This staggering Japanese programme from veteran Takeshi Kitano follows an ageing hitman … twice. First the story is played as a drama, then as a comedy. It’s so odd you’ll be glad it exists

It may only be February, but if Broken Rage doesn’t end up as the strangest show of the year I’ll be staggered. A one-hour, one-off, two-part episode that repeatedly mines the same material for different genre beats, Broken Rage is probably best described as an intermittently successful head-scratcher. It could also only have come from the mind of Takeshi Kitano.

Kitano is the consummate Japanese multi-hyphenate. A comedian who has been a household name since the 1970s, he also hosted Takeshi’s Castle. He has written books, designed video games and starred in everything from Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence to Battle Royale. Outside Japan, however, he is best known for writing, directing and starring in hard-boiled crime films such as Violent Cop, Sonatine and Outrage.