Female Yakuza Tale

The ravishing Reiko Ike is back, sexy and deadly as ever in this awesomely sleazy sequel to Norifumi Suzuki's "Sex And Fury" (1973). Brought to you by cult-director Teruo Ishii ("Black Cat's Revenge", "The Executioner", "Orgies Of Edo", "Horrors of Malformed Men",...), "Yasagure anego den: sôkatsu rinchi" aka. "Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture" of 1973 is yet another great entry to the Japanese 'Pinky Violence' Exploitation sub-genre. The film's great visual style, tons of sleaze and violence, and, above all, genre-goddess Reiko Ike make this a must-see for my fellow Pinky Violence enthusiasts and highly recommended to any fan of cult-cinema.

The sexy and lethal gambling-lady, thief and swords-woman Ochô Inoshika (Reiko Ike) is back, and immediately confronted with lots of new enemies. Among others, she has to struggle with a ring of drug smugglers who smuggle heroin in a very kinky manner... I don't won't give away any more of the story, as I don't wanna spoil any of the fun, but I can assure that my fellow Japanese Exploitation lovers should be more than satisfied. While "Female Yakuza Tale" may not be quite as good story-wise as the foregoing "Sex And Fury", it even surpasses its predecessor in sleaziness. The film is again beautifully shot, with immensely stylish fighting sequences. What makes these (often slow-motion) sword-fights even more memorable is the fact that the ravishing heroine Ochô tends to fight bare-breasted or even completely naked. Also, the ONLY thing that I did not love about "Sex And Fury" namely the romance (Christina Lindberg's voice made me understand why her character in "Thriller, En Grym Film" was mute) is omitted here for good, and even though I might stand alone with this opinion, I liked the fact that Lindberg was not part of this one. There's again a lot of bloodshed, and the sleaze-factor is enormous. I won't go into detail, but Pinky Violence fans will know what to expect, and I assure that their expectations are not going to be disappointed. A great sequel to the brilliant "Sex And Fury", "Female Yakuza Tale" is pure cult-cinema that satisfies in all regards and a must see for every fan of Japanese Exploitation cinema! Highly Recommended!

DAMN I love this era of Japanese exploit film-making. I just recently really started digging into the 70's pinky and samurai films - but I have to say that I've LOVED every one that I've seen so far. Violent, gory, sleazy, sexy - they just don't make films like these anymore...

Unfortunately, the story behind FEMALE YAKUZA TALE is a little convoluted and can be hard to follow at times. This one has Ocho (female pickpocket and "swords-mistress" extraordinaire of SEX AND FURY fame) trying to bring down a drug cartel that uses dope-addicted women as mules to smuggle drugs in their snatches. There are some rival gangs also involved, and throw in a side-plot of some of the local girls becoming victims of a string of "Crotch-Gouge" crimes (!?!), another female assassin who prays before she kills, and a guy who is part of a local crime family who was in jail but now is out and is looking to take down the new leader...and there ya have it...

Again, the main problem with FTY is that there are too many things going on at once, and too many characters who are introduced and then not explained very well, so that the story can become confusing and hard to keep up with. But, on the good side - there is so much sleazy "fun" going on that it's hard to fault the film for some plot inconsistencies. We are treated to the typical rape, torture, some hilarious dildo play, tons of tits and ass, and a few good fight scenes (including an awesome end battle of the drug dealers versus a gang of ex-mules who are naked and p!ssed!!!). I do think there could have been some more violence also - but I won't really hold that against the film either, as there is just so much fun stuff going on in this one. And in typical fashion for the Japanese exploit-style films of this time-frame - the sets, settings, cinematography, choreography, and acting are all top-notch. An absolute winner and highly recommended for pinky fans. Check out also SEX AND FURY, FEMALE PRISONER 701: SCORPION, LADY SNOWBLOOD, and the BABY CART series. 8.5/10 for FEMALE YAKUZA TALE...

For me, not quite as delirious as 'Sex and Fury', there are less set pieces and this is a little confusing now and again. Even so with the fabulous Reiko Ike to the fore with her penchant for bare breasted swordfights, this remains a must. The opening credit sequence with the parasols is wonderful and I was surprised not to see it reprised during the body of the film. Super camera-work, splendidly colourful sets and costumes plus an incredible amount of female flesh. So many beautiful naked girls, prancing, dancing and bending over to have phials inserted! The final fight is way over the top with naked flesh and rivers of blood, it just seems a shame there were not a couple more such scenes between the glorious opening and the gratuitous finale. Very enjoyable, nevertheless!

Like the Italians around that same era, the Japanese exploitation cinema industry didn't waste any time, money or effort during the 1970's. "Female Yakuza Tale", the sequel to "Sex and Fury" was released in the very same year as the original. Reiko Ike, the ravishing and slightly exhibitionist lead actress, even appeared in six different films that same year and – according to her filmography - made a total of twenty films in a span of barely eight years (between 1971 and 1979). That's very impressive, to say the least, especially considering the fact these movie don't feel rushed or unfinished at all, like often the case with their European counterparts.

Fortunately enough for us fans, the sequel isn't just a quick and derivative rehash of the original. Like the different entries the righteously acclaimed "Female Prisoner: Scorpion" series, the sequel is a completely new adventure with other themes and – thanks to the change in director from Norifumi Suzuki to Teruo Ishii – there's also another type of stylishness and flamboyance. After extracting vengeance on her father's murderers, and killing a whole bunch of other bastards in the process, you would think our heroine Ochô Inoshika could now finally lead a happy and peaceful life. Think again, because this time around she plots to almost single-handedly bring down a whole network of drugs and prostitution. And these two crimes are really inseparable as the sleazy male gangsters use the prostitutes' gouged vaginae to smuggle the drugs. The modus operandi is integrally and quite graphically illustrated a couple of times and really has to be seen in order to be believed. I swear, only in Japan they can come up with deranged stuff like this and simultaneously find aspiring young actresses to comply. When Ochô is wrongfully mistaken for one of the prostitutes, she's abducted, abused and humiliated. She swears revenge and, with a little help from a mysteriously sexy and praying woman, Ochô gradually mobilizes a whole army (and you make take that literally) of girls to unleash a war.

Although I've yet to check out a lot of acclaimed titles, "Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture" is bound to be one of the purest and sub- genre defining Pinky Violence movies out there! It's literally chock- full of gratuitous nudity (during the opening title sequence already), mildly stunning "crotch-gouge" absurdity and sword-wielding splatter. The climax in particular is perplexing, with dozens and dozens of girls stripping off their robes before battling against the other sex. And they're bound to lose, of course, because every single man depicted in this film is perverted, abusive and exaggeratedly chauvinist pig! There's only one "good" male character in the film, and he's a bit of a silly loser who makes jokes like "your pussy is going to catch a cold". I love feminism.

The beautiful Reiko Ike returns in this low-budget sequel to "Sex and Fury". A non-stop, rather confusing tale of gangs, drug running and revenge, "Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture" is a wonderfully visual movie with a great '70s score and an excellent cast.

Despite finding the plot a little too convoluted, I enjoyed watching this movie. The scenes of softcore romps with middle-aged men started to exceed their welcome in no time at all but the film has a decent pace and energy that allows it to overcome its limitations. Reiko Ike is a stunning actress and steals every scene. Her willingness to give 100% to the film soon becomes apparent in the opening credits where she manages to full disrobe in the midst of a sword fight with numerous assailants.

Not the most exciting crime thriller I've seen from Japan, "Female Yakuza Tale" is still an entertaining movie from bonkers director Teruo Ishii.