Director and storyboarder Yasuomi Umetsu's high octane visuals hang from KITE's basic, unoriginal storyline, but don't let that put you off this pleasing document.
An assassin forced to kill and driven into occasional sexual servitude by perverted bosses is the basic set-up of this excuse for subversion (nothing wrong with that).
That the assassin looks twelve (despite her concessionary breasts) is why KITE is questionable material in more conservative circles.
The shoot-outs are beautifully realized and the sound effects are sharp and effective. Umetsu has a passion for the domino effect of violence as one grisly atrocity begets another until the Tokyo streets and subways resemble a hellish inferno.
The erotic sequences, cut or softened in some versions, are as explicit as you can possibly get and gorgeously drawn.
The 2004 Kitty Media DVD (the only one to get) is totally uncut, as is a German disc released a couple of year's ago (sans English subs).
KITE is juvenile in spots, slow in others, but it's a good animated co-feature if you're thinking of screening Luc Besson's THE PROFESSIONAL for your comrades.
