Of the four films included in the "Pinky Violence" box set this is the most complicated, plot- wise, and the slowest moving. That said, it very well may be the best "film" of the four, as it offers more than just the kinetic sex and violence typical of the Sukeban genre. Certainly those elements exist (in abundance) but there appears to be more attention put in the buildup to the (inevitable) vengeance that crowns the film.
The basic story is that Reiko Oshida is a recent graduate of reform school. While incarcerated she met the father of one of her fellow students (Yuko Katayama), who was trying to visit his alienated daughter. He gives Reiko a small toy to pass on to her. Yuko, whose boyfriend is a Yakuza, refuses the gift from her father, angrily telling Reiko to keep it herself.
Upon her release, and not having anywhere else to go, Reiko tracks down Yuko's father (Junzaburo Ban) to return the toy. Ban is the owner of an auto repair shop, which the Yakuza are trying to take over. Yuko, it seems, has been using the family seal to pay off her boyfriends' gambling debts, making Ban libel for exorbitant amounts of money. Despite his financial state he offers Reiko a job and a place to live, effectively making her his surrogate daughter.
At this point the film becomes more complicated, as several sub-plots are introduced (all of which feed back into the main story). It seems that some of Reiko's former classmates are working at the Ginza Girls Cabaret, a hostess club that is also being shaken down by the same Yakuza gang. Another classmate (Yukie Kagawa) has been forced out of hostess business and is working at an "art" studio, doing nude modeling to try and support her tubercular, ex-Yakuza husband (Ichiro Nakatani), who has also been recently released from prison. And another classmate is working at a ramen shop near Reiko's auto-shop.
Out driving one day with the shop assistant, Reiko gets involved in a car accident with Tsunehiko Watase, who we later discover, is the younger brother of Yukie's boyfriend Ichiro (the ailing gangster). Reiko and Tsunehiko flirt by pretending to hate each other. Tsunehiko also has several angry confrontations with his brother, as he tries to convince him to leave the city and convalesce in the country, where the air is better and he will be free of his Yakuza masters, whom he has sacrificed his health to.
Eventually the girls are reunited and begin to work to get Yukie a job at the Cabaret so she can earn enough money to move get out of the city with her boyfriend. But the Yakuza are leaning on Ban more and more, as his daughters' debt spirals out of control. Deciding to take matters in her own hands, and believing that the Yakuza will negotiate with a woman, Reiko confronts Boss Ohya (Nobuo Kaneko) at his headquarters. The Yakuza mock her and force her to strip, with the obvious intention of raping her. Listening from the next room is Yuko, Ban's daughter and Reiko's nemesis from reform school, who tries to prevent the assault on Reiko. The Yakuza don't take kindly to this and tie up both girls, telephoning Yuko's father, telling him that they will exchange the girls for the deed to Ban's land. Ban agrees to the trade, but when he arrives it is revealed that he is actually the feared Yakuza assassin Tetsu the Razor, who has retired from the underworld and attempted to live a straight life. Now pushed beyond endurance he takes out his razor and the roomful of hard-ass gangsters cower from him.
Shortly after, Ichiro (the sick Yakuza boyfriend of Yukie) comes to ask Boss Ohya to release him from service so he can leave the city. Boss Ohya agrees, on the condition that Ichiro kill Ban. Ichiro, not knowing that Ban is the employer of his brother's paramour (Reiko) agrees and sets out to assassinate the old gangster. He finds him in an alley, and they fight, only to both be run down by a car driven by Boss Ohya's henchmen. Both are killed.
Finally, all the characters realize how they are connected and after an hour and fifteen minutes of slow burn the girls don red trench coats and pick up Samurai swords and, with the help of Tsunehiko, head out to take revenge on Boss Ohya and his gang, in a scene that undoubtedly influenced the bloody restaurant battle Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill". Despite taking some time to get there, the scene's payoff is huge, and more resonate because of the path taken.
Of the four films included in the box set this is the one that feels most thought-out. I've seen many contemporary directors try and weave together interlocking, simultaneous story lines which eventually converge, and fail miserably. Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi succeeds where other "serious" filmmakers have failed when finally the whole story comes into the open it makes sense and does not feel forced or contrived. The revenge being sought at the end of the film is hot-blooded for some of the characters and cold-blooded for others. The film touches on such diverse themes as loyalty, family bonds, and sacrifice; making it more than just another genre "vendetta" movie.
Excellently done and possibly worth the price of the box set.
The basic story is that Reiko Oshida is a recent graduate of reform school. While incarcerated she met the father of one of her fellow students (Yuko Katayama), who was trying to visit his alienated daughter. He gives Reiko a small toy to pass on to her. Yuko, whose boyfriend is a Yakuza, refuses the gift from her father, angrily telling Reiko to keep it herself.
Upon her release, and not having anywhere else to go, Reiko tracks down Yuko's father (Junzaburo Ban) to return the toy. Ban is the owner of an auto repair shop, which the Yakuza are trying to take over. Yuko, it seems, has been using the family seal to pay off her boyfriends' gambling debts, making Ban libel for exorbitant amounts of money. Despite his financial state he offers Reiko a job and a place to live, effectively making her his surrogate daughter.
At this point the film becomes more complicated, as several sub-plots are introduced (all of which feed back into the main story). It seems that some of Reiko's former classmates are working at the Ginza Girls Cabaret, a hostess club that is also being shaken down by the same Yakuza gang. Another classmate (Yukie Kagawa) has been forced out of hostess business and is working at an "art" studio, doing nude modeling to try and support her tubercular, ex-Yakuza husband (Ichiro Nakatani), who has also been recently released from prison. And another classmate is working at a ramen shop near Reiko's auto-shop.
Out driving one day with the shop assistant, Reiko gets involved in a car accident with Tsunehiko Watase, who we later discover, is the younger brother of Yukie's boyfriend Ichiro (the ailing gangster). Reiko and Tsunehiko flirt by pretending to hate each other. Tsunehiko also has several angry confrontations with his brother, as he tries to convince him to leave the city and convalesce in the country, where the air is better and he will be free of his Yakuza masters, whom he has sacrificed his health to.
Eventually the girls are reunited and begin to work to get Yukie a job at the Cabaret so she can earn enough money to move get out of the city with her boyfriend. But the Yakuza are leaning on Ban more and more, as his daughters' debt spirals out of control. Deciding to take matters in her own hands, and believing that the Yakuza will negotiate with a woman, Reiko confronts Boss Ohya (Nobuo Kaneko) at his headquarters. The Yakuza mock her and force her to strip, with the obvious intention of raping her. Listening from the next room is Yuko, Ban's daughter and Reiko's nemesis from reform school, who tries to prevent the assault on Reiko. The Yakuza don't take kindly to this and tie up both girls, telephoning Yuko's father, telling him that they will exchange the girls for the deed to Ban's land. Ban agrees to the trade, but when he arrives it is revealed that he is actually the feared Yakuza assassin Tetsu the Razor, who has retired from the underworld and attempted to live a straight life. Now pushed beyond endurance he takes out his razor and the roomful of hard-ass gangsters cower from him.
Shortly after, Ichiro (the sick Yakuza boyfriend of Yukie) comes to ask Boss Ohya to release him from service so he can leave the city. Boss Ohya agrees, on the condition that Ichiro kill Ban. Ichiro, not knowing that Ban is the employer of his brother's paramour (Reiko) agrees and sets out to assassinate the old gangster. He finds him in an alley, and they fight, only to both be run down by a car driven by Boss Ohya's henchmen. Both are killed.
Finally, all the characters realize how they are connected and after an hour and fifteen minutes of slow burn the girls don red trench coats and pick up Samurai swords and, with the help of Tsunehiko, head out to take revenge on Boss Ohya and his gang, in a scene that undoubtedly influenced the bloody restaurant battle Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill". Despite taking some time to get there, the scene's payoff is huge, and more resonate because of the path taken.
Of the four films included in the box set this is the one that feels most thought-out. I've seen many contemporary directors try and weave together interlocking, simultaneous story lines which eventually converge, and fail miserably. Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi succeeds where other "serious" filmmakers have failed when finally the whole story comes into the open it makes sense and does not feel forced or contrived. The revenge being sought at the end of the film is hot-blooded for some of the characters and cold-blooded for others. The film touches on such diverse themes as loyalty, family bonds, and sacrifice; making it more than just another genre "vendetta" movie.
Excellently done and possibly worth the price of the box set.