Takashi Miike delivers a knockout for Supercell

In this Japanese V-Cinema-style short film, Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo gives famed anti-art director Takashi Miike the reigns to create an engaging series of six adverts for Supercell’s mobile game, Brawl Stars. 

Starring Sho Aikawa, an icon of direct-to-video mob movies, the film follows a gameplay gangster at the top of the scoreboard who is accosted four times in a darkened warehouse by three adversaries. In the fifth video, Sho, who has been fighting (and losing) alone, is joined by two men as he fights against his rogues gallery of bosses from past battles. 

The series is full of fun winks for Brawl Stars fans, including some special appearances from YouTube streamers and professional roller skaters who appear in fringed jackets, lit by a disco ball. Takashi Miike takes Japanese pulp drama and turns it into a bizarre and brilliant short film that embodies the fun of the Brawl Stars brand. With little actual gameplay shown, Miike is allowed to interpret the theme of 'Three is Better Than One' in an incredibly unique way. Sho Aikawa also gives an exaggerated and effusive performance, particular to the V-Cinema genre. 

All six films are fully committed to the vision Miike brings to the advertisement, and stand as a satirical, high-energy homage to fans of stylized mob films, Japanese cinema, and Brawl Stars itself. It’s a pretty incredible piece of work for Supercell, the Finnish client that nearly owns the mobile gaming industry with their globally celebrated “Clash of Clans.” Strung together, the full placement is just over fifteen minutes long, and well worth a watch for Japanese film fans and casual gamers alike.