Haha, yeah, see Fireworks!
Ichi's okay, but Miike's not even in my top 10 favorite Japanese film makers. He's just too damn inconsistent.
Takeshi Kitano, on the other hand, is my new favorite director and actor and writer and whatever else he does. I've only seen 4 of his movies but they've all been brilliant for completely different reasons...
...specifically the movie "Fireworks", which I just watched. Imagine a Charles Bronson "Death Wish" kind of movie that is devoid of any excess, trimmed of any fat, and instead focusing on only impulse, energy, beauty, and violence. Instead of excessive "character development" or boring plots with ridiculous twists, there are scenes of characters sitting around, deep in thought... and there are scenes showing us nothing but the beauty of the ocean or of dead flowers... Very slow and almost completely devoid of dialogue or action, things only happen when it's necessary for them to happen. There is one scene where a guy gets a pencil jammed in his eye, and it seriously lasts about 5 millaseconds. The version I saw isn't cut or anything -- it really lasts that long. Quick bursts of extreme and cruel violence offset by a very minimal but beautiful plot dealing with loss, redemption, death, and whatever else. Bizarre and unexpected humor and a main character (and his wife) who barely say more than 5 sentences the whole film. One of the best films I've ever seen!!! Blew my mind. It has everything I look for in a movie.