Rika: The Mixed-Blood Girl (1972)

Born because her Japanese mother was raped by an American soldier, "Rica" (Rika Aoki) endures a harsh childhood and gradually forms an all-girl gang who fear nothing. However, when they tangle with the Yakuza "Tachibana Gang" things don't go well for them as Rica is carted off by the police for murder while the rest of the women are brutally raped and then sold into sex slavery in Vietnam. Vowing to get even with the Tachibana Gang she escapes from the detention facility but not before earning the enmity of the leader of the female prisoners named "Reiko" (Kazuko Nagamoto). Alone and always out-numbered Rica does the best that she can as she faces countless new obstacles that stand in the way of obtaining her revenge. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film suffered from a couple of flaws which repeated themselves throughout the movie. For example, the fight scenes were rather clumsy and could have used more attention to detail. Likewise, some of the special effects were almost laughable and in need of improvement as well. Even so, the movie wasn't too bad overall and managed to keep my attention for the most part. For that reason I rate it as about average.

Honestly, a pretty bad movie, but it's an extremely enjoyable bad movie, reaching a B-movie glory that you don't get to see too often. Rika Aoki, playing a character of the same name (Americanized on the DVD to "Rica"), stars as the leader of a delinquent girl gang so popular in these pinky movies of the late '60s and '70s. After accidentally killing a yakuza, she gets sent to juvie. Her gang gets kidnapped and sold into sex slavery for American soldiers in Vietnam. Rica also has to deal with a yakuza chick rival in the clink. The plot of this thing flies in every direction. It's insane just how much stuff happens. It never stops to take a breath, just rushing madly toward its insane climax. Aoki isn't especially attractive (if she was, I wouldn't hesitate to call this one of my favorite pinky flicks), but you get used to her after a while and she's kind of cute. She's pretty awesome even if she's not a supermodel. For what it is, Rica is a pretty great experience. Ko Nakahira formerly directed the youth picture Crazed Fruit. Auteurists seeking similar should be warned against this one.

"Rica" is Toho's attempt to create a pinky violence series in the Toei style. Unfortunately, this entry doesn't quite cut the mustard. Rica (Rika Aoki) is the product of a rape by a white soldier. She springs from the womb and is subjected to a life of sleaze, violence, and betrayal -- the essential ingredients of a hot exploitation film. After the teenage Rica is raped by one of her whore mother's clients, a despicable businessman, she leaves the nest and gets involved in gang wars, bloody violence, and a plot to sell local women into foreign prostitution. The film bounces along and is never dull. It is close to as bloody as one of Toho's Baby Cart films and is assisted by a jazzy score. Unfortunately, the direction is slipshod and the fight scenes are pretty sloppy. There is a looseness to the production that reduces its impact. Rika Aoki is merely okay in the lead role. Too unwieldy to be a convincing heroine and a little too large to be sexy, she falls into a strange twilight zone of on-screen fighting gals. As odd as it may sound, the film is somewhat redeemed by its obsessive focus on rape and sexual abuse; there is barely a sex scene that isn't a rape scene. A subplot involving a mysterious man who comes to Rica's aid when necessary is the film's only authentic aspect. Better to seek out "Zero Woman - Red Handcuffs", a far superior example of pinky violence with style to burn.

I consider this comparable to Truck Turner in the blaxploitation genre. Not the best example of pinky violence, but one of the most entertaining. There's enough 'plot' here to fill 5 movies though it's rather episodic in nature. Lots of exploitative scenes (nudity, violence, catfights, etc.), also some anti-USA sentiment.I just saw Rica 2 Lonely Wanderer yesterday. Not quite the exploitation showcase as the first, and with more conventional and less frantic pacing. No reform schools here, and no nudity from the star (Rika), though it does have some anti-USA bias. It's still a quite good followup and perhaps more believable than the original (which may actually detract from the entertainment value). Judging from the trailer, looks like the third installment is less sedate and more of a roller coaster ride like the first one.