Gangsters try to crack the TikTok algorithm in Yu Nakamoto’s silly yakuza comedy.
Kunio (Akito Fujii) is a captain in the Mikami Yakuza clan, whose finances are waning ever since anti organised crime laws were put into effect. After a particularly bad night, Kunio gets into an altercation with a civilian, but instead of punching him, is inspired by two girls he saw making TikTok videos. He pretends to punch the guy, dancing threateningly around him, catching the attention of the girls and a sizeable online audience.
With this, the Kunio’s boss Goto (Kenta Kiritani) sees big bucks, and sets Kunio to work. Kunio enrols in a dance class, taught by Marie (Mai Fukagawa) and attended by Ririka (Ui Mihara), one of the girls who filmed his outburst. But with Yakuza being outlawed, he has to keep his profession a secret, or be banned from the app.
Break Free is a film with a pretty simple thesis, and a straightforward message. It’s right there in the title: dancing can set you free, break you out of a funk, and maybe even get you out of the Yakuza. Hey, I just talked a film like this recently. In a lot of ways, this is like a modern day Shall We Dansu, except considerably goofier and trying, possibly, a bit too hard.
Break Free defines itself on some pretty over the top acting, which I could be generous and describe as adding to the overall charm, but it can be a little much. Some actors, like Mihara, typically play their roles pretty sensibly, while Kiritani’s Goto is so madcap he almost belongs in another movie. It feels like an attempt to make the Mikami clan as toothless as possible, which helps, but also does a really good of making us forget they’re in organised crime. A few fights don’t do much to remind us of this either.
As such, and because we see another character who was able to leave the family without too much trouble, the stakes never feel particularly high for Kunio. His TiokTok career is threatened whenever it looks like he might be exposed as a gangster, and there’s a b-plot about a rival family looking for revenge, but it doesn’t have much in the way of teeth. Still, what I liked about this story is how much it shows the clan being supportive of Kunio, bringing a fresh life to a film that could have run very stale. And Fujii, who carries the entire movie on his popping and locking shoulders.
Despite how fun it is, there’s something that feels so much like I’m playing an extended version of a Like a Dragon substory. It’s so god-damn silly in so many places that it’s hard to take some of the peril seriously. It wants its cake and it eat too: to have threatening scenes of Yakuza violence, and also bits where they’re all pulling carton gurns at the camera. Or maybe I’m reading too much into the funny “Yakuza dances on TikTok” movie. I have a habit of doing that.
Verdict: While it could stand to take itself a little more seriously, a strong lead and some funny moments do a lot to ensure you don’t swipe away from Break Free.
This film screened as part of the Fantasia Film Festival
Break Free (2026)
Also known as: Odorei Yakuza
Japanese
Director: Yu Nakamoto
CAST
Akito Fujii – Kunio
Kenta Kiritani – Goto
Mai Fukagawa – Marie
Shigeo Osako – Yamamori
Ui Mihara – Ririka
Wataru Ichinose – Jiro
Reo Sano – himself
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