Expecting that volume one of the two sets from Arrow would have the oldest title in the collection,I was surprised to find that it was actually the second volume with Eight Hours of Terror (1957-also reviewed.) Having opened the second set, I got set to open the first collection.

View on the film:

Kicking off their two box sets with a bang, Arrow present the opening film with a flawless transfer of a sharp image that retains a film grain,and a clean soundtrack.

Bringing the boy back at a crossroads between Nikkatsu's sun-tribe/teenager genre and the incoming Diamond Guys/ Film Noir, the screenplay by Nobuyoshi Terada and Tatsuto Okada brilliantly thread both genres together, by placing Kasahara between being a rebellious sun-tribe teen firmly on the wrong side of the tracks, and increasingly edging towards being a Diamond Guys/ Film Noir loner, who along with running the odds of facing the long arm of the law, also risks washing away the few people he holds dear.

Joined by Jo Shishido working with the film maker for the first time before he got branded to kill, Akira Kobayashi gives a terrific, agitated performance as Kasahara, whose angry young man Kobayashi has touch on the isolating state of the Film Noir loner, that is balanced by a melancholy thoughtfulness Kobayashi has Kasahara bring out when near Midorikawa.

Reaching her hand out to Kasahara, Sachiko Hidari gives a elegant performance as Midorikawa, who Hidari has hold firm a sincerity of helping to improve his life, even against the multiple times Kasahara pushes her away.

Dancing with Midorikawa and Kasahara in the Jazz clubs left by American forces, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki & cinematographer Yoshihiro Yamazaki find tunes within the studio system to play early Japanese New Wave notes, hit in hand held camera tracking shots running down with Midorikawa, which twists to a ultra-stylised beat-down Kasahara takes on a outdoor steel staircase.

Tapping the lively mood gripping the couple in the Jazz clubs with slick panning shots across the dance floor, Suzuki brings them together on both sides of the tracks with graceful long wide-shots following the couple along the urban landscape as the boy comes back.

Keiko (Sachiko Hidari) is the wet behind the ears volunteer charged with re-integrating foul-tempered juvenile offender Nobuo (Akira Kobayashi) into society. It's a difficult job, but someone's got to do it, and why not the young woman who earns a living as a tour guide! Can Keiko overcome Nobuo's short fuse and crummy attitude, or will her lousy dancing and modesty get in the way? A widescreen black and white Nikkatsu production, The Boy Who Came Back hints at the gritty yet outre style that would make director Seijun Suzuki a cult star in future decades. Not exactly a classic, but more than watchable.