| Vintage Pulp | Dec 1 2023 |
Three times the danger, three times the fun.
We talked about Reiko Ike's 1974 pinky violence flick Kyôfu joshi kôkô: Animal dôkyôsei—known in English as Terrifying Girls High School: Animal Courage—a long while ago, but we wanted to highlight this rare promo in tateken format. You can see the original poster and learn a bit about the film here.
JapanToei CompanyKyôfu joshi kôkô: Animal dôkyôseiTerrifying Girls High School: Animal CourageReiko IkeRyôko EmaNatsuko Yashiropinkupinky violenceposter artcinema
| Vintage Pulp | Aug 12 2023 |
Zero to crazy in under ninety minutes.
We first shared a poster for the pinky violence movie Sukeban gerira, aka Girl Boss Guerrilla, years ago and said at that time we'd get around to talking about the movie. We subsequently shared a tateken style poster, but still didn't get around to the film itself. Well, it's finally later. Eleven years later, to be exact. We refreshed our memory with a new screening last night, and to accompany today's thoughts we're sharing a rare bo-ekibari style poster of this classic pinky violence actioner from Toei Company.
Miki Sugimoto and three friends, who comprise the small but spirited Red Helmet Motorcycle Gang, take a trip from Tokyo to Kyoto to see if they can hustle up some yen by whatever means they can manage—grifts, graft, blackmail, whatever. They make some cash but quickly run afoul of Ryôko Ema of the Kyogoku Group, head boss of all Kyoto's girl gangs, which leads to a Ryôko-Miki showdown for control of the city. Our advice: never fight in flip-flops. But then again, we're not as tough as Miki. She loses her flip flops, but wins the fight.
There's always a set of bad men in the background of a pinky violence movie, and it turns out that though Kyoto's girl gangsters are now under Miki's hard won control, all operate under the umbrella of the Tsutsui Gang, who are basically the Kyoto branch of the yakuza. Miki has to give regular tribute to the boys, obey the rules, or pay the price. She's
willing to toe the line, but her situation is quickly complicated when she makes a new pal played by Reiko Ike, who's disinclined to obey anybody, but particularly the local yakuza clan, one of whose higher ups is her big brother.
willing to toe the line, but her situation is quickly complicated when she makes a new pal played by Reiko Ike, who's disinclined to obey anybody, but particularly the local yakuza clan, one of whose higher ups is her big brother.Along the way to settling this mess you get fights, captures, torture, and nudity. Comedy and romance are part of the equation too, as is a bit of social commentary (a Red Helmet girl picking up gonorrhea from a priest is particularly biting). In the end a final throwdown is inevitable but how it turns out is anyone's guess. Nothing is guaranteed in a pinky violence movie—well, except violence.
Pinky violence movies can be fun, but the misses tend to be well wide of the mark, if not psychologically disturbing. Sukeban gerira is a nice example of the genre. It's wild, but never quite to the extent that it makes you want to run from the room. An excellent moment comes just a few minutes in, when Sugimoto aggressively bares a tattooed breast at a set of macho assholes, causing them to physically recoil. That sums up the best pinky violence: a new brand of feminine power that overcame any opposition set against it. Sukeban gerira premiered today in 1972.
JapanToei CompanySukeban geriraGirl Boss GuerrillaMiki SugimotoReiko IkeRyôko EmaNaomi Okapinkupinky violenceposter artcinemamovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Jan 13 2022 |
Miki and Reiko rock and rule Osaka in 1973's Sukeban.
We already shared this rare circular poster for Sukeban, aka Girl Boss Revenge: Sukeban, in a group post years ago, but since it's so rare and interesting we're bringing it back for a solo look, and as you see below we've split it in half to allow you to have your own copy of reasonable size, if you're inclined to put the two pieces together. We might as well comment on the movie too. When we first shared the art for this, we figured why discuss the film in detail when there were already plenty of reviews online? We even linked to one back then. Little did we know that Pulp Intl. would still be going ten years later and would be a top repository for vintage Japanese poster art online. That being the case, we figure we'll tell you about the movie this time.
It stars two of the brightest stars of the Japanese grindhouse era—Miki Sugimoto and Reiko Ike. Miki plays a gang leader who calls herself Kantô Komasa, while Reiko is the girl gang leader of Namairu High School. They meet in a prison van and escape simultaneously, headed different directions but destined to cross paths again. Miki forms a new gang in Osaka called Gypsy Dance, gets into the usual delinquency, and meets a director of dirty movies who she enlists in a revenge plot. But all the fun and games take a nasty turn when she runs afoul of the North Dragon yakuza and they start dishing out pain and suffering. Only with the help of a young North Dragon footsoldier named Tatsuo is Miki able to escape her predicament.
It just so happens that Tatsuo is Reiko's boyfriend. Reiko has been missing since her escape from the prison van, but arrives on the scene just in time to find Miki in bed with her man. That puts Reiko and Miki at odds in the worst way, but Reiko has no idea Tatsuo is working for the North Dragon. She'll find out, though, via a stunning betrayal. We'll end the synopsis there, but add the warning that the North Dragon
are mean as hell and the tortures they administer are hard to watch. But gangsters gonna gangster—if they spent their time at garden parties and poetry readings there'd be a different word for them.
are mean as hell and the tortures they administer are hard to watch. But gangsters gonna gangster—if they spent their time at garden parties and poetry readings there'd be a different word for them.Sukeban, which was directed by Norifumi Suzuki, is a prime example of Toei Company's pinky violence genre—wild, colorful, gritty, and bloody, with moments of humor to leaven the hard tone. Movies of this style influenced many later directors, but apart from Quentin Tarantino and maybe a couple of other mavericks such operatic exploitation is a relic of the past. The film is basically Miki's show, and whether rolling fabulously down a hill in her fur coat and platforms or getting dirty in an alley fight, she delivers a freewheeling performance in a production that isn't for the faint of heart. It's worth watching for its historical value as well as for entertainment, but in either case, hold onto your hat.
As a bonus, below we have some production photos, including a rare image of Miki striking the topless pose used to create the promo poster. We always thought her head looked a little warped on that poster. Turns out it's a defect in the original photograph—someone either shot her off-kilter or introduced the flaw during the developing process, and she stayed that way. We're guessing, but we're pretty sure because normally her head is very symmetrical. As is the rest of her. You'll see what we mean below about the photo. Sukeban premiered in Japan today in 1973. You can see our other write-up on it here.
JapanToei CompanySukebanGirl Boss Revenge: SukebanNorifumi SuzukiMiki SugimotoReiko IkeRyôko Emaposter artcinemanuditypinkupinky violencemovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Jan 4 2019 |
Kanô and company are still Crazy after all these years.
Today's deep dive into the pinku pile has produced this two panel promo for Sukeban: Tamatsuki asobi, aka Girl Boss: Crazy Ball Game, which starred Yûko Kanô and premiered today in 1974. Not every pinku movie had these types of posters but we've acquired quite a few. We'd upload others, but we don't know what films some of them are for. We'll get around to sharing them anyway, though.
Looking below, you'll see we've grabbed some promo photos. These came from an online auction. The last panel shows Yûko Kanô's co-stars Ritsuko Fujiyama, Emi Jô, Harumi Tajima, Rie Saotome, and Ryôko Ema having some wild and watery fun. Sukeban: Tamatsuki asobi has it all—violence, sex, violence, Yakuza, violence, and more. You can read a bit more about it at our write-up from some years ago, located at this link.
JapanSukeban: Tamatsuki asobiGirl Boss: Crazy Ball GameYûko Kanô叶優子Ritsuko FujiyamaEmi JôHarumi TajimaRie SaotomeRyôko EmaJun Aidanuditypinky violencepinkuposter artcinema
| Femmes Fatales | Apr 30 2016 |
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.
This image made by Susumu Murakami comes from an issue of the magazine Heibon Punch and is a large foldout we scanned in three pieces and put together in Photoshop. You're welcome. It shows Japanese actress Ryôko Ema, who appeared in such pinku epics as Onsen suppon geisha, Sukeban gerira, and 1973's all-time classic Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô, aka Sex and Fury. We've discussed all those movies, but Ema was a supporting character, which is why we never mentioned her before. Omission remedied.
JapanHeibon PunchOnsen suppon geishaSukeban geriraFuryô anego den: Inoshika OchôSex and FuryRyôko Emapinkupinky violencenudity
| Vintage Pulp | Dec 1 2010 |
No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks.
Above is a poster for Kyôfu joshi kôkô: Animal dôkyôsei, aka Terrifying Girls’ High School: Animal Courage, fourth and final entry in the Terrifying franchise, with Reiko Ike, Ryôko Ema, Natsuko Yashiro, and others. The plot here is simple: the Kazu Satoshi Private School claims to send students to study abroad, but instead ships an unlucky few to American sex traffickers. Reiko Ike at the school, asserts herself as a badass, and joins the fencing teams, but is secretly looking for her missing older sister. She's—needless to say—pretty well cheesed off by what she discovers.
Before she shuts down the evil operators she has to deal with complications involving a lesbian gang, but eventually she gets to use that fencing foil on the people who deserve it, and things go pretty much the way you’d expect. Obviously, that description alone hints at the formula underpinning these high school delinquent movies, but they often manage to entertain even when they don't have any surprises. Kyôfu joshi kôkô: Animal dôkyôsei is generally considered a weaker entry in Terrifying series, but it's worth a look if you can locate it. It premiered in Tokyo today, 1973.
JapanToei CompanyKyôfu joshi kôkô: Animal dôkyôseiTerrifying Girls High School: Animal CourageReiko IkeRyôko EmaNatsuko Yashiropinkupinky violenceposter artcinema
