First in the series (working my way through a box set I received as a present). Apparently I’d watched this before but had no memory of it. Somewhat old fashioned Yakuza high melodrama starring Tetsuya Watari covers all the cliches: protagonist released from Abashiri Prison, long-suffering girlfriends, not one but two brothers on the wrong side of a gang war, dishonorable evil gangster boss, tragic deaths of young sidekicks, the list goes on. Watari is good though, and there are some really nice touches like overlaying the final battle with an enka ballad and almost comically foreboding scene at a train station.