The latest in the “Lady Ninja Kasumi” pinku V-cinema series, Sanada Kunoichi Ninpo-den: Kasumi - Nairan! Yukimura Ansatsu!! (something like “Lady Ninja Kasumi: Rebellion! Yukimura Assassination!!”) will be screened at Uplink Factory in Shibuya this Sunday and the DVD will be released on October 22nd. This time around Kasumi will be played by AV actress Nana Nanaumi, who made her adult debut last October. Hiroshi Kuze (The Twilight Samurai, Ichi) handled all the sword fight choreography.

Guilty pleasures don’t get much guiltier than Noboru Iguchi’s geeky 2006 fleshfest, Sukeban Boy. Iguchi, who’s sort of a 14-year-old trapped in an adult’s body, caters to a fanbase of likeminded otakus by putting out no-budget releases that incorporate elements from his porn background, goofy comedy, and copious amounts of gore. His cheaply produced, easy to market style of exploitation is probably the reason Fever Dreams/Media Blasters tapped him to direct their recent DVD hit, The Machine Girl, but if you really want to understand what the guy is about Sukeban Boy is probably a purer representation (i.e., free from the influence of US expectations).

Shy nice guy Hideki falls for a beautiful maid at a “maid cafe”. They spend some time together but when rivals get in the way the relationship may end up being too good to be true.

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An action figure aficionado named Ryouta finally completes a rare action figure collection by buying a doll in Akihabara. His joy is short-lived, however, when a group of juvenile delinquents steals it from him on the way home. Totally defeated, Ryouta wanders into a tiny back-alley shop and finds an even rarer model of a girl named Airu for sale. He rushes home to assemble it, and to his astonishment Airu comes to life and instantly falls in love with him.

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We like to stay well-rounded in our coverage around here, so in the spirit of inclusiveness it’s time for some gravure idols fighting intergalactic crime in Eitoku Kawamura’s Spy Girl’s Mission Cord#005. It was actually announced back in April, but I’ve been waiting for synopsis that actually made sense. It never came, but here goes…

At Manazuru Peninsula strange UFO sightings are accompanied by killings in which the victims’ corpses are completely mummified. When the proprietor of the nearby Institute of Space and Astronautical Science decides to investigate and promptly disappears the Spy Girls (played by gravure idols Sawa Hashimoto, Megumi Kagurazaka, and Saya Hikita) are called in to get to the bottom of things. They eventually discover the cause of all the trouble, an alien seductress with murderous intentions known only as Gold Lady (Akiho Yoshizawa), and a ridiculously slow-paced battle ensues.

Scantily-clad spy girls investigate UFO-related murders in which the victims are mummified.

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Masked naked superhero Kekko Kamen comes to the rescue of a young girl at Mangriffon Music Academy, located on a hidden island.

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Shinji Imaoka’s Tasogare (Twilight) will premiere on February 16th. The story involves a 65-year-old plaster worker named Funakichi (Masaru Taga) who exchanges cell phone numbers with an old flame named Kazuko (Yasuko Namikibashi) at a class reunion while his wife is on her death bed. He continues clinging to his youth by doing things like going out to strip clubs with his buddies, getting drunk, and being busted for peeping. After his wife dies following one final moment of intimacy Funakichi and the recently-widowed Kazuko talk on the phone and the two newly-single seniors begin spending more time together.

A 65-year old plaster worker tries to recapture his youth after his ailing wife dies.

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Shy, introverted Yoshiro (Teruaki Uotani) witnesses a van run into a box containing a small kitten. Concerned, he checks the box to find the kitten didn’t get hurt at all. He brings it home to take care of it but the next morning he finds it has transformed into a naive young girl named Kiki (Yui Kano). Kiki is eager to learn the intricacies of being human, but when social misfit Yoshiro can’t give her all the answers she’s looking for her curiosity leads her to his collection of erotic literature.

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