Neon-g has returned once again with another addition to the Ninja Vixens series, Ninja Vixens: Vixen Dropouts. Continuing the proud Japanese ninja girls tradition, Vixen Dropouts is a comedy title in the same vein as National Lampoon’s Animal House featuring the characters of N-class showing how the bottom-of-the-barrel ninja vixen student body can be just as good as the elites. Vixen Dropouts features a colorful cast with j-idol Nozomi Fujikawa, Japanese AV actress Miyu Inaba, Japanese AV actress and singer Airi Miyazawa, actress Yuka Nakatani, and actor Takashi Taniguchi in the role of a lifetime: playing a really ugly woman.Â
Stats
DVD: Ninja Vixens: Vixen Dropouts
Release Date: 10/24/2006
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: Flames of Seduction, Ninja Vixens: Crimson Blades, and Ninja Vixens: Devilish Angels
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.
Even in the days of the provincial wars in feudal Japan there was school. Shingen Takeda took in the lost and orphaned girls to be trained in the role of “walking priestesses.” Yet secretly, the girls were trained in the art of being ninja vixens. Dividing everyone by class according to their ability, girls were ranked and trained with fellow “priestesses” of equal skill. Forty-seven classes exist within the system in-tune with the Japanese alphabet, but a 48th was established for those girls who could not keep up. They are the stupid misfits of the ninja vixens clan: N-class. Queue “Louie, Louie,” I feel a song coming on…
The N-class has all your favorite typical stereotypes in a “school” film: Ayane (Nozomi Fujikawa), the cute, quiet, and skilled ninja who just isn’t motivated to try hard enough; Tsunami (Miyu Inaba), the stupid sexy girl who thinks more about boys, getting laid, and her own good looks than anything else; Misty (Yuka Nakatani), the old fart who is still in school because she isn’t smart enough to pass; Pomegranate, the fat girl who thinks of nothing but food; and Treetop (Airi Miyazawa), the nerdy girl who is smart yet socially inept around anyone but her few friends in class. Under the watchful eye of instructor Cloud (Takashi Taniguchi), they follow her guidance (yes, her guidance) in becoming skilled ninja vixens.
The theme is common with the class of misfits misbehaving and playing around rather than listening to boring old Cloud. A ninja vixen from class Ro, Shizu, appears and informs the instructor to be on guard: a band of Wind Demon ninjas have infiltrated the area. Ayane and Shizu briefly exchange cutting stares before Shizu moves on to her next mission. Naturally the class starts to wonder what is behind the cold looks between the two. Misty, having been around for so many years, explains how Shizu and Ayane used to be together in a higher ranking class when an incident occured. Taunting Ayane, Shizu recieved a scar across her cheek from Ayane’s knife for calling her a “stray dog.” Each girl was demoted as punishment which is why Ayane was so distant with her fellow N-classmates at first. Now she embraces being with the rest of the lowest rung where she is treated no different from anyone else.
Cloud continues to bore the group with teachings such as reading lips, making food pills to sustain a ninja’s life, and physical exercise. The girls, in turn, use their training sessions to have some fun. After exploring the woods for ingredients, Treetop creates a sleeping pill that knocks out instructor Cloud for the night. The five girls dress up as priestesses and head to town to enjoy the local bar for food, drink, and guys. Of course, being ninjas-in-training, they have no money. Tsunami has a way to fix this, though. Using her ninja vixen power of bubble mirror, Tsunami seduces the drunks out of their money with her sexy, nude form. Now, with money in hand, the girls party the night away. However, the Wind Demon ninjas are on the prowl for ninja vixens to torture.
Vixen Dropouts takes a classic formula and plays with it well. The three main girls are playful enough to keep the movie flowing from serious to cheesy when the scene calls for it. Takashi Taniguchi’s Cloud is equally a riot as (s)he instructs the girls in every facet of being a ninja vixen, including the highly needed powers of seduction. The group bonds and comes together to overcome any problem thrown at them with lots of humor. The style of comedy reminds me a lot of a Stephen Chow film, so you will not be disappointed if you enjoy something like Kung Fu Hustle or Shaolin Soccer. While it is a comedy, we still get two great nude scenes with Tsunami’s long sequence to seduce the barflies and later Treetop is partly molested when she ends up in trouble. Nozomi Fujikawa’s cute and pouty expressions will charm you enough to be happy despite not revealing more than what her red ninja vixen clothes showoff.
Ninja Vixens: Vixen Dropouts is a must-have title if you want some fun humor and sexy girls to watch. It’s still a B-movie version of films like Shaolin Soccer, but there are plenty of reasons to pick this up and it’s not just the three sexy lead actresses. The standard DV camcorder artifacting is present and there’s more Premier-style video editing in this film, yet it fits the mood. The subtitles appear at a steady pace so there’s no need to rewind for missing a line. If you’re looking for somewhere to start in the Vixens series, this would be a good place. The story is simple, fun, and has plenty of eyecandy to enjoy. Repeat viewings will be a must whether it’s with friends or on your own.