| Ashurajō no Hitomi 阿修羅城の瞳 |
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| Directed by | Yōjirō Takita |
| Produced by | Shochiku |
| Starring | Somegorō Ichikawa Rie Miyazawa Kanako Higuchi Atsuro Watabe Takashi Naito Erika Sawajiri |
| Music by | Yoko Kanno |
| Distributed by | Shochiku Co., Ltd. |
| Release date(s) | 2005 |
| Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Ashurajō no Hitomi (阿修羅城の瞳, "Eye(s) of Asura Castle") is a 2005 Japanese horror film, starring Somegorō Ichikawa, Rie Miyazawa and Kanako Higuchi. Directed by Yōjirō Takita, it is a movie adaptation of a 1987 Kazuki Nakashima play set in the 16th century.[1] It has been released on DVD-Video as Ashura in United Kingdom by Yume Pictures in 2006[2] and in the United States by AnimEigo in 2007.[3]
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A beautiful oni named Bizan (Kanako Higuchi) appears on Earth. She wants to bring the demon queen Ashura back to life, so the demons can take over the world beginning in Edo, which is modern day Tokyo. Opposing her is the Oni Makado, an army of demon slayers, which was created by the Japanese government. Izumo (Somegorō Ichikawa) once fought with the Makado, but resigned to become a kabuki actor after he thought he accidentally killed a young girl. Izumo soon encounters Tsubaki (Rie Miyazawa), who is a member of a group of an all-female acrobatic troupe who rob the citizens of Edo during the night. Falling deeply in love, Izumo notices a red, ugly scar on Tsubaki's shoulder, which is the mark of the demon queen Ashura. Meanwhile, Jaku, one of Izumo's ex-comrades (Atsuro Watabe), falls for Bizan, leading the Oni Makado over to the dark side.[4]
The music for the movie was composed and scored by Yoko Kanno. The theme song for the English-dubbed version is "My Funny Valentine", which is performed by Sting and features piano playing by Herbie Hancock.
The two-disc set contains special features on the second disc. The two featurettes are included: "The Making of Ashura" and "The Visual Effects of Ashura." The first featurette, running 25 minutes long, is a production documentary with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. The special features documentary is 15 minutes long. Also included are a photo gallery, which is viewed without a remote, trailers for other releases from the same distributor and production notes for Ashura.
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