In 2008, Ace Deuce Entertainment launched the Neo Action series. Presumably, the purpose of the series is to showcase straight-forward action flicks without wasting too much time on stuff like plot and character development. Isao Kaneko‘s The Masked Girl, one half of the first Neo Action double feature, certainly fits the bill. Shot in just under two weeks, this 45-minute action-comedy throws two young female idols in the middle of a mélange of tokusatsu insanity with just a couple days of stunt training under their belts. A few scraped knees and one accidental kick to the face later, the end result is a silly action flick that compensates for its flaws with a heavy dose of absurd charm.

In the film, Bishoujo Club 31 member Yuki Shimizu plays an ordinary high school student named Ai Hoshino, best friend of Yumi (Shizuka Nakamura). One day while riding home from school, Ai is kidnapped by two strange men in suits. She wakes up chained to a strange glowing table and is approached by an evil woman named Black Maria (Aiko Sato), leader of a criminal organization called “Joker”. Before Black Maria can fully explain her diabolical plan, an intruder alert sounds and she runs out of the room. Just then, Ai’s gym teacher Aoyama (Tsuyoshi Kida) shows up and helps her escape. When the two of them are cornered by Maria and her minions, Aoyama grabs a hold of Ai and tells her to jump through the skylight in the roof. To her amazement, she’s able to leap 50ft into the air, burst through the ceiling, and land safely outside with her teacher in tow.

Needless to say, the next day at school is a bit awkward. Ai corners Aoyama and asks him to explain what happened to them. He informs her that she has been genetically altered by Joker and briefly explains why he knows so much about it—although his explanation obviously leaves something to be desired. Ai is stunned at first, but eventually accepts her situation. Having super-human strength and fighting abilities ain’t exactly a bad thing, after all.

When Ai next sees Yumi, she can’t bring herself to mention what happened to her, so when Yumi doesn’t show up to school the next day she’s understandably worried. On her way home she’s confronted by, and narrowly evades the same two men who kidnapped her the first time. When the coast is clear, she decides to go warn Yumi about everything that’s been going on. Unfortunately, it soon becomes clear that Joker has already gotten to Yumi. This time, however, Black Maria was able to complete the brainwashing process and turn Yumi against her friend. The two genetically-altered teens square off and use all their new abilities against each other. Eventually Ai frees Yumi from the mind control, but it isn’t long before the two of them are confronted by an enemy more powerful than both of them put together.

Obviously, the story is pretty straight forward and silly, but it’s knowingly silly. Fans of light-hearted action-comedy certainly won’t be disappointed, just so long as expectations are kept in check regarding the martial arts prowess of the movie’s two young stars. They’re obviously out of their league, but camera tricks and some really talented stuntmen pick up some of that slack. Those looking for gratuitous upskirt shots are barking up the wrong tree, however. One might think otherwise, considering Shizuka Nakamura’s gravure background and the film’s poster art, but it’s kept entirely PG-rated. In fact, both girls have bulky shorts on under their skirts at all times to avoid just such a phenomenon. Sorry fellas.

The biggest charm of “The Masked Girl” is that quirky little scenes are laced throughout the movie for comic effect, redeeming what could have otherwise seemed like just another low-budget, DV-shot schlockfest and making that ever-important distinction for this type of project: “Yes, it’s supposed to be funny—we made it that way on purpose”. All in all, the movie delivers on everything it set out to accomplish in its 45 minutes; it’s a fun movie with two cute girls kicking ass. What more do you need, really?

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Tags: aiko sato, isao kaneko, neo action, shizuka nakamura, the masked girl, tsuyoshi kida, yuki shimizu