Dead or Alive: Final

I watched Dead or Alive: Final and it’s a strange, messy end to Takashi Miike’s wild trilogy. Set in 2346 after most of the world is destroyed by war, the story takes place in Yokohama where a strict mayor named Woo enforces sterilization and bans children. Honda works as the mayor’s enforcer while Ryo, a robot replicant, joins rebels fighting the system. It’s Blade Runner made with no money and tons of energy.

The futuristic world looks cheap with yellow filters and empty industrial buildings, but that’s part of the charm. Miike doesn’t care about realism. He’s more interested in mood, chaos, and bold ideas about freedom, control, and what it means to be human. The worldbuilding is thin but the vibe is strong. The film tries to connect to the first two movies through quick flashbacks and a giant robot called “DOA Version 2001.” None of it makes much sense, but that’s typical Miike.

What keeps it alive are the two leads. Riki Takeuchi plays Honda with cold, tragic weight while Sho Aikawa’s Ryo has a soft sadness. When they finally face each other, it feels less like enemies and more like two lost souls finding meaning. Between the crazy action, Miike adds surprisingly gentle moments like rebels resting by the water or Ryo bonding with a child. These quiet scenes show his skill at mixing wild imagination with real human emotion.

Then there’s the pure madness. Cheap CGI, a sweaty saxophone player performing for the mayor, and a final battle that’s both absurd and hilarious. The ending is stupid and brilliant at the same time, full of Miike’s weird humor and poetic touch. It brings the trilogy full circle with laughter, chaos, and reflection all mixed together.

The visuals are rough and dirty but they fit the broken world. The green yellow tint gives everything a sick, decaying glow. It looks low budget but has tons of personality. Dead or Alive: Final isn’t Miike’s best work, but it’s pure Miike. Funny, strange, uneven, and completely honest. It mixes sci fi, action, and absurd comedy into something that shouldn’t work but somehow does. As an ending to this chaotic trilogy, it feels just right. Broken, weird, and completely alive.