi, Kento Hayashi, Masataka Kubota, Yuki Yamada, Goki Maeda, and a raft of screentalent residing in Japanese supergroup Exile Tribe including Akira, Keiji, Hiroomi Tosaka, Takahiro and Elly of J Soul Brothers, and many more.
Shigeaki Kubo solo-directed the first two films and co-helmed the latter two with Tsuyoshi Nakakuki for the epic motorpunk saga set in a version of Japan where gang conflict results in a five-way district split between warring gangs all with territories of their own. Segueing from the NTV dramas of the franchise into the films, the story sees the gangs uniting for the common good of defeating the notorious Kuryu Group from conquering the district for its own evil ends.
The franchise comes co-signed with a style of gangbuster action scenes the likes of which fans of the Crows Zero films can totally jam with. Haymakers and medlies of hands, feet and full on spectacle are the language by which these characters speak when its time to throw down, and with a soundtrack affirmed aptly by its arbiters over at production company LDH and the performing artists within the Exile Tribe lot, each delivering bangers like “Mugen Road” by J Soul Brothers, “Do or Die” and “Jump Around” by Doberman Infinity, “Run This Town” by Generations from Exile Tribe, “Higher Ground” by Exile Tribe feat. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, “Sin” by Ace Of Spades feat. Hiroomi Tosaka, “Chain Breaker” by PKCZ feat. Hiroomi Tosaka, “Break Into The Dawn” by Valentine feat. RUI & Afro Jack, and many more.
I covered this franchise on the streamer extensively, along with reviews of all the films when there were a total of eight altogether; There’s no removal date yet for the remaining two films of the line-up for the streamer – Kubo’s HiGH&LOW: The Worst, and Norihisa Hiranuma’s HiGH&LOW: The Worst X which are continuations of the “Episode 0” and “6 From HiGH&LOW” spin-off shows, starring Kazuma Kawamura and Hokuto Yoshino along with a mix of new and returning faces of the franchise.
With these facts in mind, time will only tell if those films are gone with the rest after the others leave, and your guess will be as good as mine as to when they’ll ever show up again. Additionally, this turning point comes as the franchise is currently revving up a new branch of the HiGH&LOW action in Thailand while Shochiku prepares the final entry of the IP with next year’s HiGH&LOW: The New World.
Alas, unless you own the films on disc and as troubling as it is that physical media out of Japan stopped adding English subs a long time ago, if you ever needed a better reason to turn the rest of the world off for maybe a day or several and binge the shit out of some of the best action to come out of Japan in the last decade, you’re more than welcome to make your stop with the Road To HiGH&LOW on Netflix before these films leave the streamer, and possibly for good.
