Crows ZERO

Crows ZERO (クローズZERO/Kuroozu ZERO), here and here, is a 2007 Japanese movie based on a manga set at a high school where gang life rules. It stars Oguri Shun, Yamada Takayuki, Kuroki Meisa, Kiritani Kenta, and Daito Shunsuke, among others. The synopsis is as follows:

The film centers around the character Takiya Genji, a newcomer to Suzuran All-Boys High School who aims to 'conquer' Suzuran. Genji makes a deal with his father, Hideo Takitani (Kishitani Goro). If he can conquer the school, he will be allowed to succeed his father as the head of his syndicate. But first, he has to defeat Serizawa Tamao, the "King of Beasts" and closest to conquering Suzuran.

I was browsing on DramaCrazy and I came across this movie and it sounded promising. Not to mention I was in the mood for some butt-kicking. AND it stars a number of people I've seen. It has a good number of fight scenes but it's not as bloody as it could have been. I'm not saying there wasn't any blood - there was some blood flying about - it was just not graphic; there was also a good amount of sound effects. Even so, some of it looked rather painful. I must also point out that the only time you even SEE any school administrators/teachers at the school is in the first 15 minutes of the movie, or so. Suzuran is definitely not a school.

Even then, I enjoyed it, relatively speaking. Even though the yakuza played a role in it, it wasn't only centered on fighting and "getting to the top." There were some morals involved (i.e. do not kidnap or otherwise gang up on females) and there was even a hint of romance. Ah yes, there were light-hearted moments and other scenes where the fact that they're human appears obvious, even though they all seem to have a bit of a problem with controlling their tempers and had no qualms about mortally hurting others. The acting was pretty good. For instance, when getting the life kicked out of them, they actually stumbled realistically instead of popping up miraculously even though they should be near-death, or there already.

There's also a sequel that has generally the same cast (with the addition of other actors like Miura Haruma) by the name of Crows ZERO II (2009). The synopsis is as follows:

Several months after "Crows: Episode 0" trouble brews again when thugs known as "The Army of Killers" from rival high school Hosen Academy threaten Suzuran High aka the School of Crows. The ruthless Hosen gang go after Suzuran alumni Sho Kawanishi after his released from reformatory for killing a Hosen member two years back. Kawanishi turns to his younger Suzuran gang members for protection. The Housen gang then seeks out right revenge on the entire Suzuran school, while in-fighting at Suzuran High makes them even more susceptible to the Housen threat.

You can watch both at DramaCrazy or the first one at MySoju.
Picture taken from here.