Ninja Vixens: Flame of Seduction is the first title for Geneon’s new Neon-g label. A period film set in the days of ninja clans, shoguns, and demons to battle, Ninja Vixens: Flame of Seduction brings together two popular j-idols and a new actress for a film that embraces its campiness full-force. Japanese AV idols Sara Shimada and Nao Oikawa play sisters battling against each other for the forces of good and evil.
Stats
DVD: Ninja Vixens: Flame of Seduction
Release Date: 9/26/2006
Release Studio: Geneon Entertainment / Neon-g
MSRP: $19.98
Audio: Japanese 2.0 DD
Subtitles: English
Episodes: 1
Runtime: 70mins
Extras: Preview description for Ninja Vixens: Crimson Blades
Notes: Review is based on a Screener copy of the final product. The video is letterbox (non-anamorphic widescreen), the screencaps have been cropped to reduce the amount of black bars shown.
Lion King (no joke) has brought an evil presence to the land and turned Dark Mist (Nao Oikawa) against her own clan. Master Dragon’s only remaining fellow samurai is Iris (Sara Shimada) who has accepted that the only thing that can be done now is to bring down Lion King, even if that means her sister’s life. By chance, they discover a mute ronin ninja wandering through the area. Disguised as a man and in search for her mother’s killer, the mute and yet beautiful samurai Bell (Shou Azaki) listens to the plea by Master Dragon and decides to aid the injured Hojo clan.
Naturally, Iris doesn’t agree with Master Dragon’s decision to allow an unknown ninja to assist them in battle. Meanwhile, Bell is re-introduced to two other members of the original Hojo Ninja Village clan, young Sparrow and her perverted brother Yasuke. Yasuke falls while spying on Bell bathing nude in the river by moonlight and Iris is quick to scold him while his nose still bleeds. The next day Sparrow is working hard on making a garden and Bell decides to assist.
The bulk of the story follows Bell as the Hojo clan slowly brings her out from behind the mask she wears to hide her emotions while hunting her mother’s killer. Lion King sends Dark Mist to cause trouble that forces the clan to unite in one final desperate attack of revenge against the dark lord. The final 15 minutes features the ninja vixens Iris and Bell battling Dark Mist and finally Lion King with all the “ninja power” techniques they know.
Ninja Vixens: Flame of Seduction is a B-movie, there is no denying that. Someone either had a period ninja anime that couldn’t find the budget to be animated or the director has simply taken too much anime to heart. The acting and story are cheesy, yet it is also the perfect film for your own MST3K viewing with some buddies and drinks. Then again, if you’re picking up a title called “Ninja Vixens,” you’re probably not too worried about plot or acting as long as the vixens are hot. Are they? Yes. Each of the three actresses display fine figures. Nudity is limited to breasts and completely nude bodies that face away from the camera. The hint of sexual situations is some poor tongue-action a few times briefly on Oikawa’s breasts.
In the end, is it worth picking up? I would say so for what you can find the DVD for online and in retail stores. The video, filmed in 2002, has some artifacting due to the original filming with DV camcorders and some simple Premier video editing. This isn’t as distracting as it just fits the B-movie feel of Ninja Vixens. However, the subtitles can go a bit too fast and you will probably be reaching for the remote to rewind several times before the end of the film. The three actresses make for a compelling reason to watch and repeat viewings will only be for that fact. One final word of caution: do not read the synopsis on the back cover. There is a blatant spoiler inside. Also, I’m not sure where the idea of Ninja Vixens being “cyberpunk” comes from.