Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad (2008)

The lovely Eri Otoguro stars as Aya, a sword swinging babe who frequently discards her poncho to do battle in just her bikini; fighting at her side are her overweight male friend (Katsuji Tomohiro Waki) and buxom, leather-clad, shotgun-toting beauty Reiko (Manami Hashimoto). Between them, this trio of fearless zombie killers hack, slash and shoot a swathe through the undead in an attempt to find Aya's sexy little sister Saki (Chise Nakamura) and battle evil scientist Dr. Sugita (Tarô Suwa), the man who has been reanimating the dead.It's amazing just how forgiving I can be when a film features several hot Japanese women in revealing attire kicking ass, as is the case with live-action manga Chanbara Beauty. The fact that the film suffers from a weak, muddled plot and unconvincing special effects certainly didn't stop me from having a pretty good time with this very silly zombie flick in which the women are as deadly as they are tasty. Otoguru looks absolutely amazing in her teeny bikini, Hashimoto's leather get-up shows off her great figure and cleavage, and Nakamura is hot in her schoolgirl outfit; none of their fighting looks all that convincing, but it doesn't really matter when there is so much eye-candy to enjoy.

For a low budget horror / girl-buddy road picture, with two pretty girls taking on zombie hordes, this could have been worse. The budget was well used, and the camera-work was enthusiastic and imaginative, including an effect where blood spatter would appear to land on the lens. The effects were below the standard of something like Tokyo Gore Police, but good enough to convince and the massed Zombie attacks actually got more elaborate as the movie went on, as if the director got more confident with his action scene staging. The actress playing the central role of the bikini wearing samurai, Eri Otoguro, is a cipher. She handles the action well enough but gives nothing in the way of a performance beyond the occasional stern look, which frankly comes off looking more confused than anything else. The secondary lead, Manami Hashimoto as a leather clad, shotgun-toting bad girl, is an older and obviously more competent actress, and she actually winds up carrying the middle part of the picture. Very watchable, but like all Japanese ultra-violence, this one is not for the squeamish.

The reanimated dead run rampant in Japan thanks to an evil scientist, Dr. Sugita(Tarô Suwa), hoping to equip himself with an army obeying his command. He'll have his hands full with a trio seeking revenge for acts towards their loved ones by his hand..a swordswoman, Aya(Eri Otoguro), in cowboy hat and bikini, her tagalong chubby partner, Katsuji(Tomohiro Waki) and a new member accompanying them, a marksman, Reiko(Manami Hashimoto), with her double barrel shotgun in tow. Aya is seeking retribution for the heinous murder of her outnumbered father, Reiko wanting vengeance for the death of her daughter, and Katsuji desiring to rescue his kidnapped sister. Sisters will be on separate sides as Aya wishes to find her sibling Saki for her involvement in the death of their father. I guess you will like this movie if you are a fan of the video game because as an outsider this movie was really bonafide stupid. For some reason never explained Aya's sword emanates a glow when she swings and strikes her victims. Oh, and she has this power which sends off an electrical impulse which sends zombies and her enemy sister hurling through the air. No matter the amount, Aya mows through the undead with little challenge and often must assist Katsuji, a bumbling coward who services the movie as a stumblingblock for our heroines needing to saved from near death multiple times. The violence is blatantly computer animated to the point that "Onechanbara" is little more than a video game with actors. The final showdown between Aya and Saki is polluted with these effects where both have superhuman abilities, each shining with a different color as they move in the air like birds in flight, when their swords meet we can see bright sparks sending off neon light. It gets so absurd, either you accept it on pure comic terms, or, like me, just roll your eyes at this nonsense. Chise Nakamura is Saki, Aya's sisterly nemesis, whose abilities are manufactured thanks to Dr. Sugita, whose mission was to capture a pure blood Imichi so he could create the ultimate race of superior power..Sugita's ulterior motives all along were to use Saki to secure him Aya. The movie introduces a girl, Maria(Ai Hazuki)as a melodrama piece, for Reiko immediately attaches to her because of her previous loss of a daughter she had to kill due to zombie infection. Anytime Reiko shoots someone(or if anyone fires a weapon, for that matter)the bullets are computer graphically simulated and never once look authentic..pathetic. Oh, the movie gives Sugita an albino eye so he must be pure diabolical, like some James Bond madman. The director pays homage to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill including a zombie almost identically modeled after Go Go Yubari and her swinging spiked metal ball. Well, you do get Otoguro in a bikini for the entire picture(even though she's wearing a stickon tattoo of a rose on her shoulder!)and she does look mighty delectable swinging a katana sword, so at least this blah movie has that going for it. I imagine zombie fans will find this ultimately quite a disappointment, because the flesheating is never visible or stomach-churning which is always a no-no with that audience. I figure this works much better in the animated video game world where it belongs.

Girl in a cowboy hat, knee boots bikini and a feathered boa who is armed with two samurai swords tries to reverse a plague of zombies.Over the top action film is better than the similar films I've seen- the Swimteam VS the Undead one for example, but it some how has limited spark and zest with most of the effects seeming to be CGI. The film kind of works but the cliché plot of an evil corporation being behind it all adds to the been there and done this flavor. Granted it does go beyond the idea of a girl in a bikini with a sword killing zombies, but it doesn't go far enough to make it a truly great ride.Worth a look if you like this sort of thing....others stay away.