Kunoichi: Deadly Mirage (1997)

Kunoichi: Deadly Mirage (1997)
Japanese Title: Genma Sappōchō: Shinsengumi Hisho
Translation: Genma Demonic Murder Arts Chronicle: Secret Writings of the Shinsengumi

Starring: Miho Kiuchi, Hitomi Shiraishi, Michie Tomizawa, Mayu Ohara, Yumiko Mori, Motoko Nagino, Ryûshi Mizukami, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Takahiko Tatsuke
Director: Yutaka Akiyama
Action Director: Hideo Saito

Despite its title and the (strange) decision by Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock to package this in a double feature with Kunoichi: Lady Ninja, this movie is not part of the popular (for its niche) Kunoichi Ninpô-chô series. This was actually a low-budget, shot-on-video V-cinema release from Daiei from the same time period. Although it shares the same luridness as its more well-known contemporaries, it lacks the head-scratching outlandishness that made the Female Ninja Magic Chronicles films so unforgettable among B-movie enthusiasts.

The film is set around 1867, at a time that Japan was entering a certain civil conflict as the Imperialists, who wanted to modernize Japan and strengthen the emperor, fought against the Isolationists, who wanted to maintain the then-ruling Tokugawa Shogunate. An opening info dump informs us that the shogun set up the Shinsen-Gumi, a group of Ronin loyal to the shogun, to defend its interests. On the other hand, a number of powerful clans, including the Satsuma Clan (which is referenced by name throughout the film) have pooled together resources to support the Imperialists.

The Satsuma Clan hires the Hiryu Ninja Clan, led by Kegorou (failed Idol Miho Kiuchi, of Scorpion: Double Venom), to retrieve a secret letter in the hands of the Shinsen-Gumi, which … something … historical … I guess. Kegorou and her team of kunoichi—Kikyou, Ayame, Koyuki (Motoko Nagino, who did stunt double work for two incarnations of Super Sentai), and Kurenai (prolific voice actress Michie Tomizawa)—sneak into the Shinsen-Gumi headquarters, but don’t manage to find the letter. A fight breaks out between the lady ninjas and the Ronin, and Kegorou is only able to escape because Kikyou stays behind and lets herself get captured.

While the head of the Shinsen-Gumi, Toshi (Hiroyuki Watanabe, of Everly and Reborn from Hell: Samurai Armageddon), and his men are busy torturing and raping Kikyou, we learn that the secret letter is the hands of Senshiro and his lover, Saya (Hitomo Shiraishi, of The Bondage Master and Tokyo Decameron). Senshiro and Saya flee the Shinsen-Gumi after a random visit from a monk while the two are enjoying some sexy time.

The two are hunted by their fellow Shinsen-Gumi ronin and Senshiro is decapitated in the ensuing battle. Kegorou and her remaining ninja girls step in to fight the bad guys while Saya runs off with her lover’s severed head and goes crazy. The monk decides to try to resurrect Senshiro, only for his body to possessed by a demon and not Senshiro’s spirit. The demon seduces Saya with some purple goo and possesses her. Ayame, who had followed Saya into the woods, tries to steal the letter, but Saya beats her and allows her to get raped by the purple demon goo. At that point, the demon sends samurai monsters after the remaining Hiryu girls. Only two of them escape.

Kegorou and Koyuki go to the village where the monk had taken Senshiro’s body. There, they make an uneasy alliance with Soji (Takahiko Tatsuke), a member of the Shinsen-Gumi, to defeat the demon and its monster minions.

Running at a scant 72 minutes, Kunoichi: Deadly Mirage is a little more than cheap excuse for some female nudity and bad 90s CGI. Three of the six main actresses doff the duds and show their boobies to the camera. You get torture boobs, consensual sex boobs, and (unfortunately) some rape boobs. And the CGI used to depict the demon’s slime is pretty dire.

The fight choreography was provided by Hideo Saito, whose credits include stunt coordinator on the two Hollywood Grudge movies. As those movies are not known for their stuntwork, I don’t know what to make of that. The fighting feels more like your traditional jidai-geki sword choreography rather than Kunoichi: Lady Ninja’s more ambitious attempt to ape early 1990s wuxia pian. The problem is that as these young women were probably chosen more on their sex appeal (and willingness to get naked) than their martial skills, the fight scenes are pretty bland and forgettable. And the absence of over-the-top ninja magic just compounds that problem.

So, unless you have a penchant for naughty naked ninja movies—and there were a lot made between 1991 and 2010—there isn’t much of a reason to watch Kunoichi: Deadly Mirage.