Kurenai no nagareboshi

Velvet Hustler follows an assassin who goes into hiding after a job, but as things often go in these kinds of movies, remaining underground proves all but impossible. At the same time, he also can't seem to help getting into trouble, leading to a lot of fun chaos for the earlier parts of the movie, followed by more serious consequences explored in the film's later scenes.

I really loved the style, energy, and color of the first hour. In its final half-hour, it becomes a little more grounded and serious (and has far fewer random brawls, which were a consistent source of entertainment in the first hours or so).

I thought it was writing itself into a corner narratively, but it did still end a little differently than expected. So I can't say the last act was bad, and it definitely didn't hurt what came before. It's more that it was a movie where I really liked two thirds, and thought the remaining third was just alright.