The Hoodlum Soldier Collection

Part 1 · Mar 18, 1965

Hoodlum Soldier

A young intellectual conscientious objector is forced to serve with the Japanese army in Manchuria. He joins with a dim-witted former gangster in an effort to desert by stealing a train.

Part 2 · Aug 14, 1965

Hoodlum Soldier and the C.O.

Part 3 · Jan 3, 1966

The Hoodlum Soldier Deserts Again

Part 4 · Jul 13, 1966

The Front Line Showdown

Part 5 · Nov 9, 1966

Hoodlum Soldier's Flight to Freedom

Part 6 · Feb 25, 1967

Five Star Private

Part 7 · Sep 15, 1967

Hoodlum Soldier on the Attack

Part 8 · Oct 5, 1968

Hoodlum Soldier: Looting and Pillaging

Part 9 · Apr 22, 1972

New Hoodlum Soldier Story: Firing Line

The story is presented as a voiced-over narrative by Arita (Takahiro Tamura), speaking long after the events of the film. In a remote army base in Manchuria, near the Soviet border, long-serving corporal Arita hates the military and looks forward to the day he may leave. Although a university graduate, he has several times deliberately failed the exam for promotion and thus remains a corporal after four years' service.