Transcending Dimensions – Review | Fantasia (3/5)

TRANSCENDING DIMENSIONS is a Sci-Fi Fantasy Thriller from Japan. A true genre-mix infused with jazz and sorcery. It’s weird, wacky, wonderful, and will keep you guessing. Screened at Fantasia 2025. Read our full Transcending Dimension movie review here!

TRANSCENDING DIMENSIONS is a classic and perfect film festival movie. It’s a genre-hybrid that mixes Sci-Fi, Comedy, Thriller, and everything from folklore to sorcery and space adventure.

It’s a Japanese movie, and if you’ve watched genre movies from Japan made in any of the past many decades, you’ll recognize the vibe. This isn’t a movie that utilizes martial arts in any classic sense. However, battles are part of the story. Just not in ways you’re familiar with.

Continue reading our Transcending Dimension movie review below. Screened at Fantasia 2025.

The dangers of spiritual enlightenment

With Transcending Dimensions, we’re getting the kind of movie where you never know what’s coming next. I mean, even the title and opening credits don’t come until around 38 minutes into its runtime.

We’re at a retreat in the mountains where a cult leader seems to be a little too power-happy. He certainly doesn’t shy away from practices that can only be described as sadistic. While his followers are seeking spiritual enlightenment, cult leader Master Hanzo (Chihara Jr.) is leading them down a strange path.

One of the people at this particular setting is the hitman Shinno (Ryuhei Matsuda), who is only there to please his client Nonoka. She wants to avenge her boyfriend, Rosuke, who disappeared after following the suggestions of Master Hanzo.

The universe within yourself

If this were an Australian movie, we would say Rosuke had been sent on a walkabout in the bush. Yes, I watched Crocodile Dundee a lot during my formative years. In Transcending Dimensions, the followers of this cult are sent out to find the edges of the universe… but within themselves.

After Rosuke was sent on this journey, he has been missing, so now Nonoka wants the hitman to kill Master Hanzo as revenge. Having given this order, she appears to take her own life. As if this was the final mission of her life.

The hitman Shinno decides to still honor their agreement, but killing a cult leader is no small feat. Especially as he appears to also be a sorcerer, who can throw air at you and knock you out with just a quick flick of one finger.

Master Hanzo appears to have fun with being the target of this hitman, while we also get to see what happened to Rosuke. Did he find the edges of the universe or whatever happened to him?!

If this all sounds strange, then it’s because Transcending Dimensions is rather strange. Fortunately, it’s mostly in a very entertaining way where punk-jazz music underscores the wild and unexpected twists.

Transcending Dimensions is screening at Fantasia 2025

Japanese director Toshiaki Toyoda is not for everyone. He previously directed movies that have gone on to earn the moniker “cult films”. These include Pornostar (1998), Blue Spring (2001), and 9 Souls (2003).

With everything from legal problems to his very direct criticism of Japan’s conservative viewpoints, his movies dive into stories that are certainly not conservative in their approach to plot or storytelling.

Transcending Dimensions has been described as a “potent blend of film noir, sci-fi, supernatural combat, deadpan comedy, and existential weirdness”, which seems surprisingly accurate. If this sounds like something you’d like to experience, then this is for you.

Transcending Dimensions is reviewed as part of our Fantasia 2025 coverage.

Details

Director: Toshiaki Toyoda
Writer: Toshiaki Toyoda
Cast: Haruka Imou, Chihara Jr., Yosuke Kubozuka, Ryuhei Matsuda, Kiyohiko Shibukawa