| Intl. Notebook | Jan 1 2022 |
So far so good. Only 364 days to go.
Well, here we are in 2022, and karate kicking, sword swinging, yakuza slicing, mushroom cloud laying action movie icon Reiko Ike is here to welcome you to another spin round the sun. We think this image has gotten things off to an excellent start, even if Ike looks sort of like she's made a New Year's resolution to smack anyone who utters an unkind word in her direction. But that's just Reiko being Reiko. The shot is from the magazine Weekly Playboy, for which she starred in an entire 1972 calendar. For the fun of it, every first of the month or so, we'll share a new Ike calendar shot. We say “or so” because we used one a while back, and because she doubled up a couple of months in the calendar, but you get the gist—nine or ten new Ike images are coming. If she doesn't get you looking forward to the new year nothing will.
| Femmes Fatales | Nov 24 2021 |
She has terrible manners but a terrific flair for the dramatic.
Above is another rare promo image of Japanese actress Reiko Ike, someone we've documented extensively through the years, and here, the big hair, bare skin, and brilliant pose make this one of her best shots. We have other Ike images in a stack of Japanese magazines, and if we can figure out how to keep our scanner from putting electronic streaks on the scans we hope to get those posted at some point. This one came from an issue of the magazine Weekly Playboy and was published in 1974.
| Vintage Pulp | Oct 27 2021 |
Reiko and Miki chew over a very tough problem.
Reiko Ike (front) and Miki Sugimoto pose together in a rope gnawing b/w promo made for their pinky violence actioner Zenka onna: koroshi-bushi, aka Criminal Woman: Killing Melody, which premiered today in 1973. We found this on Reddit, so thanks to whoever originally uploaded this slightly bizarre item. We have plenty on the movie in our website, including some amazing posters. We recommend clicking its keywords below and scrolling.
JapanToei CompanyZenka onna: koroshi-bushiCriminal Woman: Killing MelodyReiko IkeMiki Sugimotosexploitationcinemapinku. pinky violencenudity
| Vintage Pulp | Oct 27 2021 |
There's hell to pay and the only currency she takes is cold hard ass.
Above is a rare bo-eikibari style promo for Sukeban burûsu: Mesubachi no gyakushû, known in English as as Girl Boss Blues: Queen Bee Strikes Again, or sometimes Girl Boss Blues: Queen Bee's Counterattack. It premiered in Japan today in 1971. You can see the standard promo at the top of this group post, and you can see the tateken promo here. Basically, Reiko Ike, Miki Sugimoto, Yayoi Watanabe, et al are members of a gang of hot young thieves who extort hapless middle-aged squares by luring them, drugging them, and robbing them. The movie has a little of everything—and lot of Ike, one of the towering figures of Japanese b-movies.
We find it interesting that Sugimoto didn't make it onto the poster (nor the other promos made for the film) while Yayoi Watanabe (prone and restrained) did. Rest assured, Miki is in the film. She gets as much screen time as anyone except Ike, especially in the first forty-five minutes. Mysterious are the minds of pinku poster designers. This isn't the first time they've thrown us a curve by leaving someone important off a promo. Anyway, this movie is well worth a watch for fans of pinky violence. We already showed you a promo image of Reiko Ike yesterday, but what the heck—let's bring her back, below. And Sugimoto too. We can't have one without the other.
JapanToei CompanySukeban burûsu: Mesubachi no gyakushûGirl Boss Blues: Queen Bee Strikes AgainGirl Boss Blues: Queen Bee's CounterattackReiko IkeMiki SugimotoRena IchinoseMasumi JunYukie KagawaYayoi Watanabepinky violencepinkuposter artcinemanudity
| Femmes Fatales | Jul 14 2021 |
Reiko starts the day out behind again.
We're beginning to get the impression that Japanese filmgoers liked pinku actress Reiko Ike's rear end. We say that because it seems to be featured more than is usual in promo images of pinku stars. Well, here it is again, attached to the rest of her lovely form, and unlike the last time we discussed her posterior anatomy, there's no confusion today, because instead of referring to it as her buns or bun, we're going with cheeks. And there's no doubt people have two cheeks—a left one and the other one. It's good to finally have cleared that up.
| Vintage Pulp | Feb 2 2021 |
It's a bold color but in samurai movies everyone who's anyone wears it.
The above poster was made for the samurai thriller Bôhachi bushidô: Sa burai, known in English as Bohachi Bushido - The Villain. Gorô Ibuki plays a mid-1600s samurai named Kyushi-Issho who goes to work for a gang called the Bohachi that kidnap women from across Japan to sell them into sexual slavery. This gang is uniquely cruel, which suits Kyushi-Issho just fine. He's cruel too. He chops off numerous arms and heads, and generally paints walls red wherever he goes. Enter Reiko Ike, one of the stars of Toei Company's pinky violence genre, as Monkmatsu, who procures women for the gang. When she meets the samurai sparks fly, but she learns that Kyushi-Issho isn't exactly all there.
Their gang is soon arrayed against a rival group, and the tensions come to a frothy head. The conflict is resolved via a blood drenched final battle—a common motif in these films, the same way a final duel is standard in so many American westerns. The nihilistic Kyushi-Issho is fond of saying that to live is hell, yet death is also hell. Somehow, though, he always finds the will make a choice between giving up and going on. For life may be hell, but better the hell you know. Bôhachi bushidô: Sa burai is blades, blood, and boobs done with style, well worth a watch. It premiered in Japan today in 1974.
You know what the ceiling needs? A splash of red.
You know what that wall needs? A splash of red.
You know what her make-up needed? A splash of red.
I like red. I shall paint the entire house this color.
Yes. Just as I envisioned.
Why stop inside the house? When this woman is torn in half she'll paint the entire yard red.And now, Reiko and Co.
And lastly, the standard promo poster, as opposed to tateken size at top.
JapanToei CompanyBôhachi bushidô: Sa burai忘八武士道 さ無頼Bohachi Bushido - The VillainGorô IbukiReiko Ikeposter artcinemapinkunuditymovie review
| Intl. Notebook | Oct 27 2020 |
They don't make happy music but it'll stick with you for a long time.
Above, a Toei Company promo photo for Zenka onna: koroshi-bushi, aka Criminal Woman: Killing Melody, featuring one of the great girl gangs of pinku cinema—comprising, counterclockwise from upper right, Reiko Ike, Miki Sugimoto, Masami Soda, Chiyoko Kazama, and Yumiko Katayama. We have some beautiful material on this flick, here, here, and here. It premiered today in 1973.
JapanToei CompanyZenka onna: koroshi-bushiCriminal Woman: Killing MelodyReiko IkeMiki SugimotoYumiko KatayamaChiyoko KazamaMasami Sodapinkupinky violencecinema
| Vintage Pulp | Mar 1 2020 |
They're planning to make a sizable withdrawal.
Above is an alternate poster for the bank heist flick Suke Yakuza, aka Female Yakuza Convict, which premiered in Japan today in 1974 and starred Reiko Ike and Yoko Horikoshi. We still haven't tracked down the movie, and since we know of no other promos than the four—including this one—we've now shared, if we ever do find this we won't be able to write about it because we'll have no art to pair with a write-up. Unless, of course, there's yet a fifth poster out there. But we doubt it. So consider this rare horizontally oriented version the last you'll hear from us about this film.
JapanToei CompanySuke Yakuza女囚やくざFemale Yakuza ConvictReiko IkeYoko Horikoshiposter artcinemapinkupinky violence
| Vintage Pulp | Oct 27 2019 |
What music do you want played at your funeral?
The classic pinku revenge tale Zenka onna: koroshi-bushi, aka Criminal Woman: Killing Melody had three incredible posters, and with the sharing of this one we've completed the trifecta. This is a rare two-piece bo-ekibari, similar to what in the U.S. is sometimes called a billboard poster. You'll see it nowhere else online. At least not until it's taken from here. The movie starred icons Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto as deadly rivals, was perfectly directed by Atsushi Mihori, and premiered in Japan today in 1973. See the other two posters for this here and here.
JapanToei CompanyZenka onna: koroshi-bushiCriminal Woman: Killing MelodyReiko IkeMiki SugimotoAtsushi Mihorisexploitationposter artcinemapinkupinky violence
| Vintage Pulp | Aug 14 2019 |
The superstition is true—it's bad luck to cross her path.
This impressive promo poster was made for the pinku actioner Kuroi Mehyô M, aka Black Panther Bitch M, in which Japanese superstar Reiko Ike plays an assassin tasked with getting rid of a troublesome gangster. This is far easier said than done, but she has all the skills a good killer-for-hire needs—she can run fast, climb well, throw knives (and handily placed pitchforks), read lips, perform acrobatics, crush testicles, endure pain, and wear a pantsuit like a boss. We'd love to tell you the film is great, but it's all pretty silly, truthfully. But when Reiko and her soulful eyes and shiny café au lait skin are onscreen does the plot really matter? It might to you, but it doesn't to us. The Japanese title of this, by the way, is actually “Black Rose M.” We don't know where the panther thing came from, but it's an apt description for Reiko. Kuroi Mehyô M premiered in Japan today in 1974.
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