Violent Cop is a 1989 Japanese neo-noir action thriller film directed by Takeshi Kitano, written by Kitano and Hisashi Nozawa, and starring Kitano, Maiko Kawakami, Makoto Ashikawa, Hakuryu, Ken Yoshizawa, and Ittoku Kishibe. It follows Azuma, a Japanese police detective known for his rough and unprofessional conduct, after he is assigned to investigate drug trafficking by the yakuza. It was Kitano's directorial debut, and marked the beginning of his career as a filmmaker. Takeshi Kitano rewrote most of the film's original screenplay by Hisashi Nozawa.