You know the drill. Boy meets Fairlady Z, boy restores Fairlady Z, boy learns Fairlady Z is possessed by a need to kill its owner. Wangan Midnight, the story of the Devil Z and its rivalry against the Blackbird Porsche has been told and retold in manga, anime, live action and video game form. Christine this is not, but you do wonder who is the one possessed, the Z or its owner.
This live action version (the second, actually) has been around since 2009 but here is a subtitled version for those not fluent in Japanese. It’s no doubt the cheesiest retelling, and probably not for car geeks. The S30 Z appears, in various scenes, as a 2+2, S130, and even a Mitsubishi Lancer Celeste. However, it does have some great footage of the Z, Porsche, and other Wangan denizens tearing down Japan’s beautifully lit expressways at night. If you’ve got a hour forty to spare, here it is.
A movie with cars, beats CSI and Storage Wars any day or night.
Hell I would even watch the Wraith again. (Got it on DVD).
Cheesy indeed! But when the cars come on… wow! 🙂
there was waay more of the live action wangan midnight’s,actually
i just keep picturing the director to be the same one from Lost in Translation…. “could you do it slower, and… more intensity”
Like…Roger Moore !
thats good man.
Wangan midnight… Ruining my life since 2001 -_-
I like the scene in the junk yard when they are looking at the white z31 300zx and the guys are all ” it has a turbo!!” and points at the engine bay, and ther is obviously no engine in the car.
Also when they get the Devil Z they are all jazed cause the car has twin turbos but when they show the engine reving it has triple carbs, they really should have had car guy on set for a movie about cars:) still a good movie in my book though!
I enjoyed it, I’m assuming the very ending was a tease and there is no sequel?
Also in the junkyard and crash scenes the Z turns into a 2+2 with different wheels
I liked it. Pretty cheesy, but the driving scenes were great, and so were the cars. It was obvious the car on fire wasn’t the Z, though. About an hour after I finished it, I realized that it’s a pretty creepy story.
After watching a few anime episodes, I started getting drawn in. I think Ishida summed it up best when he said, “Many kinds of people gather at Wangan. One person goes to yell out something. Another goes to forget something.”
Yeah, the Wraith has got to be one of the best car movies ever. LOL!!! Gotta love the title song, “Hold on blue eyes” by La Marca. It was so 80s!!! Excessive puffed up hair+styling mousse/gel and sleeveless denim jackets were the order of the day. Just before fluorescent colors started to become popular.
Along par with this genre of movie. I enjoyed it and most any movie with old J-Tin.
Goota love that Fro though.
Thanks JNC
If you think this movie is any good, you should check out Wangan 9101, which covers all previous Wangan Midnight Live Action, those movies bears more meaning.