Nora-neko rokku: Sekkusu hantaa

I saw this DVD in the front of an independent video rental store. Judging by the cover, it seemed to be a Japanese version of Faster Pussycat. I took it home, popped it in, and the beginning seemed to confirm my suspicion. However, as the movie progressed, it told the story of a gang of teenage/young adult Japanese girls, and their interaction with a gang of xenophobic young Japanese men and their battles with those who are the offspring of Japanese women and US servicemen. A lot of violence perpetrated by the Japanese men, with the girls acting as peacemakers and protectors of the "half-breeds". Like all movies, it comes down to a violent confrontation, and not everyone will live to see the credits roll. All in all, if you are looking for a good non-mainstream movie, it is worth a viewing.

Stray Cat Rock:Sex Hunter starts off as local girls running around the city,taking advantage of older men, stealing their money and going out for drinks.The head girl Mako lies outside of a bar and suddenly a man wanders over, singing a sorrowful ballad.They talk and get to know each other, then a pack of male gangs out to rid the city of half-breeds go over to threaten him to leave or get killed.This has a lot going on along with lots of revelations at the end.There's fights,Mako getting stoned with rocks,a hotel "rape party",an underground bar with actual bars, a frustrated gang leader named Baron who can't get it up.

When I realized it was a film made by Yasuharu Hasebe I was shocked since this is actually something early from him, he would later make the violent pinku entries:rape 13th hour,assault!jack the ripper, etc. This was a fantastic action film done by Yasuharu Hasebe he did an impressive job to what we've seen now, but a production from Nikkatsu it was way more like a toei.I didn't get much into Stray Cat Rock until the last 50 minutes,plus it was after watching Rica which I didn't like.But this was better especially Meiko Kaji.She's like Miki sugimoto and Reiko Ike,beautiful and badass.

If you LOVE the Japanese exploitation scene from the 60's or 70's like I do, you should definitely check it out.It's a winner..a real winner

On the face of it, this is a very "violent youth" type of exploitation film but there are some very interesting social matters running through the film. It revolves around the relationship between Japanese, occupying Americans and the "half" offspring of the groups.

There are interesting contrasts. Baron's gang runs around in American military jeeps yet we see through flashback that Baron's hatred of "halfs" may spring from his sister being raped by a US serviceman. His gang sets up a "party" with foreigners but they are the most ugly and brutish types imaginable. We have these ugly stereotypes of whites on the one hand yet the soundtrack features an on-cameras role by the group "Golden Halfs", five attractive "half" japanese women.

This is all packaged in a fantastic Suzuki style "exploitation "film. Great use of color and composition mark the influence of the Seijin Suzuki style on the director Hasabe. A great film for any "Violent Youth" fans.

With the most salacious title of the series and a director (Yasuharu Hasebe) who would go on to make some of the more notorious 'violent pink' movies of the '70s, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter sounds like it should be a thoroughly tasteless sleaze-fest, but in reality proves just as mediocre as the previous two entries (Delinquent Girl Boss and Wild Jumbo), being another unexceptional gang drama with attractive actresses acting tough unconvincingly.

The beautiful Meiko Kaji returns, this time as Mako, leader of the Alleycats, an all-girl gang who clash with male gang The Eagles, whose leader, Baron (Tatsuya Fuji), has a hatred of African-Japanese people. When one such mixed race man falls for Alleycat Mari (Mari Koiso), Baron and his men react with violence, but are seen off by young stranger Kazuma (Rikiya Yasuoka), who has arrived in town looking for his sister Megumi. Mako takes a fancy to Kazuma, who is also mixed race, which upsets Baron even further, since he also has the hots for the top Alleycat (although impotency prevents him from proving his manliness). Rising tensions lead to punch-ups and random acts of violence, culminating in a shoot-out at a U.S. airbase.

There are a few moments in Sex Hunter that definitely offered Hasebe the opportunity to cut loose, but the director plays it safe this early in his career, delivering very little of the shocking sexual violence that typifies his more infamous work: those looking for jaw-dropping scenes of deviancy are advised to move on... there's nothing much to see here. The majority of the film consists of much posturing from both sides, some musical interludes (including a couple of numbers by mixed-race girl group Golden Half), mild drug-taking, and lots of driving around Tokyo in jeeps. The racially charged plot adds a modicum of interest, but this third Stray Cat Rock movie - regarded by many as the best in the series (which doesn't say much for the others) - still left me wanting.

You never really know what to expected with these early 70's Japanese Pinky Violence/Exploitation movies, but the absolute last thing I ever expected to find in a film lusciously entitled "Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter" was a socially relevant and thought-provoking allegory on topics such as racism, female liberation and brotherhood. There are a handful of "Stray Cat Rock" movies, but apparently "Sex Hunter" is the most widely available one and also the most superior one in the cycle. I'm certainly tempted to believe that, because what I saw was a compelling film from start to finish; - albeit with a exemplary crowd-pleasing elements like sexy eloquent girls, grotesque moments at comedy and kitschy musical interludes. Most bizarre, however, is the surprisingly low amount of explicit violence and gratuitous nudity. The main emphasis here lies on plausible story and the increasing tension between the rivaling gangs/sexes. The unearthly beautiful Meiko Kaji (later she became Japan's most successful exploitation actress thanks to "Lady Snowblood" and the "Female Prisoner: Scorpion" series) stars as Mako, the leading lady of an all-girls gang known as the Alley Cats. The girls are tough and independent, but they nevertheless still stand in the shadow of "The Eagles". They are a male gang, led by sadistic Baron and driving around the city in military jeeps. The Eagles are a bunch of racists, particularly against the half-bloods (the offspring of Japanese women and American WWII soldiers) who're allegedly stealing their women. The hard-boiled Mako is also falling in love with a half-blood, named Kazuma, but he actually came to town to look for his long lost baby sister. "Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter" turned out to be much more compelling, suspenseful and memorable than we (my fellow cinema mate and I) dared to anticipate. I love it when that happens! Director Yasuharu Hasebe may perhaps be most (in)famous for his downright deviant exploitation-porn movies, like "Assault! Jack the Ripper" and "Rape!", but this undoubtedly must be his best movie. Besides, if you're really looking for weird stuff, you'll still enjoy the inexplicably theatrical denouement and the numerously shameless attempts at product placement by Coca Cola.