Compiled by myself (Ant Peel) by choosing the best songs from the UK weekly Top 100 Singles Charts... ANT PEEL'S ALTERNATIVE / INDEPENDENT TOP 35 BEST SONGS (FEBRUARY 1984)
35. ROGER DALTREY - WALKING IN MY SLEEP 34. THE MYSTERY GIRLS - ASH IN
DRAG 33. KAJAGOOGOO - THE LION'S MOUTH 32. THE ROLLING STONES - SHE WAS
HOT 31. KOOL AND THE GANG - JOANNA 30. THE QUESTIONS - TUESDAY SUNSHINE
29. JULIA & COMPANY - BREAKIN' DOWN 28. THE BOOMTOWN RATS - TONIGHT
27. GENESIS - ILLEGAL ALIEN 26. CARMEL - MORE MORE MORE 25. BLUE OYSTER
CULT - SHOOTING SHARK 24. DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - ADULT EDUCATION
23. SOFT CELL - DOWN IN THE SUBWAY 22. SCORPIONS - ROCK YOU LIKE A
HURRICANE 21. MEN AT WORK - BE GOOD JOHNNY 20. WAS NOT WAS - OUT COME
THE FREAKS 19. PRETENDERS - MIDDLE OF THE ROAD 18. MADNESS - MICHAEL
CAINE 17. BOURGIE BOURGIE - BREAKING POINT 16. DEBORAH HARRY - RUSH RUSH
15. BANANARAMA - ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING 14. TIN TIN - KISS ME 13. TIK
AND TOK - SCREEN ME I'M YOURS 12. ORANGE JUICE - BRIDGE 11. ASWAD -
CHASING FOR THE BREEZE 10. WORLD'S FAMOUS SUPREME TEAM - HEY DJ 9. THE
STYLE COUNCIL - MY EVER CHANGING MOODS 8. ALEXEI SAYLE - ULLO JOHN GOTTA
NEW MOTOR 7. GENERAL PUBLIC - GENERAL PUBLIC 6. ULTRAVOX - ONE SMALL
DAY 5. INDIANS IN MOSCOW - NAUGHTY MIRANDA 4. SADE - YOUR LOVE IS KING
3. MARILLION - PUNCH AND JUDY 2. HOWARD JONES - HIDE & SEEK 1.
SCRITTI POLITTI - WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN)
Compiled by myself (Ant Peel) by choosing the best songs from the UK weekly Top 100 Singles Charts... ANT PEEL'S ALTERNATIVE / INDEPENDENT TOP 50 BEST SONGS (JANUARY 1984)
50. HOT CHOCOLATE - I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) 49. JB'S ALLSTARS
FEATURING JOHN BRADBURY (THE SPECIALS) - BACKFIELD IN MOTION 48. KATRINA
AND THE WAVES - QUE TE QUIERO 47. ABC - S.O.S. 46. RICK SPRINGFIELD -
HUMAN TOUCH 45. JIMMY CLIFF - WE ALL ARE ONE 44. PAUL HARDCASTLE &
1ST LIGHT - WISH YOU WERE HERE 43. JOHN LENNON - NOBODY TOLD ME 42.
MADONNA - HOLIDAY 41. BREAK MACHINE - STREET DANCE 40. JAMES INGRAM AND
MICHAEL MCDONALD - YAH MO B THERE 39. DEAD OR ALIVE - I'D DO ANYTHING
38. RE FLEX - THE POLITICS OF DANCING 37. WANG CHUNG - DANCE HALL DAYS
36. HERBIE HANCOCK - FUTURE SHOCK 35. THE POLICE - KING OF PAIN 34.
MATTHEW WILDER - BREAK MY STRIDE 33. JUDAS PRIEST - FREEWHEEL BURNING
32. MIKE OLDFIELD FEATURING BARRY PALMER - CRIME OF PASSION 31. SPEAR OF
DESTINY - PRISONER OF LOVE 30. THE ALARM - WHERE WERE YOU HIDING? (WHEN
THE STORM BROKE) 29. HASHIM - AL-NAAFIYSH (THE SOUL) 28. ROCKWELL -
SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME 27. DURAN DURAN - NEW MOON ON MONDAY 26. STAN
RIDGWAY & STEWART COPELAND - DON'T BOX ME IN 25. SWANS WAY - SOUL
TRAIN 24. SIMPLE MINDS - SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME 23. B-MOVIE - A LETTER
FROM AFAR 22. MATT BIANCO - GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED 21. BIG COUNTRY -
WONDERLAND 20. TALKING HEADS - THIS MUST BE THE PLACE 19. PAT BENATAR -
LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD 18. CYNDI LAUPER - GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN 17.
NENA - 99 RED BALLOONS 16. THOMPSON TWINS - DOCTOR DOCTOR 15. QUEEN -
RADIO GA GA 14. VAN HALEN - JUMP 13. FIAT LUX - SECRETS 12. COMSAT
ANGELS - INDEPENDENCE DAY 11. EURYTHMICS - HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN 10.
PREFAB SPROUT - DON'T SING 9. FAD GADGET - COLLAPSING NEW PEOPLE 8. THE
SMITHS - WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? 7. CHINA CRISIS - WISHFUL
THINKING 6. THOMAS DOLBY - HYPERACTIVE! 5. NIK KERSHAW - WOULDN'T IT BE
GOOD 4. THE COLOURFIELD - THE COLOURFIELD 3. FICTION FACTORY - FEELS
LIKE HEAVEN 2. ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN - THE KILLING MOON 1. TALK TALK -
IT'S MY LIFE
Compiled by myself (Ant Peel) by choosing the best songs from the UK weekly Top 100 Singles Charts...
ANT PEEL'S ALTERNATIVE / INDEPENDENT TOP 11 BEST SONGS (DECEMBER 1983) 11. UB40 - MANY RIVERS TO CROSS 10. DEF LEPPARD - TOO LATE FOR LOVE 9.
ADAM ANT - STRIP 8. BILLY JOEL - TELL HER ABOUT IT 7. CULTURE CLUB -
VICTIMS 6. RICHARD HARVEY - THEME FROM TERRAHAWKS 5. MALCOLM MCLAREN -
DUCK FOR THE OYSTER 4. PAUL MCCARTNEY - PIPES OF PEACE 3. SNOWY WHITE -
BIRD OF PARADISE 2. MEN WITHOUT HATS - I GOT THE MESSAGE 1. THE ICICLE
WORKS - LOVE IS A WONDERFUL COLOUR
While the manga follows multiple plot threads, the film adaptation consists of most plots shown in the manga.
The film follows two orphans, Black (クロ, Kuro) and White (シロ, Shiro),
as they attempt to keep control of the streets of the pan-Asian
metropolis of Takaramachi, once a flourishing town and now a huge,
crumbling slum fraught with warring between criminal gangs. Black is a
violent and streetwise punk, considering Takaramachi to be "his town".
White is younger and appears to be mentally impaired, out of touch with
the world around him and often living in a world of illusions. They call
themselves "the Cats". Despite their extreme differences, they
complement and support each other.
During one of their "missions", they take on thugs and Black ends up beating up three yakuza who are menacing a street gangster friend of his. The yakuza work for Snake (蛇, Hebi),
the head of a corporation called "Kiddy Kastle". Snake plans to tear
down and rebuild Takaramachi as a theme park to fit his own goals and
dreams. When Black interferes once too often, yakuza are sent to kill
him, but fail. Angered, Snake then sends the deadly "three assassins"
known as Dragon, Butterfly, and Tiger, near-superhuman hitmen, to finish
the job.
In order to save Black and himself, White has to kill the first
assassin Dragon by tipping gasoline and setting it alight, burning him
alive. The second assassin, Butterfly, pursues White and stabs him with a
samurai sword. White is then sent to the hospital. The police, who have
been watching both Snake and the two youngsters, decide to take White
into protective custody "for his own good", while Black watches White go
knowing he would be too hard to look after while being hunted. Black
later falls into a depressive state.
Alongside the children's narrative is a story is told through the eyes of Kimura (木村),
an average man who gets caught up in the yakuza, leading him to have a
violent encounter with Black. Eventually, Kimura is forced by Snake to
kill his former boss and mentor, Suzuki (鈴木),
to remove possible competition. While Kimura fulfills his mission, he
is deeply shocked by having murdered his mentor. Summoned once again by
Snake, Kimura rebels and kills the yakuza boss, before attempting to
flee with his pregnant wife from Takaramachi. He is gunned down in a
drive-by shooting by Snake's men.
While the police feel it is for the best for White to remain with
them outside Takaramachi, White feels empty without Black there for
support. In parallel, without White, Black soon begins to lose grip on
reality and allows his violence to consume him. He soon develops a split
personality, with his dark side manifesting as the "minotaur". Things
reach a climax when White is brought back to Takaramachi by one of the
officers and taken to a local fair. There, a delusional Black is trying
to show people that "White", in reality a mocked-up doll, has returned
to life. When Black is attacked by Snake's two remaining assassins, the
doll is damaged and Black flies into a murderous rage, killing the
assassins. It is then that he is confronted by the real White, and is
forced to fight the "minotaur", who wishes to completely consume him.
Black manages to triumph over his dark side and reunites with White,
last seen playing in the beach.
