Shôtarô Ôshima

Police investigators investigate the link between a serial killer's machinations and a teenage boy who committed suicide.

A young female samurai comes upon a dying messenger and agrees to deliver the scroll he was carrying to its destination. However, unbeknownst to her, the scroll is actually a formula for a new kind of gunpowder. An evil clan that is planning to overthrow the Emperor is also after the scroll, and they try to take it from her.

Though he has come from a rough background on the streets, Muraki quickly rises through the ranks by means of his well-honed blackmailing instincts. Desperate to keep rolling with his freewheeling lifestyle, Muraki sees his luck begin to crumble when he sets his sights on the business partners of a powerful gang boss.

A detective tries to outwit a jewel thief who has kidnapped the daughter of a jeweler to get to an exquisite diamond.