Sukeban gerira

I'm really torn between this movie and Criminal Woman: Killing Melody, both of which are in the Pinky Violence box set. They're both really good, with the stories being similar (gangster girls go for revenge against the Yakuza who did them wrong) and they both have Miki Sugimoto and Reiko Ike. But I think this movie gets an edge, 'cause in this one the girls are part of a BIKER GANG. And the all have TATTOOS OVER THEIR LEFT BOOBS. Which is so effing cool.

Here we get Miki as the leader of a biker gang from Shinjuku who go to Kyoto and end up taking over the girl gangs there (the scene where the girls face off and do their gangster "who I am" speeches is really cool). Reiko Ike is running around as the sister of one of the local Yakuza and won't align herself with Miki and her crew but serves as kind of a "big sister"/authority figure to the girl gangs of Kyoto.

Eventually Miki and the girls get on the bad side of the local Yakuza boss and the girls hit the road to meet up with Miki's boyfriend, a boxer in training down the coast. He gets himself murdered by the Yakuza as a result and it becomes time for Miki and her crew to make up with Reiko and get down with some revenge.

What I really dig about these movies (as opposed to the "Battles Without Honor and Humanity" movies my boyfriend is always bringing home) is that the female leads have some dimension to them that you wouldn't normally expect in an "exploitation" film. I didn't really like Miki's character at first (she was bratty) but I actually felt it when her boyfriend got killed. Up till then she seemed kind of a like a one dimensional power junkie bitch with cool sunglasses, but watching her meet and fall for Michitaro Mizushimi and her grieving at his death filled her out and made her feel like an actual woman. You know, complicated and conflicted.

In fact, as an exception to "action" movies the one-dimensional characters in this film are all men. They're simply greedy or sadistic or horny. Which I'm not saying is a good thing. It's just a nice change of pace.

And did I mention the tough-ass tattoos?

All out sexy, bloody, violent action plus girls on bikes fighting girls on bikes as well as sorting out the yakuza. This may not be the most subtle of movies, although there is a fair amount of character development, but what this excels at is in the thrill quotient. Almost non stop, just one little comedy/slapstick moment of dubious taste and then it's back on the road. Not always easy to follow who is the baddie and who the even badder but our girls do have those wonderful breast tattoos so you can't go too far wrong. Missing a big fight out at the end and instead we get an explosion preceded by some of the most brutal beating of bound women you are likely to see. Not family viewing then but certainly a wow for everyone else.

Good Japanese cult film with everything a cult movie needs: girls on motorcycles, cat fights with exposed breasts, nuns (also on motorcycles and with exposed breasts), groovy 70's music, and plenty of BDSM. The girls are really hot, especially the lead, Miki Sugimoto. My cult arch-nemesis, Reiko Ike, is also in it, but she's not too bad here. She doesn't get naked and her hairstyle hides her chubbiness. The film is exciting and fun, though it does lack drive. The plot takes a long time to emerge. My favorite part is when a folk singer puts his fingers to his guitar strings and it emits piano music. I'm still kind of glad that I haven't purchased the Pinky Violence set (I'm getting the discs through Netflix), but this film almost would have made it worth it.

This movie begins with four young women who belong to a gang known as "the Red Helmets" riding motorcycles from Tokyo to Kyoto with the idea of making a few bucks by pulling a few con jobs here and there. However, once they finally get to Kyoto they encounter an assembly of the female gang members living there who tell them to get out of town. This prompts the leader of the Red Helmets, "Sachiko Kiyami" (Miki Sugimoto) to challenge the leader of the Kyogoku Group named "Rika" (Ryoko Ema) to a fight--with the winner taking over everything. Although Sachiko wins the fight, she soon finds out that being a girl boss in Kyoto is much more difficult than than anything she expected. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie was pretty much a standard "Pinku Eiga" film made during this particular time in Japan but with the added benefit of having several attractive actresses like Emi Jo (as "Yuki"), Miwako Onaya ("Tatsumi"), Kyoko Tsukasa ("Kazuko") and the aforementioned Miki Sugimoto thrown in for good measure. In any case, all things considered I found it to be somewhat entertaining and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

... because of the moments that are supposed to be funny, but just come off as juvenile instead. If those parts were taken out, this could be a great film. Stick with "Criminal Woman: Killing Melody" instead.

The idea of a Japanese biker gang comprised of females is a good one, but they don't do enough "criminal" activity to be believable, though their attempts at blackmailing are pretty fun to watch. The soundtrack is good (except for that song by that awful hippie singer), and the fashions are top notch, but that humor kills it. I'd expect that in some bland Hollywood comedy, but not from this genre.

If you do like this, you'll love "Criminal Woman: Killing Melody." That's almost a guarantee.