Movie Timeline Summary

This chonological story summary is for those who may not have any way to access the region 2 (Japan) DVD of "Hard Luck Hero" or otherwise cannot view this movie. Therefore, there is no attempt made to hide spoilers. Reading this will pretty much ruin everything. It is abridged according to my own whims, but the basic plot is the same. In other words: No complaints. ^_^

This summary explains the plot in the order revealed in the movie. To read the summary redone in chronological order, see the Chronological Timeline summary.

Ishii pulls Asai aside at work. It seems that on the side, Ishii works as a manager for an underground kickboxing league, and his Thai kickboxer hasn't shown up. Fearing for his life, Ishii convinces Asai to dress up and pretend to be the Thai boxer.

At the underground kickboxing club, the referee enters the ring. He first introduces the famous Thai kickboxer Mori Champur. Ishii shoves Asai out to make his grand entrance. The current champion of underground kickboxing, Tiger Ishikura, is introduced. The champ shows off his skills. Asai panics because he knows he can't win. Ishii reassures him that he's not expected to win; he just has to throw the fight in the 2nd round.

Thai music starts up. Ishii says that Asai has to perform the Muay Thai ritual dance. Asai improvises a dance involving jumping and fake kung-fu poses. Ishii then hisses for Asai to pretend to pray to end the "ritual" dance. The referee then announces the start of the match. Back in his corner, Asai panics while Ishii reminds him that he's not supposed to win, just throw the match in the 2nd round. The bell rings. The champ charges. Ishii shoves Asai into the ring. Asai stumbles backwards, trips, and spins around as he tries to right himself. One of his gloves accidentally strikes the champion. KO, winner Mori Champur.

Asai is shocked and thrilled with his win. A yakuza boss pushes his way to the front of the ring and starts yelling at "Mori" for making him look like a fool. Towards the back of the ring, Ishii flees through the back exit. The yakuza boss furiously pulls his gun and shoots, hitting the referee. Asai runs. The yakuza shoots again, and everyone flinches. The yakuza boss yells at his goons and orders them after "Mori".

Asai flees out the back entrance, followed closely by the goons. Ishii sprints down back alleys. Elsewhere, Asai is also running, followed slowly by out-of-shape goons. Ishii finally finds a company car with the keys still in the engine. He jumps in the car and starts speeding down the side streets, stopped only when he nearly runs over an old lady. As the old lady scolds him for not looking where he's going, Ishii sees Asai sprinting down a perpendicular alleyway. Ishii motions for Asai to get in the car, but Asai can't open the door thanks to his boxing gloves. After several panicked moments, Asai dives through the car window. Ishii takes off. The two seem to be in the clear, when they notice a yakuza car behind them. Ishii drives for his life while Asai struggles with his gloves. The two panic and scream at each other.

Ishii and Asai, followed closely by the yakuza goons, fly past a tall building where Kishimoto and Ikeyama have stopped running to catch their breaths. Ikeyama feels hopeless and says that it's all over.

**Flashback**

On the way to a business meeting, Kishimoto feels hungry, so Ikeyama directs them to a quaint little bar. Ikeyama extols the benefits of finding hidden gems for yourself, ones that have personal touches that reflect the owner's passion. A rather intimidating type approaches the two and requests to share the table. Kishimoto and Ikeyama nervously agree, at which point they are surrounded by a group of yakuza. The boss sits down and places a silver briefcase on the chair next to him. Then the boss introduces himself as the owner of the club and asks who they're betting on for the kickboxing. The boss encourages his right-hand man to tell the two businessmen wild tales of previous bone-cracking kickboxing matches.

The referee enters the ring. He first introduces the famous Thai kickboxer Mori Champur. Ishii shoves Asai out to make his grand entrance. Then the current champion of underground kickboxing, Tiger Ishikura, is introduced. The yakuza boss "encourages" his gang to clap for the champion. Kishimoto and Ikeyama clap as hard as they can as they force a smile. The yakuza boss asks which round they're going to throw the fight. His right hand-man responds, "The second."

Thai music starts up. Asai improvises a dance involving jumping and fake kung-fu poses. Ishii hisses for Asai to pray. The yakuza boss and his right hand man ponder this strange new form of Muay Thai ritual dancing. They come to the conclusion that it must be a new sect of Muay Thai. The referee announces the start of the match. The yakuza boss instructs his gang (plus the two nervous businessmen) to leave the table and watch the match standing closer to the ring. Kishimoto and Ikeyama comply, although Ikeyama leaves his silver briefcase in his seat.

Asai stumbles backwards, trips, and spins around as he tries to right himself. One of his gloves accidentally strikes the champion. KO, winner Mori Champur. The yakuza boss is furious. He pushes his way to the front of the ring and starts yelling at "Mori" for making him look like a fool. Then he pulls his gun and shoots, hitting the referee. Asai runs. The yakuza boss shoots again, and everyone flinches. He yells at his goons and orders them after "Mori". Kishimoto and Ikeyama quickly turn to leave. But at their table, Ikeyama panics. His briefcase is gone!

Suddenly the doors are thrown open and cops enter the bar. The head detective tells everyone to freeze, that they're all under arrest for illegal gambling. The yakuza boss and his right-hand man slip out the back. One yakuza goon slowly makes his way for the exit, but the detective tells him to stop. The goon pulls out a gun, so the cops draw their guns, too. Ikeyama suddenly notices a man holding a silver briefcase. Thinking it's his, he leans over to get a closer look and falls over a chair. Distracted by the noise, the goon turns his head. The detective aims and fires. The man standing next to the goon drops dead. Everyone watches in shock as the detective curses and aims again. The woman standing next to the goon drops dead. The detective swears and aims again. Everyone screams and runs away, except for Ikeyama and Kishimoto who are frozen in shock. The detective aims for the two, who scream and run. The two run as far as they can.

Ishii and Asai, followed closely by the yakuza goons, fly past a tall building where Kishimoto and Ikeyama have stopped running to catch their breaths. Ikeyama feels hopeless because without his briefcase, there's no business proposal, and it's all over. Kishimoto sees a flower across the street and is reminded of his breakup with Sachiko.

**Flashback** Kishimoto's girlfriend Sachiko breaks up with him. She claims that he changed after giving up his dreams to be a professional racer. **End Flashback**

Ikeyama notices that cops are approaching from both sides and panics. Kishimoto, still caught up in memories, remembers his days as a car racer. He suddently storms across the street and steals a sports car. He then uses his driving skills to lose the cops who are on foot and picks up Ikeyama. With the cops after them in a patrol car, Kishimoto merrily leads them in a high-speed car chase as Ikeyama screams in fear. As Kishimoto leads the cops screaming through an intersection, Fujita swerves quickly to avoid them. He looks over at Kudoh, who is panting softly as blood spreads on his shirt.

**Flashback**

At the underground kickboxing club, the yakuza boss asks which round they're going to throw the fight. His right hand-man responds, "The second." At a table next to the yakuza gang, Kudoh and Fujita listen in on the conversation. Fujita flickers his lighter nervously as he and Kudoh wait. The yakuza boss instructs his gang (plus the two nervous businessmen) to leave the table and watch the match standing closer to the ring. As the yakuza leave their table, Fujita quickly grabs the silver briefcase left behind. He hands it off to Kudoh, and the two quickly make their way to the opposite side of the bar where there lies a back exit.

Asai stumbles backwards, trips, and spins around as he tries to right himself. One of his gloves accidentally strikes the champion. KO, winner Mori Champur. Fujita and Kudoh stop to watch in amazement. The yakuza boss pushes his way to the front of the ring and starts yelling at "Mori" for making him look like a fool. Towards the back of the ring, Ishii flees through the back exit. The yakuza boss furiously pulls his gun and shoots, hitting the referee. Asai runs. The yakuza shoots again, and everyone flinches. Fujita grabs Kudoh, who's standing by in shock. The two run out the back entrance right after Ishii, followed shortly later by Asai and the yakuza goons.

Fujita and Kudoh flee from the scene. Kudoh's steps grow slower and his breathing grows labored. Kudoh finally collapses. Fujita runs back to his friend, asking what's wrong. He finally notices that Kudoh is holding his stomach, which is slowly turning red. Kudoh admits that the yakuza boss's second shot hit him. Fujita leaps on top of Kudoh as Asai runs past with the yakuza goons on his tail. Fujita gets up and opens the briefcase. Inside lie Ikeyama's photo ID and several copies of a business proposal. Fujita swears and looks at Kudoh in panic. He closes the briefcase and runs.

Shortly after, a white car comes barreling down the alley. Fujita hops out. He sticks Kudoh in the passenger seat and throws the briefcase in the back. Fujita speeds along in his car, desperately searching for a hospital. But just as always, it's hard to find something when you're looking for it. There's no hospital to be found anywhere. Fujita grows increasingly upset as Kudoh pants weakly. As Kishimoto leads the cops screaming through an intersection, Fujita swerves quickly to avoid them. He looks over at Kudoh, who is panting softly as blood spreads on his shirt.

Fujita's phone rings. The voice on the other end asks if they got the case. Fujita yells at them and hangs up. He takes off again, still searching for a hospital.

**Flashback** At some point in the past, Fujita borrowed (and then trashed) the car of a young man who's father is the yakuza boss. Cornered with Kudoh, Fujita offers to pay for the car. In total, the cost of replacing the customized car will be 5 million yen. Neither have the money, of course, but the yakuza son offers a deal. His father expects to have a lot of gambling money on hand the next day. Get the money, and he'll call it even. Kudoh accepts the job. **End Flashback**

Fujita finally sees a sign for a hospital. He looks over to tell Kudoh, but Kudoh is unconscious.

The film cuts back and forth between different scenes. Ishii and Asai scream as they flee from the yakuza goons. They head through tunnels and off road, but nothing loses their tail. Kishimoto mutters about racing directions to himself between maniacal laughter. Ikeyama screams in fear. Fujita continues speeding towards the hospital. As he drives, he shouts at Kudoh over and over again. "Don't die on me!"

The three cars collide.

In the hospital, six beds are lined in a row. Asai, Ishii, Ikeyama (with a silver briefcase), Kishimoto, Fujita, and... that's it.

**Epilogue**

Ishii trains Asai in boxing. Asai finally enters the ring, a real ring, as a real boxer. Kishimoto heads onto the race track. Sachiko waits for him in the stands. Ikeyama delivers a presentation about his business plan for individualized, hands-on restaurants/hotels. The meeting is a success. Fujita walks down a hallway carrying a small bouquet of flowers. He nervously opens the door. Kudoh sits inside, reading a pile of manga. Fujita steals Kudoh's manga and the two silently read together. Kudoh looks out his hospital window.

**Flashback**

All six are racing in their cars. Ishii apologizes to Asai for getting him involved in things. Asai smiles back and tells him there's nothing to be sorry for. Kishimoto admits that he always wanted to be a race driver. Ikeyama assures him that he would make an excellent race driver. "Don't die on me!!" Fujita screams over and over again. But this time, there's a noise in the passenger seat. "I don't want to die," Kudoh replies.

All six scream.

The three cars collide.