Crows Zero - More than just the fights

I recently got hooked to reading Crows and Worst - a manga by Takahashi Hiroshi. It's pretty much about different gangs of students from different schools fighting for the heck of it. Very amusing, to say the least.

So I was searching for more Crows and Worst goodies when I stumbled upon a Crows live action movie entitled Crows Zero.

Crows Zero tells the story of Takiya Genji, a newcomer in Suzuran (aka the "School of Crows"). He tries to conquer and unite Suzuran under one faction (GPS) - a feat no one has done before, no matter how much it was tried.

The movie focuses on how he wins over the different leaders of the school who refuse to follow Serizawa Tamao, a leader of the Serizawa faction who's almost close to conquering Suzuran.

No spoilers here okay? The movie is a delightful watch so I wouldn't want to ruin the fun.

First off, since I'm new to the whole Crows X Worst scene, I'm pretty much confused as to when Crows Zero's plot actually happened. Why the confusion? I'll elaborate and hopefully, someone who's well-versed in Crows X Worst can enlighten me about this.

There are two characters (at least from what I remember) that appear in both Crows and Crows Zero: Rindaman and Bandou.

In Crows, they're both seniors already - at least Bandou is - but then again, it has been said that Rindaman has stayed in school for quite some time.

In Crows Zero, from what I understood, they both are seniors also, unless I understood wrong. Bandou however, is introduced as a top-ranking officer from the group The Front of Armament; he was also introduced in the same light in Crows.

Genji (protagonist, Crows Zero) enters Suzuran in his final year of high school - so that would make both Rindaman and Bandou seniors too, right? Bouya (protagonist, Crows) enters Suzuran in his second year of high school, making Rindaman (not sure about this) and Bandou his seniors.

*And yes, explaining this just confused me more.*

I so love the fight scenes and the sporadic comedy here and there (yay Maki!). Watching through all the fights that they participate in, I was kinda wishing I had my own gang who loved and enjoyed fighting more than anyone else. A gang who thought that fighting isn't just about the violence, the superiority...but it's about fighting for friends, your school and uh... being on top everyone else XD

Crows Zero stars Oguri Shun as Genji and Yamada Takayuki as Serizawa. It's directed by Takahashi Miike and was released last 2007.

It's definitely a must-see for those who just loves endless (and technically meaningless lol) fights. Oh and great-looking bishounen too! Yiiii Izaki!!