Did your friend buy the 98 minute or the 114 minute version? The longer version is the totally uncut version, where you get to see the beyond inhumane torture.

I watched that movie and will give you a preview of it...

Ichi the Killer is about a masochist Yakuza member who is looking for the leader of the Yakuza group. He interogates and tortures his victims for infomation in the worse, most inhumane way possible. Eventually, they figure out that someone named Ichi is doing all of the killing, and his style is labeled as "pure sadism".

The following below is a detailed paragraph about one of the torture scenes. If you are easily offended, avoid reading it at all costs!!!

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Kakihara (the masochist/protagonist of the movie) is shown deep frying shrimp in tons of food oil. After he takes out the shrimp, he goes over to a man, suspended by 3/4-inch hooks all over his back. Kakihara asks where his boss his, and the guy says that he does not know. Kakihara then gets a foot long needle that is about 1/4-inch thick and stabs it up into his mouth. The guy's mouth opens and you can see the needle. Kakihara takes it out and ask him then, only to have the same answer. He then stabs him from cheek to cheek and you can see it also. He then takes the needle out and asks him once more. The guy gives the same asnwer, so Kakihara gets all of the cooking oil and pours it down his back. You can hear all of the fizzling of the cooking oil going down his back, along with screams of agony and pain.

...and this is only the tip of the iceberg...