I’ve never seen these films taken that seriously but I consider them some of the best gangster films of the 2000s. They feel like the Goodfellas/Casino of the Yakuza tradition. The old world mob combusting in the new world.
I’m not gonna claim to be a film historian but they have a strong Michael Mann tone. Sleek, low key and tight cinematography. Chill ambient and electronic soundtrack. This might sound odd, but the actors are attractive well dressed men who exude toughness.
The pace is fast. Shit is always happening. At times it can almost be Seinfeldesque in pacing. There are so many narrative parts to this, but stories payoff quickly.
Lastly, at the time this came out there were a lot of films coming from South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, so this sort fell into the cracks. It always stayed with me.