The cast and crew of Director Sion Sono’s 2015 “Shinjuku Swan” return to bring fans the continuation of their adaptation of Ken Wakui’s 2005 manga series.

Business is good for Tatsuhiko Shiratori (Go Ayano, “Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV”), the best scouter of the organization Burst. He and his posse bring many young women into the escort and hostess industry of Shinjuku. The group seems to recover after losing one of key members, Hideyoshi (Takayuki Yamada, “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable Chapter One”) a year ago. They now set their sights beyond the city lights towards the open coastal city Yokohama. The liquor board will open a new bar and they need over 100 female employees to help bring in employees. Tatsuhiko reluctantly tags along with executive Burst member Gensuke Seki (Motoki Fukami, “Love & Peace”) and a team of excited recruiters to Yokohama, but the local group Wizards crushes their delight and plans to gain that exclusive contract. While the two organizations spill some fresh blood on the floor, old blood boils between the leaders. The new area might be too much for the ace scout as the past brings disaster for the future.

One of the San Diego Asian Film Festival’s programmer mentioned before the screening how the film had a manga’s mise-en-scene and one who is familiar with action ones might notice the composition of certain moments. It definitely focuses on the faces of the characters, but some of the more dramatic arrangements seem a bit unnatural. However, the slight strange feeling blends with the outlandish array of characters. Many punches and kicks fly across the screen, but they might be much easier to follow than the amount of backstabbing and underground deals going on. Though there are enough flashbacks to give viewers an adequate amount of information to understand the premise, one can get lost without some extra background about some of the main cast given through the first movie and manga series. Still, “Shinjuku Swan II” will give those wanting some raw fight scenes their fill. It is definitely not for viewers that are squeamish to the sight of blood and sensitive to the subject of drug abuse.

To read more on the film and check out some similar recommendations, visit the San Diego Asian Film Festival’s page. Follow Pacific Arts Movement to find out what other events they will be hosting.