Young Thugs: Nostalgia is a 1998 Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike. It is based on the autobiographical novel Kishiwada shōnen gurentai: Bōkyō written by Riichi Nakaba. It is the prequel to the 1997 film Young Thugs: Innocent Blood.

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over one hundred theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films run through a variety of different genres, and range from violent and bizarre to dramatic and family-friendly movies. He is a controversial figure in the contemporary Japanese cinema industry, with several of his films being criticised for their extreme graphic violence. Some of his best known films are Audition, Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q, the Dead or Alive trilogy and various remakes: Graveyard of Honor, Hara-kiri and 13 Assassins. He has directed over 100 movies and also plays as an actor in 20+ more.