Nora-neko rokku: Mashin animaru

I felt that the first Stray Cat Rock movie, Delinquent Girl Boss, tried too hard to be cool. The second, Wild Jumbo, tried too hard to be funny. And the third, Sex Hunter, tried too hard to be gritty. Part four - Machine Animal - is no classic of Japanese cinema, but I prefer it to the other three because it doesn't try too hard at anything. It's just an hour and twenty-two minutes of breezy, free-wheeling action, with lots of go-go dancing, groovy tunes, stylish direction, and a simple plot that sees 500 hits of LSD changing hands throughout the film.

The stash of acid originally belongs to three men: Nobo (Tatsuya Fuji), Sabu (Jirô Okazaki), and Charlie, an American who has deserted from the Vietnam war. The three men hope to sell the drugs in Yokohama and use the cash to buy passage on a boat to Sweden. Their enquiries lead them to the Astro club where Maya (Meiko Kaji) and her all-girl gang learn of the drugs and decide to half-inch the lot. The desperate men track down the women and demand their stash be returned, explaining their plight, after which the girls apologise and decide to help the guys shift the merchandise. However, other parties are also after the LSD, including the drug-dealing bartender from the Astro club, and the Dragon motor-bike gang, led by pimp-cane wielding Sakura (Eiji Gô).

The easy-going action includes lots of musical interludes (with some really cool keyboard mashing and a song from Kaji), plenty of gyrating women in hot-pants and mini-skirts, a faux-fur-covered wheelchair, and a fun chase scene as Maya and her gang pursue Sakuya and Co. on motorbikes, the girls taking lots of shortcuts to keep up with them. The ending is typically bleak - Stray Cat Rock films never have a happy ending - but getting there is more enjoyable than in the other films (without being as silly as in Wild Jumbo).

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for not featuring any buggies or jeeps for a change.

The fourth Stray Cat Rock film is a big step down from Sex Hunter, but it's still solid. Meiko Kaji again leads a girl gang. They meet up with a couple of "rednecks" (as the subtitles translate it), Tatsuya Fuji and Jiro Okazaki, who are harboring an American Army deserter (Toshiya Yamano, who is clearly at least half Japanese but who is referred to as a white man). They also have a huge stash of LSD, which they are planning to sell so they can all sail to freedom in Sweden. At first Kaji and her gang try to steal the acid, but they become sympathetic to the men's cause. Unfortunately, another gang, the Dragons, led by pimp-cane wielding, motorcycle sidecar-riding Eiji Go and his girlfriend, Bunjaku Han, who is a paraplegic in a wheelchair covered in mink fur, catches wind and tries to steal the drugs for themselves. While there's plenty of cool stuff to see in this one, it isn't quite as well paced as the two previous films (I prefer it slightly to the first film, though).

This film essentially begins with an American army deserter named "Charlie" (Toshiya Yamano) trying to avoid duty in Vietnam by hoping to illegally obtain passage on a cargo ship in Yokohama that is headed for Sweden. To accomplish that, he has a stash of 500 LSD tablets of LSD which two of his friends named "Nobo" (Tatsuya Fuji) and "Sabu" (Jiro Okazaki) are trying to sell for their passage as well. However, upon trying to find a buyer, two separate gangs discover what is going on which complicates matters. To that extent, the first gang-comprised of females and led by an attractive woman by the name of "Maya" (Meiko Kaji)--eventually agrees to help them. Unfortunately, the other gang--which is loosely affiliated with Maya's gang and is led by a man named "Sakura" (Eiji Go)--doesn't seem to be on the same wave length. As a result, upon the direction of Sakura's clandestine boss "Yuri" (Bunjaku Han), the decision is made to acquire these drugs one way or the other. But what neither Yuri nor Sakura fully appreciate is Maya's reaction to their heavy-handed tactics. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this movie was a bit more fun than the others in the series due in large part to the music and psychedelic atmosphere depicted in the film. Where the movie falters, unfortunately, is in the selection of the person chosen for the role of Charlie for which it is stated in the film that he is both a Caucasian and a "round-eye." The problem was, that neither of these descriptions fit the actor chosen for that character. Not only that but, quite honestly, his English wasn't that good for an American either. Likewise, on a similar note, some of the action scenes could have used some improvement as well. Be that as it may, I still enjoyed this movie to a certain extent and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Releasing a movie and three sequels all within one year may sound a little exaggerated but I guess you have to strike while the iron is hot, right? In any case, the Japanese Stray Cat Rock franchise saw four entries in 1970, Machine Animal being the last one of the four although one more sequel came out the next year. While not as fresh as the first movies, the film is still watchable and can be enjoyed by anyone who has liked the other films.

The plot premise hasn't changed much since the last film: a girl gang led by Maya (Meiko Kaji, of course) hangs out around the city of Yokohama while being on friendly terms with Dragon, a tough biker gang led by Sakura (Eiji Gô, I think). The latter gang is responsible for a drug dealing business in the city's bars and is not happy when the girls decide to help three new guys (one of them played by the series' regular actor Tatsuya Fuji) to sell 500 pills of LSD. Since one of the guys is a Vietnam War deserter under constant risk of capture, the situation soon starts developing very dangerously.

Great music (psych rock, jazz fusion, sentimental schlagers), colourful fashion, a psychedelic go-go rock club... the trademarks of the series are still there and very difficult to dislike, but at this point they don't quite have the same effect than before. Haven't we seen them in three movies already? The visual trickery feels less original too, though the unconventional filters, framing, flashy editing, split screens and different angles are of course entertaining in their own right. If there is a notable difference to what we have seen before, I think this time we get to hear a few more songs, including one by Meiko Kaji herself. Not a bad thing at all!

The coolest scene is probably the big sidecar motorcycle/moped chase through various locations in the city, both indoors and outdoors. Gang rivalries and girl power have always been a recurring theme in the series but this time a slight anti-war message can also be found in the story when the girls decide to help Charlie, the deserter, instead of turning him in like the Dragon gang would like to do. Generally speaking, the actor who plays Charlie is not very convincing as an American and the political ideas are not really focused on much though. Another thing that could have received more attention is the plot line of Yuri, a strange wheelchair-bound woman who has an important role in Sakura's personal life and the underworld of the city; now her character is introduced quite late and doesn't tie in with the rest of the story very tightly. This is not really a major complaint in a movie like this but still something that can be mentioned.

As a whole, Machine Animal is not significantly weaker than Delinquent Girl Boss, Wild Jumbo and Sex Hunter and provides plenty of vintage coolness and entertainment for modern audiences as well. The tragic but hopeful ending fits in the mood well and leaves a positive, if melancholic, aftertaste but it is true that after this many movies made with the same recipe, the formula is already getting repetitive. Nonetheless, ignoring the influence of the other Stray Cat Rocks, Machine Animal is an adequately entertaining film at any rate.