No More Heroes: Influences

In the weeks to come I plan to blog quite a bit about Suda 51 and his new game No More Heroes. Let's start with some of the game's influences.

Above is the trailer for Pistol Opera -- a surreal action flick by Seijun Suzuki. The Japanese director is best known for his experimental yakuza pictures from the '60s like Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter. His stark use of colors and spare sets influenced "The House of Flying Leaves" sword fight at the end of Tartantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1.

Both Pistol Opera and its predecessor Branded to Kill are about hit men trying to climb the ranks by taking out their competitors. Travis Touchdown, the lightsaber-wielding protagonist in No More Heroes is looking to do the same. In the game there's a group, the UAA, who oversees and ranks assassins -- they're kinda like Zagat for killers.

More to come.