Agitator Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Agitator Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 16, 2026

Note: Kind of interestingly if maybe a little frustratingly for those without both Region A and Region B or region free players, Radiance Films' US and UK branches are offering separate region specific releases of three early Takashi Miike efforts which were initially planned as V-cinema "straight to video" efforts, but which in all cases got theatrical exhibitions of some sort. And here's where region coding may prove to be a challenge for some: Region B is getting Underworld Chronicles: Three Yakuza Fables by Takashi Miike, a trifecta of Miike Yakuza adjacent tales, including both 1080 and 4K presentations of Fudoh: The New Generation, alongside 1080 presentations of Agitator and Deadly Outlaw: Rekka. Region A consumers are only getting this standalone release of Agitator.

Agitator is a viscerally compelling narrative that may be especially interesting for those who wended their way through Radiance Films' recent release of The Japanese Godfather Trilogy, since in some ways Agitator can seem like a Next Generation update of the earlier films in terms of both a grittier stylistic sensibility as well as a less "operatic" narrative approach (though this film certainly has some operatic aspects to its narrative), even if some plot elements in this film can't help but echo any number of other Yakuza themed productions. All of the above linked efforts were as mentioned initially planned as V-Cinema releases, but in the case of Agitator, rather interestingly both a redacted theatrical version and a longer, two part video version were released (the longer video version is offered in upscaled HD as a supplement on this disc).

Two definite tethers between The Japanese Godfather Trilogy and this film are an emphasis on a kind of "corporate outreach" on the part of various clans, as well as a succession crisis, but those elements are handled rather differently in the various enterprises. Here, focal character Kunihiko Kenzaki (Masaya Kato), a kind of feral henchman in a Yakuza gang who might be seen as the personification of what in cinematic terms was the end of the ninkyo eiga era to ostensibly more realistic jitsuroku eiga fare. Kenzaki's tragic trajectory plays out in a multi- layered narrative (even more multi-layered in the longer video version) which includes a lot of internecine and intramural conflicts between various members of rival clans.

This is perhaps a little surprisingly on the relatively restrained side for a Miike offering, with, yes, a few liberal dashes of guts and gore, but with more of an emphasis on the an encroachingly nihilistic tone for not just Kenzaki but a number of other characters. The low budget and initial straight to video ethos of this production can't really be ignored, but that may in fact help to emphasize a lack of presentational gloss when compared to earlier, more fulsomely budgeted, Yakuza outings.

Agitator Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Agitator is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Radiance's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

Agitator (Theatrical Version) is a high definition digital transfer by the Kadokawa Corporation overseen by Director of Photography Kyoshi Ito and supplied to Radiance Films as a high definition digital file. It is presente din the original aspect ratio with original mono audio.

The extended version of Agitator exists only as a standard definition video master. It is presented here using the best available materials and in its complete original two part form.

As Tom Mes addresses in his commentary and also in his eponymous book, Agitator is in essence the story of two "looks". A lot of the flashback material has a much more overt "video" appearance, with some pretty fuzzy detail levels and some at least somewhat intentional anomalies like near pixellation, macroblocking and some fairly noisy looking grain. Those "lo res" moments contrast markedly with a much more polished look for much of the presentation, albeit within an obviously low budget aesthetic. Clarity improves markedly in the "contemporary" segments, and the palette in outdoor material in particular pops very well for the most part. Color timing is a bit odd a times, and quite a bit of Yakuza material is almost slathered in a buttery yellow.

Agitator Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Agitator features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track in the original Japanese. The track boasts nice fidelity and a full bodied sound for quite a few ambient environmental effects as well as a kind of almost Gypsy Jazz inflected score by Kōji Endō. There's no real background hiss or other issues to cause concern, and no signs of any age related wear and tear. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Agitator Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Agitator: Extended Version (HD; 1:42:58 and 1:37:26) actually looks better than some might expect, and maybe a bit ironically the disconnect between the more video looking vignettes and the rest of the story are probably not as evident here. Sound is Dolby Digital mono.


• Audio Commentary by Tom Mes


• Takashi Miike (HD; 24:12) is offered in a new interview. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 1:23)

This Limited Edition includes a booklet with a nice essay by Tom Mes. Radiance's typical packaging swag includes a reversible sleeve an an Obi strip.

Agitator Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's kind of gobsmacking to realize that Agitator came out the same year as Miike's Ichi the Killer and The Happiness of the Katakuris (and even those three aren't everything Miike made that year). This is a really interesting effort from Miike, notable perhaps more for what it doesn't do than for what it does, by which I mean those coming to this film expecting a "traditional" dose of Miike hyperbolism may actually be surprised by how relatively tamped down everything is. There's still a brutal, near feral, sensibility suffusing the narrative. Technical merits are solid and the supplements are outstanding. Recommended.