SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Find someone who looks at you the way Keanu looks at this Japanese singer when she gives him flowers.

The Japanese premiere of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum was held at Roppongi Hills in Tokyo last night, and in town to help promote it was the director of the film, Chad Stahelski, and the actor who plays John Wick, Keanu Reeves.

After exploring the Japanese countryside last week, Reeves headed back to the capital for the premiere, and when he arrived at the screening, there was a cinema full of excited fans waiting to greet him.

▼ John Wick entered the building and the crowd went wild for him.

Swinging his long shaggy locks under the shine of the spotlights and stepping onto the stage in a smart suit and tie, Reeves looked just like his John Wick character.

▼ Reeves and Stahelski took to the stage amidst cheers from the crowd.

As everyone waited with bated breath to hear whether their favourite movie hitman would greet them in Japanese, he thrilled the crowd with his opening greeting.

“Hello Tokyo! Konban wa. Thank you very much for being here this evening at the premiere of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Domo arigatou gozaimashita!”

As the crowd cheered, Reeves than handed over to the film’s director with a “Go, baby”, after which Stahelski said:

“Thank you very much for coming.”

Then Japanese singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu appeared from the wings as her song “Ninja Re Bang Bang” — which is used during a sushi bar scene in the movie — played over the speakers.

Dressed in a black ninja-inspired outfit, Pamyu Pamyu handed bouquets of flowers to the international guests.

Everyone’s hearts then proceeded to melt as Reeves looked genuinely pleased with the gesture and couldn’t tear his eyes away from Pamyu Pamyu afterwards.

She told the crowd how impressed she was with the action scenes in the film, and asked the audience to keep an eye out for all the Japanese motifs that appear throughout the movie.

Reeves then spoke to Pamyu Pamyu, saying:

“It’s been lovely to meet you and I was watching some of your work, which I think is so interesting, not only entertaining but also has great philosophy and heart.”

Stahelski then piped in with:

“I just want to say thank you so much for being a part of the John Wick world. We’re super happy to have you in the movie and thank you for really adding something to the film. Arigatou gozaimashita.”

▼ Pamyu Pamyu thanked them and told them it was an honour to meet them both.

Hearts then melted for a second time that evening when Reeves interrupted proceedings to compliment Pamyu Pamyu on her ninja outfit.

▼ “Your ninja dress is fantastic.”

The director was then asked to explain how Pamyu Pamyu’s music was chosen to appear in the film.

“I just thought it was, of all the songs I had listened to, we really wanted something that was a big juxtaposition to the action and something that was happy and fun and made people smile, and I thought the way Mark Dacascos was playing Zero, the character, that the song just really fit. We heard it and everyone in the editing room went ‘that’s the song’. It just had something magic about it.”

After being asked about the Japanese influences that appear in the film, Stahelski replied with:

“I think Keanu and I are both big fans of Akira Kurosawa, chanbara [sword-fighting] films, we love samurai movies, we love Japanese manga, we love Japanese anime, we love the idea of the martial arts, we love bushido, and we wanted to put and pay tribute to all the great themes, and all the flavour of Japanese culture to the movie so thank you all.”

Asked to add his own thoughts, Reeves said:

“I’m following my director, so really all of those influences are true and it’s great to be able to share the influences and the passion that we’ve enjoyed and kind of give back in our art as well.”

Then a side door opened and a “real ninja” flipped onto the stage. He was here to teach everyone how to ward off bad luck and garner success for the movie with a special series of ninja hand seals.

After their initial crash course, there was some confusion as the ninja proceeded to go through the complicated hand seals again with the crowd…

▼ The trio then waited to add the last hand seal to the nine-count series…

And when the time came, Reeves delivered the final hand seal with all the intense energy we’ve come to expect from the keen martial arts enthusiast.

Then it was time to wrap up the formalities so the audience could watch the film, and Reeves wished everyone the best.

“Thank you very much for coming. It’s the last stop and place of the journey for John Wick Chapter 3 for Chad and I so it’s a great honour for us to be here and to share this film with you and we hope you enjoy it. Thank you.”

▼ And with that the trio posed for the cameras…

▼ And recreated the hand seal of the ninja one more time.

They then disappeared like ninja themselves, heading off into the night as the audience was left to journey into the dark, action-packed world of John Wick.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum will be released in cinemas nationwide from 4 October. We’re already looking forward to the next instalment in the John Wick franchise, and can’t help but hope those ninja hand seals will be making an appearance in the next film.

So, Keanu – if you’re reading this and you want to learn more about those ninja hand seals, take a look at our how-to-guide complete with videos here. Apparently they’re not just good for warding off bad luck, they’ve been scientifically proven to reduce stress and sharpen the mind. That’s two things John Wick definitely needs!

Photos © SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!