Koichi Sakamoto

Tortured Heroines Put Their Training To The Test In The Latest Trailer For INNOCENT LILLIES: THE END AND THE BEGINNING

Wonders never cease with Toku action auteur, Sakamoto Koichi as he’s definitely found a niche with an ever-growing body of work host to sexy actresses in some of the most powerful roles to date. That said, he’s already gotten some attention this year with actress Shaku Yumiko’s return to the genre with Kiri: Professional Assassin, and Japan audiences will soon have another by this June with the forthcoming sequel release, Innocent Lillies: The End Of The Beginning. The cast is headlined once more by the members of Japanese geek-idol group, DEMPAGUMI, Inc. with a story based on Yoshida Reiko’s script that follows up Sakamoto’s 2013 fantasy Toei/TV Asashi adventure centered on an entire academy where broken-hearted girls go to harness their intense suffering through a series of tasks in order to become fully-endowed in their powers of witchcraft. The sequel, which arrives on June 13, will pit our heroic White […]

Shaku Yumiko Is Back For Vengeance In The Latest Teaser For KIRI: PROFESSIONAL KILLER

Lee B. Golden III

Legendary action auteur Sakamoto Koichi (Travelers, Red X Pink a.k.a. Girl’s Blood) knows what his fans love, and that statement is no less true than for his Tokusatsu following with a cast that is sure to get their attention. For this we look at actress Shaku Yumiko in her latest return to the action fray in fourteen years in the new assassin thriller, Kiri: Professional Killer, based on Hakusensha’s Young Animal Arashi publication from the work of manga author, Nishikawa Hideaki. With Sakamoto at the helm, I’m easily harkened back to films like Drive (1997) and Broken Path (2008), and if you’re familiar with Sakamoto‘s work DNA, you already know that he knows exactly what he’s doing, especially with Shaku on hand as a black belt purveyor of martial arts herself on top of lead roles in Sato Shinsuke’s 2001 thriller, The Princess Blade and Kitamura Ryuhei’s 2004 fantasy adaptation, […]

A CASE FOR BETTER ACTION MOVIES – Character Study: Toby Wong From DRIVE

Lee B. Golden III

The following is a version of a segment to a compilation article to which I contributed with other writers over at The Action Elite prior to its publication on February 10, 2015. CLICK HERE to read the article in its entirety. While we await the verdict on the releases of several upcoming films featuring action star Mark Dacascos, perhaps one performance will continue to live-on in action movie history with a formula that undeniably serves fans of martial arts action cinema something worthy to hold onto. For this, we look to his memorable role in the 1995 action classic, Drive. From a revised script by Scott Phillips, the film takes off in San Francisco with our lead, Dacascos starring as Toby Wong, riding as a stowaway on a cargoship that arrives on the West Coast as per his escape from the Red Chinese and the notorious Leung Corporation who have […]

Sakamoto Koichi's Sexy Sci-Fi Actioner, TRAVELERS Gets A U.S. Release

Lee B. Golden III

It took me a while before my brain finally woke up this morning to the fact that the good folks over at Pathfinder Home Entertainment were kind enough to include my coverage last year on the artwork for director Sakamoto Koichi‘s futuristic, sexy sci-fi actioner, Travelers: Dimension Police. I then contributed my intial article over to fellow site owner and writer Keith Hayward’s Tokusatsu platform, Henshin Justice Unlimited, and it got a lot of shares from its readership at the time, which I’m greatly proud of. It’s not often I get quoted on DVD cover art either. And I have to say, I noticed the artwork yesterday, but were it not for Hayward’s vigilance, I probably would not have noticed for a time long beyond this week. It’s gratifying, and I even hope to get to see this film for myself when Pathfinder releases this bad boy in North America […]

GUNBLADE Kicks Ass And Blows Things Up In New Footage!

Lee B. Golden III

Following last week’s announcement of Tokusatsu auteur Koichi Sakamoto‘s latest project, Gunblade, the folks at Ranger Crew have forwarded new footage released online from the upcoming series set for Korean households next year, with air dates to be announced for other parts of Asia, as well as Europe and North America. The footage comprises of the pitch video, the teaser and a behind-the-scenes featurette for the pitch which presents another promising venture into the genre that fans can look forward to, assuring followers of Toku lore that the world will never run out of heroes. A new detailed press release was issued with the unveiling of the new series which you can read below as well. Take a look and keep your fingers crossed. LAS VEGAS, June 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Gunblade Industry SPC, a subsidiary of A mate Inc., a South Korean-based production company, unveiled their newest action drama, […]

Koichi Sakamoto's GUNBLADE Settles On Korea In 2015, Europe And U.S. To Follow

Lee B. Golden III

Tokusatsu action filmmaker and Power Rangers veteran director Koichi Sakamoto is full of surprises…at least for me anyway. It turns out the director of Travelers, 009-1, Red X Pink and Innocent Lillies has been busy in Korea for a while making it happen with a brand new TV show on the horizon titled Gunblade. Sadly, it will be airing first in Korean households, with a waiting period for the U.S. from now through the next two-and-a-half years. But, at least it’s coming. At any rate, check out the press release below from last week, in addition to the new artwork! From the executive producer and director who brought adoring fans the hit popular series, “Power Rangers,” Koichi Sakamoto will bring to life the next generation of superheroes with a new action drama, “GUNBLADE.” The highly-anticipated show will be unveiled during the 2014 Licensing Expo at Mandalay Bay Convention Center on Tuesday, […]

Catch The New NSFW Trailer For RED X PINK!

Lee B. Golden III

Continuing his latest string of action features with beautiful women front and center is famed Alpha Stunts founding member, action director and filmmaker Koichi Sakamoto with his newest feature action flick, Red X Pink. In addition to being a martial arts drama, Tokusatsu fans will also be happy to see a few familiar faces among the cast, including veteran Kamen Rider cast member, model and actress Yuria Haga, along with actresses Asami Tada, Ayame Misaki and Rina Koike, which should grant a little something for big boys and girls everywhere who are familiar with some of Sakamoto‘s work as of late. However, if you aren’t, then you’re just in time to check out a brand new full trailer ahead of the film’s February 22, 2014 Japan release. And yes, a NSFW warning is in order. SYNOPSIS from Sci-Fi Japan: Kadokawa Pictures presents “the birth of a new erotic × young […]

Cage Fighting, Nakedness And More In The New NSFW Trailer For RED X PINK!

Lee B. Golden III

Director Koichi Sakamoto is a WAY different man of film nowadays. I mean, I’m astonished! The man has sure come a long way from his days with Alpha Stunts while working on Power Rangers and Mark Dacascos action vehicle Drive. And if his latest work is proof of nothing else (i.e. Travelers, Innocent Lillies), it concludes that the veteran stuntman and stunt coordinator has come into his own, with sexy, gorgeous women front-and-center and in on the action… and not just the usual…well…action. Basically, if you’re at work, you shouldn’t look at this. Rather, take a minute, grab your smartphone and act like you just got an emergency call that needed to be taken privately, and then watch actresses Yukia Haga, Rina Koike, Asami Tada and Ayame Misaki in the newest NSFW trailer for Sakamoto‘s latest risque sexy action fight flick, Red X Pink, based on prize-winning author Kazuki Sakuraba’s 2003 publication surrounding […]

Koichi Sakamoto Brings Sexy Back Into Action With 009-1: THE END OF THE BEGINNING

Lee B. Golden III

I remember a much younger Koichi Sakamoto that just focused mainly on Tokusatsu and bringing Japanese superheroes to life on the big screen. Sure, those days are still here as he has been working on the set of Super Megaforce. But after following up with Travelers: Dimension Police, it appears that the man found something worth sticking to. According to an article written over at Henshin Justice Unlimted, interpreted from a piece over at Eiga.com, Sakamoto is back working on another sexy science fiction martial arts action adventure called 009-1: The End Of The Beginning. The film will star a list of heralded tokusatsu actors and actresses including Mayuko Iwasa in the lead, along with Minehiro Kinomoto, Mao Ichimichi, Nao Nagasawa, Shizuka Midorikawa, Naoto Takenaka, Aya Sugimoto, Kazutoshi Yokoyama, Tsukui Minami and Hirotaro Honda. Originally created in 1967 by famous late manga author Shotaro Ishinomori, and later adapted for live-action […]

Koichi Sakamoto’s Sexy Sci-Fi Action Thriller, TRAVELERS: DIMENSION POLICE Coming In April!

Lee B. Golden III

Diverse Japan and other sources are reporting some new details on an upcoming sci-fi, fantasy action adventure straight from Japan. The film is called Travelers: Dimension Police, a film that promises a “Sexy, authentic action movie…no questions asked,” and is currently being heralded among fans and bloggers who faithfully watch Tokusatsu televsion shows on a regular basis as a reunion among fellow actors and actresses, and creators who share an historic legacy in their industry. The upcoming supercharged sexy action thriller will star actress/singer Nao Nagasawa, and actress/model Ayumi Kinoshita in a story about a beautiful law woman working for an interdimensional police force, who serendipitously crosses paths with her former partner-turned-enemy, forcing each other to confront their past while investigating an innerspace terrorist agency, ultimately embarking on a dangerous mission that could decide the fate of the multiverse as we know it. The film also stars Yuko Takayama, Kenji […]

Film Of The Week: BROKEN PATH

Lee B. Golden III

Synopsis via IMDb : On an isolated ranch in the desert, one man must protect his wife from a secret past that he is now forced to confront. With the sun towering in the sky overhead, the ranch sits beneath the vast blue, isolated amidst the arid terrain, Though life is certainly evident as a house warming party ensues. Still under renovation, scaffolding and tools are strewn across the ranch, while benches and tables and are set up for the food and beverages. The neighbors chat amongst themselves as the hosts – Jack (Johnny Yong Bosch) and Lisa (Pamela Walworth) – hustle about to keep them entertained. As the evening creeps over the scene, the crowd disperses, and Maddy – the couple’s daughter – prepares to leave for her first summer camp. By nightfall, they find themselves alone, the guests gone, on Maddy her way on the road, and the […]