SHAMO, the ending and why I liked it!

SPOILER ZONE

I consider the ending to this movie to be one of the best I've seen for many reasons:

The final fight was a mirror of Ryo's real life. In life, he gets put in jail for a crime he doesn't commit (but says he does) and has to fight for his right to simply exist. In the final fight, he fakes a crime against the champs girlfriend in order to get into the ring and for the right to simply exist as a fighter.

The word "Shamo" means cock-fight. When roosters fight, they don't care who is declared the winner. The real winner is the one who is able to fight again later, and defend his territory. Ryo's personality has been pared down to his "animal" side. He is, in essence, a rooster fighter...a Shamo fighter. When he is declared the loser, it is another mirror of his life. He keeps getting labeled a loser and no-one will acknowledge his accomplishments. However, there is no getting around the fact that he wins simply because he gets back up to fight again while the one named "winner" is permanently handicapped. He is a winner, although society won't accept it.

For those who don't "get" the ending, ask yourself this:
If no one was there to judge the match, who would have been the final winner?

I would love to hear more discussion! Anyone else have thoughts on it?

I totally agree with you on this one. Ryo is clearly the winner, no matter what society says, just like you said.

the ending was alright but still if there wasnt a judge there he wouldve died look how many time he got knock down...

wtf with the ending, i though Ryo would stand up and finish him off for good.

No judge? You kidding me? Ryo would have died in the fist 2 minutes... Seriously. With the eye bruised up so badly and the reckless fighting skills.

I guess all of you didn't notice that he held back when he was fighting? He didn't miss with his foot, he was taunting the champ.

you should read the manga, the ending of the millemnium fight is, I think way better then from the movie.
(www.onemanga.com if you can't find it)

if there was no one to judge the fight, the person who lives is gonna be the winner.