deborah young of "the hollywood reporter" gave "seventh code" a mixed review, where she found the "closely observed emotions" that were typical of kurosawa's other works such as his "tokyo sonata" film and his made-for-tv serial drama "penance" were "decidedly missing". jay weissberg of "variety" described the film as "a quirky one-hour caper designed as a showcase for singer-actress atsuko maeda." dan fainaru of "screen international" noted that "each of the film's sequences are shot and directed with the smooth, precise authority that clearly attests to kurosawa's high professional standards." mark schilling of "the japan times" gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, commenting that "maeda is not about to become a new action superstar from her work in "seventh code", but it might well extend her appeal beyond her akb48 fan base."