KUNOICHI HUNTERS (2014) – A Slice Of Love And Death By Asami

A female ninja assassin is assigned the mission to assesinate a feudal lord and steal an important scroll from him. After having successfully accomplished her mission, she becomes the prey in a suicidal escape in which she only longs with finding a lost love from the past.

Kunoichi Hunters is a low budget ninja exploitation directed and written by Hidemi Noto,that displays a really intriguing and twisted plot, with a script that plays with the narrative structure that Kurosawa made popular in “Rashomon” (1950), telling a story from different points of view, adding some really well made sword fighting sequences, where Asami shines as screen fighter, and a torrid lesbian romance full of erotism that lead us to the conclusion that love can be the road to all kind of perdition.

Asami becomes in some kind of female version of Kamui (anyone remember that wonderful anime from 1969?), showcasing an intense and passionate performace in a film that is above quality to these type of productions and that Asami´s screen presence and charisma, lift up to a higher different level.

Fans around the world are still mourning about Asami´s retirement from movie business, but mourning is always useless and the best way to keep her legacy alive is to rediscover the works that made her the queen of Japanese V-cinema, meanwhile we anxiously await for the release of her final film, “Tunguska Butterfly” (Akira Nobi, 2019) in the west.

The film is available with english subs in stream sites as microsoft store or google play.