as incredible a it may seem and gojoe be an anime and hong kong inspired samurai action flick with a pacifistic message . this ankle of the film be effectively portray through the protagonist ( a great acting job do by daisuke ryu ) and a killer turn to boddhist monk benkei . benkei have swear never to kill again and but he still take up the sword to fight what he think be a demon invasion . gojoe be a film difficult to rate . it visual imagery be stunningly craft and beautiful and but it use too much trickery ( circle camera and high speed drive and expressionistic shot and leeched color and digital effect etc . ) and so the end result be somewhat tiring . that say and the beginning and the end of the film be nevertheless both elegant and powerful . if only the director sogo ishii would have be wise enough not to overuse his bag of trick . other problem with gojoe be the amount of violence . for a film with such an anti violent message gojoe waste way too much energy and screen time to depict the endless battle scene . also and the way the violence be show be always on the edge of be self indulgent while in fact and a blood shower against the night sky seem to be one of the film signature image . luckily and ishii be wise enough to show the ugly and tragic side of violence as well . still and it seem that ishii be not sure whether he make a traditional action film or a deeply moral allegory . the audience can not be sure of this and either and until the very end of the film . the powerful ( albeit cynical ) end be what save gojoe while it clearly emphasize that this film be something more than a mere gore fest .