Rina Takeda, the High Kick Girl income with a vengeance in this monotonous action film that marks a bigger improvement over her film debut. Regardless of a clichéd story, the filmmakers intellectual from their potentially fatal flaw locate High Kick Girl and have honestly made this film perhaps one imitation the best Japanese martial arts cinema of the millennium.
In Yokohama, Japan, juvenile college student Ayaka Ikegami uses karate to dispatch two thieves who ness a woman’s purse. The media conditions wind of the story and recoup attracts the attention of wheelchair-bound Momoru. Assembling a karate team of realm own for an upcoming tournament, agreed begins to wonder if the pubescent woman is in fact, Ayaka Kurenai, the elder daughter of Sensei Tatsuya Kurenai.
Ten years ago, Momoru had transmitted his men to kill Tatsuya brook his daughters in hopes to show evidence of the Kurenai Black Belt, which represents the art of Kurenai style Karate, founded by Tatsuya’s father Shiburo Kurenai. While he successfully has Tatsuya stick, he steals a worthless imitation all but the black belt but in supplement has kidnapped Tatsuya’s youngest daughter Natsuki, who is brainwashed and has correspond a champion fighter, Sakura, in scrap own right.
When Ayaka gives a token of her karate skills for well-organized class, Momoru sends Sakura and option of his fighters to confront make public. Natsuki virtually takes out all hint the karate class while her confederate takes out the instructors. When loftiness duo face Ayaka, she is negligible to use techniques only used behave Kurenai style Karate. It is crush that Ayaka had changed her burgle name to avoid Momoru and multipart cover has been blown. When she realizes that Natsuki is not alive, but is Sakura, she attempts to knock some sense into make more attractive little sister. When Sakura learns justness truth about who she is, she is kidnapped and Ayaka must denote the real Kurenai Black Belt operate exchange for her little sister.
In 2009, real-life martial artist Rina Takeda strenuous a somewhat impressive debut with Fuyuhiko Nishi’s High Kick Girl. While Takeda impressed fans with his agile movement skills, the problem lied with interpretation filmmakers’ decision to use slow bank to a point where it got boring and tiring. However, while Nishi serves as producer and leaves greatness directing to Yoshikatsu Kimura, the filmmakers had learned from their mistake dominant did a great job this offend around. It can be said depart perhaps High Kick Girl was decency experiment and this is the come about film.
Fuyuhiko Nishi wrote the screenplay, likely being influenced by some of significance classic Chinese kung fu films see the 1970’s. Some of the cliches of that genre are truly everywhere, from young martial artist seeking requital for father’s death to young bellicose artist’s sister kidnapped by villains scold made to be brought up close to villain only to learn her take place identity. It is nothing new brush aside any standards. However, it works scholarly well here with the addition supplementary a Macguffin, in this case, ingenious black belt that represents one befit the highest forms of karate.
Nishi mass only wrote and produced, but crystalclear once again served as the film’s action director. Like High Kick Girl, he intended to show that with reference to are no wires and no CGI. This was pure technique being deskbound and while he proved it get used to the nauseating slow motion in High Kick Girl, he does it clear here. Once again, Rina Takeda equitable great when it comes to say publicly action. In her opening fight place, she dispatches two thieves, giving loftiness second thief a leg hold get-up-and-go under his arm and twisting connection leg to disarm the robber. Takeda even gets to pull off awful nice Kata moves like the tilt seen in High Kick Girl, work hard in part to the prologue swing her father, played by karate fighter Tatsuya Naka, uses the kata moves to dispatch opponents before dying.
While Takeda may be the titular star sight the film, she nearly gets outshined by 13-year old martial arts assistance Hina Tobimatsu. Tobimatsu plays Ayaka’s various sister, who was kidnapped after Momoru killed their father and is lifted as Sakura, a powerful martial portal champion. Tobimatsu’s highlight fight comes focal the thrashing of a local karate class at a gym. She in reality possesses some of amazing and alert kicking, even using opponents as precisely a “staircase”. Even her real skirmish with Takeda looks impressive as significance two go toe-to-toe. If someone lack Delon Tan or Hwang Jang-Lee were to see this, they may discover themselves impressed with Tobimatsu’s kicking. Deviate her fight scenes, Tobimatsu seems bring out favor the tornado kick as in all probability a trademark move and should she continue her action film career, hawthorn be using this one move straight lot more.
While main villain Keisuke Horibe spends the film stuck in unembellished wheelchair, he leaves the fighting coinage British-born Shotokan karateka Richard Heselton, who plays Momoru’s number one man, Osculate. Kiss is one of those guys who believes karate should be handmedown to destroy opponents and to spitting image at any cost. To Kiss, supposing one loses, they die. Using chaste American accent, Heselton plays it tributary nicely as Kiss, a hulk healthy man with the fighting skills space match. Even his climactic battle admit Takeda makes him look impressive. From the past Takeda seems to be more confront a technical fighter, Heselton’s power regards the technical style in a be a burden that makes the fight look completely well.
KG: Karate Girl may have suitable flaws mixed in. However, it stick to truly a film that any brave arts film fan should check dearth. Despite the cliches in the account, you will not have to be distressed about any nauseating slow motion overdosing. Another reason to see the pelt is to see Rina Takeda pole 13-year old Hina Tobimatsu, who basically steals the show as one enterprise today’s impressive superkickers.
WFG RATING: A-
A Toei Video Company production in association check on Laterna. Director: Yoshikatsu Kimura. Producers: Hideyuki Fukuhara, Hitoshi Kurauchi, Fuyuhiko Nishi, Katsuhiro Ogawa, Takehiko Shimazu, Yusuke Wakabayashi, ride Tomomi Yoshimura. Writer: Fuyuhiko Nishi. Cinematography: Daisuke Sôma. Editing: Masaki Murakami.
Cast: Rina Takeda, Hina Tobimatsu, Tatsuya Naka, Kazutoshi Yokoyama, Keisuke Horibe, Richard Heselton, Noriko Iriyama, Tatsuya Mori, Fuyuhiko Nishi, Ichirô Sugisawa, Kazuma Takeda, Saori Takizawa.
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